Video: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's New Trailer Is All About The Battle Mode

Wow.

It's so satisfying to see HD Bowser Junior back in the Clown Kart.

@A01 I'm sure you'll be able to configure the number of balloons you each have. It wouldn't be the hardest thing for them to implement.

The games looking good, I'll have to pick it up once I have the money together.

I thought the new battle mode had the old style arenas. These look like the old mk8 "tracks as arenas" style

Never had a real problem with MK8's Battle Mode (I found it rather funny driving the tracks backwards) but if this makes people happy, I'm glad for them. Though a few more racing tracks couldn't hurt, either.

My only complaint is that they're focusing on a feature that should have been there in the Wii U version of the game from the get-go, and instead it's advertised as one of the main draws of the updated rerelease. But, then again, Nintendo, or any major publishers for that matter, are no strangers to hyping up something that has skipped an installment in a franchise.

YEY!!! Proper battle arenas are back. Hated fighting on tracks

Hmm £50 for almost the same game I played on wii u. It was a essential purchase for me on wii u but now it doesn't have that appeal anymore. This is a definite NO for me sadly

@A01 From what I've heard if all your balloons are popped you respawn with 3 and you lose half of your points. If you lose all of your balloons again, you'll only get one and you're points are halved again. I prefer this system since it's not really fun to just watch others play while you can't do anything if you die. Especially when playing online where you don't really care about the other people and how good they're doing.

I'm really pumped for this. Never had a Wii U so having Mario Kart 8 with a revamped battle mode, bundled in dlc and the ability to play on the go is a must buy for me. Can't Wait!

Bring back being a bomb when loosing all your balloons

Does anyone know if local multiplayer can be done across systems docked and undocked? Like can you have 2 tvs in one room with 8 player or 1 tv + 4 handhelds for 8 player?

This game is such a ripoff. Do people actually plan to buy the same game twice?

I would be amazed if this game has decent sales and also question gamers once again.

@Yasume
I love MK8. But I'm not buying the same game over again at full price without new tracks. I'm not encouraging Nintendo to resell me the WiiU library.

The question is... How many copies of MK8 do you need with 8 Switches.

Nintendo STILL have not addressed how local play will work. Does each player need a copy of MK8?

Is there a download play option a la the DS / 3DS?

Is there a multiplayer-only version in the eShop that the other switches can play (like Federation Force)?

So many questions.... and only a limited budget.

On a side note, if you don't need a second copy of MK8, I'll buy it for me and my son to play together. Otherwise I son't see the appeal over the Wii U version.

@WOLF1313
This is a case of Ninty cash-cow. I certainly won't be buying it. 13.8 million wii u owners kicked in the teeth. The first big 2 games on switch from Ninty have no appeal to me Zelda also on wii u and basically same MK with a few differences. Tbh mate I am slowly leaving Nintendo behind after supporting them since the 80s

There are a lot of people who didn't buy a Wii U and Mario Kart is a recognizable system seller so it makes sense to revamp and repackage Mario Kart 8 instead of making a new one. Hardcore fans will buy it due to portability and a proper battle mode while other like me whom never played the original will jump on this. I understand that people are upset that they are selling a deluxe edition, but I feel like people continually forget to realize just how badly the Wii U sold and that there many people whom missed out on the original. So to people like me, this will feel like a brand new entry in the Mario Kart series.

Looks like great DLC 😂😂

As a Wii U owner who has purchased all the DLC, and along with the misses put over 200 hours into this, I'm not in any rush to buy this. However, as a fan of the Switch concept who has at least 4 mates buying Switches and this (they all skipped the Wii U, shocking I know!!) I'm tempted to double dip! Although a myNintendo discount would be nice.....

@Eric258
I'm fine with them releasing it. I'm not OK with them gouging fans just because they don't have anything else to sell them.

I want new tracks, not a mod that no one plays.

@WOLF1313 Yeah, its completely fair to be upset at the total offering for Mario Kart 8 deluxe. I was also kinda hoping for more tracks even though I never had the original! XD

Wonder if it's also possible to practically LAN with these things. By that I mean, have 8 Switches connect to each other while all being hooked up to a TV as well.

@NintySnesMan
Perfectly valid. Nintendo hasn't made that many great games in the past few years.

@Eric258 It's a great game so you will be happy.
I'd be happy with two Cups added, but I don't think we're getting any tracks.

@faustcoolio I still have friends that relentlessly play MKWii local MP but didn't want to get a WiiU. This is for them. There are millions of people in a similar position. This is a very good idea to sell consoles.

@Yasume
Not exactly rip-off.
Can you take Mario Kart 8 Wii U on the go ?
Can you use Inklings as playable characters for Wii U version ?
Can you stock 2 items for Wii U version ?
Can you play proper Battle Mode for Wii U version ?
The answers = Switch version is different with Wii U version despite have same contents.
I wanna Double dip for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and play it on the go oftenly than my Wii U version.

I'm just happy it's finally there.

But, this is exactly the kind of thing where any praise heaped upon Nintendo just bugs me. The Battle Mode really should have been in the Wii U version of the game from day one; it's something pretty much everyone [very reasonably] expects at this point—and Nintendo knows that fine well.

So, getting a last-gen Wii U port of a Mario Kart game on Switch with a feature it should have had all along isn't exactly something that makes me jump with joy and shower heaps of praise and respect on Nintendo, like it's really pulled something out the bag this time, BUT, I'm just happy to see Switch get every single game humanly possible at this point—since it's going to need a whole lot of games in order to make up for what looks to be another generation and console where it's lacking the big AAA third party titles that a whole load of gamers actually want to play (yes, even on a Nintendo console).

On a similar note: It would be nice if Switch's Virtual Console saw a whole load of "ports" like this (basically just Virtual Console releases in general) of games from all of Nintendo's previous consoles (both home console and handheld) when that service goes live in a months time (presumably)—and I'm talking like hundreds of games out the gate, from systems like NES, SNES, N64, GC, Wii, Wii U, Game & Watch, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Boy, DS, 3DS, arcade, and whatever the hell else, and hundreds-thousands of them by the time the system has been out for a handful of years. . . .

It still won't surpass Battle Mode in 64 or Double Dash until we get confirmation of an elimination mode. I don't know why Nintendo thinks we only want to play exclusively for points. Potentially sitting around waiting for the match to end is worth being able to directly eliminate your rivals and having a straightforward goal to win rather than dealing with a stupid timer and trying to keep track of everyone's points.

I understand not everyone agrees with me, but there's no reason they can't give the option to play either way.

@beazlen1 Why are they playing local multiplayer on MK Wii rather than Double Dash? MK Wii's local multiplayer absolutely sucks in comparison. You can't even do multiplayer Grand Prix!

Like anyone will know another 7 people with a switch 😂 I've still never met anyone else with a Wii u!!

@Anti-Matter I'm sorry, but if that's literally all that's new in this game, it's even more of a joke than I thought it was.

Pathetic.

Excellent question @JohnSReid !

I have another.
Will it be possible for 16 people to play at the same time, with 8 Switch consoles in tabletop mode? Or at least for 8 people, with 4 Switch consoles in these same conditions? That would be insane.
But yeah, download play has to stay another opportunity, at least for that kind of game.

@Yasume
Fine.
You said pathetic but I say Improvement.
Go ahead with your lamentation and sourness while I will gleeful enjoy Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

@Pat84 : Maximum is 8 players locally. I assume that online will be limited to 12 players like the Wii and Wii U versions. I think it would be fantastic if multiple users playing on the same Switch can also play against users locally on another Switch.

@Yasume Don't forget the 1080p HD and extra frame every 4 seconds that the Wii U skipped

The Battle Mode should have been fixed in the Wii U version. But then they wouldn't have been able to charge another €60 for this. No new tracks either. I'm not excited about this "Deluxe" version and won't be rebuying essentially the same game.

This just makes me angrier than when MK8 originally came out.

I'll remind people that the game now has an extra item slot, new characters, new power-ups, and all of the DLC that released for the original game in addition to the revised battle mode.

Either way, the big draw for me is the portability, but I'm glad they're actually improving the game in the process of porting it as well.

I'm just going to sell my Wii U version.

I predict/hope that Battle Mode will be "download play" and you will only need one copy of the full game to battle locally with other local Switches.

The full game will probably require each Switch to have a copy... but who knows what Nintendo will do.

I love MK but can't see a need to upgrade just yet

@SLIGEACH_EIRE
Hm... I think a new tracks will be added later. If Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes with all unlocked Cups, it will be spoiled because we have all cups even before starting the games. I believe Nintendo will lock some cups to be unlocked and you still have to collect some coins to unlock something. It could be characters, new cups, new vehicle parts, etc. During demo, Nintendo will not show all unlockable contents. Did you see "?" Mark on Bottom Right ? Wii U version never have Random character selection but Switch version have or probably it is for Mii icon because so far Nintendo still haven't talked about compatible Amiibos for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Could it be same 19 Mii costumes or more than 19 ? Still so many mystery...

As much as the new Battle Mode looks cool it really should've been included in the original version.

Yes Yes and YES , Day one purchase for me .

Great, they promised this fix for the Wii U version, but ended up releasing as part of a full game. Buyer's remorse here. Battle Mode was always my favorite mode of MK games, and MK8 was a chore in that regard.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE no nor will I or a lot of people here. That's not the point, this game is designed for the millions that missed it first time around. If and only if there is an upgrade discount will I upgrade. Otherwise I'll be happy with what I've already got and enjoyed for 3 years now.

@A01 What do mean by that? I can't really watch the video at work but do you mean you can drive around using items while dead?

Cause Mario Kart 64 had a mechanic that involved driving around as a bomb, to blow people up after losing all of your balloons, which happened after death.

@impurekind to be fair I don't see anyone heaping praise for Nintendo (at least in this article) are some excited by a proper battle mode? Yes. But certainly I'm not getting the vibe that they think Nintendo has really pulled something out of the bag. As a matter of fact it seems middling or quite the opposite.

As for me, there's enough additional content for me to warrant a double dip, the main draw for me is the ability to take a console MK anywhere. I'm also of the (unpopular) opinion that the "proper" battle mode should not have been there from the beginning. They tried something different and it backfired. Though yes, they probably shouldn't have tried to fix something that wasn't broken.

But here's something we don't know. We don't know if the Wii U will get a Deluxe upgrade in some form later on down the line or not. At least it hasn't explicitly been said. Granted if it's something that happens, I'd imagine it wouldn't happen at launch, but maybe a few months down the line. Though realistically it probably wouldn't make much business sense.

It's amazing to think that the original DS game had 8 player locally with a single card.

Sony, Microsoft or any other developer does this with GOTY additions (and half the time, those don't have any new content at all) and its no big deal. Nintendo does this and its a ripoff? (and the game actually has some new content).

Hopefully, the next Mario Kart has better amiibo support. It would be nice to see amiibos being used for additional karts! The Samus Sedan

Local 8 player is pretty awesome

I wish Nintendo released a whole new Mario Kart game. But with this release it says enough that we won't be seeing any new Mario Kart game this soon

@Anti-Matter

But all these things are relatively trivial and not anywhere near enough to justify another $60 purchase to Wii U owners, (such as myself), who basically have the exact same thing. And like others have said before, battle mode, the main selling point in this one, should have been there from the beginning.

It simply isn't fair at all to the people who stuck with Nintendo anyway through all those droughts, please understands, disappointments, everything else that Nintendo did wrong with the Wii U, when no one else would. Your myNintendo account should detect you have the Wii U version, and cut the price to about $20/$30. Otherwise, it will be a gigantic bird, and a good number of those 13m Wii U owners will probably take their business somewhere else, preferably to a place where the company doesn't shoot birds to their customers. It's only logic and good sense, not to mention being a little human, which lest we not forget, Nintendo is entirely comprised of humans.

It's the very least they could do. Especially when we had to pay $299 for a dead system we didn't know was dead, and that never received a price drop, either. Man, that money could go towards a Switch. Nope, it instead went to Wii U, because we didn't care about Nintendo's faults. We stuck loyal, enjoyed what it had to offer, and continued to defend Nintendo's choices, making us look like fools.

They better not shove their U owners into the same chicken coop as the mass market. For their own future, I highly recommend it. There's only so much of us who will still be moving to Switch, anyway.

I love how the balloon battle modes rules have gone back to Mario Kart Wii and 7's set, which weren't very liked, but no-one cares because there are now regular battle maps.

@igen
I am one of those loyal wii u owners from day 1 and won't be buying this MK scam. Ninty should have made a new version regardless if others didn't play it. It was there choice not to buy a wii u. Where was there f****ng loyalty then. Yep a bunch of fanboy with no loyalty. All said and done the likes of us are the true hardcore Ninty fans not these all singing bulls****rs

Right, don't give us a link to it then.

@nintendosnesguy

You said my name wrong.

They do have a nasty habit of constantly chasing the other party, don't they? Don't worry. I feel your pain. We will be avenged soon.

I'm glad MK8 is coming to Switch and really hope we get some other Wii U games on the new console too like Captain Toad, Paper Mario etc...

So I take by its seemingly intentional omission, no online for Battle Mode?

It seems strange to simply not mention online, but mention local multiplayer.

@NintySnesMan mario kart 8 sold 8 million so not every Wii U owner bought it. Stop complaining

@iGen
Eh... I don't have MyNintendo account yet.
I own Wii U but I don't think I will regret by double dipping. So far, only 2 Wii U games that I want to double dip for Switch version : Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and LEGO CITY Undercover.

@Anti-Matter

Well at least now you can take them anywhere, right?

@iGen we will be avenged soon. I doubt it.

I skipped the Wii U and I'll be buying this. Day 1 for me

Moan, moan, moan. I have had a Wii U since release. I also have MK8 Wii U and all the DLC. But I'll still be buying this.

Why? Because it's a full HD 60fps masterpiece with everything included PLUS updated modes. Plus it can be played fully on the go. Or with 8 person local multiplayer. Also, I can trade MK8 Wii U in for £10 towards it. Bargain!

@UK-Nintendo

Stinkin' Nintendo and their policies...

Fah.

Why is everyone complaining about Nintendo re releasing an update game, no one complained when sony put out The last of us on PS4 ( with nothing added ) about 8 months later or Rockstar put out GTA 5 less than a year later at full price, but Nintnedo do it and they're the worst company in the world.

i don't care about battle mode so i won't be re-buying MK8.

I sure hope that this isn't nintendo's only spring game!

In regards to this Nintendo doesn't care about Wii U owners. Wii U didn't exist. This is probably the only MK we're getting.

Seriously, this is for people who didn't have the Wii U version so don't bother complaining.

@Anti-Matter Battle mode (and a few new items) is the only real change. Better character roster & portability is nice to have. Not worth paying $80 CAD for the same game though.

Plus I mostly race not battle so I don't get much benefit.

@Paddle1
But for me, portability is really Huge deal. Maybe some people don't want to double dip same titles, but I want because I know they have some differences, not exactly 100% same.

MK8 on Wii U sold 8 million copies (an attach rate of 60%, I think the highest selling game on the system). OK, pretty impressive.

How many copies did MK Wii sell, though? 34 million. A far inferior game sold over four times as many copies because, here's the thing, IT WAS ON A SYSTEM PEOPLE OWNED. (Not to shout, just to emphasize.)

THAT'S why Nintendo is rereleasing MK8. Because nobody owned a Wii U. We live in a bubble here where all of us had one. But we are not normal. With the fixed battle mode, MK8 Deluxe will be the best MK game ever made. Nintendo wants to basically launch their new console with that. Who wouldn't?

@Anti-Matter if you played Mario kart 8 on Wii u it's the same game with new battle mode. It's good if you have a lot of friends who also have switch who you can play together locally. 4 player local battle mode was fun with friends on mario kart 64.

@Yasume I was feeling somewhat the same way. I was honestly expecting them to remaster the game for Switch, but I was hoping it would be bundled for free with the system (or at least budget priced). Imagine a Nintendo system bundled with Mario Kart at launch... that would incline so many people to pick it up!

I wish they'd return random Kart and character selection. I believe only MK DD had it. It's a great way to liven the action and learn more skills, otherwise people rush to their favourite combination - typically lightweight configurations. Boring!

Id just like to point out that the Clown Car changes color for what koopaling you are playing as.

@TheLobster Mario Kart Wii being vastly inferior is an opinion, (I still think it had a better roster & battle mode) but otherwise I agree. This game isn't marketed to Wii U/MK8 owners, but to people who didn't have it. Pretty disappointing IMO but there's not much we can do.

Nintendo isn't forcing anyone to buy this. I have a Wii U, I have MK8 + DLC. I'm not buying it. I'd rather keep that £45 for something else.

I have 2 friends, 1 work colleague and a family member who have preordered Switch. None of them have a Wii U. They're all buying this. Nintendo have also included additions so there's some value to Wii U owners who may be interested.

To compare. My brother had a PS3. He played The Last of Us. I never did. My brother bought a PS4. Sony 'remastered' The Last of Us. He didn't buy it. I now have a PS4 Pro. I bought The Last of Us. Why? I never played it.

See where this is going?

@Paddle1 True, that's just my opinion. I haven't played MK Wii in the better part of a decade and all I can remember is a strong, strong dislike of it. It is my least favorite Mario Kart. But I was not a fan of the Wii overall (even though I have something like 70 games for it).

@aaronmclaren Exactly. Nintendo isn't doing anything Sony and Microsoft hasn't done for years. It just makes sense. And The Last of Us was a popular game. Uncharted was a popular series. On a popular console! Sony especially likes that trick. Nobody really complains when they do it. In fact, those games go on to be best-sellers. I hope MK 8 Deluxe (and Splatoon 2) is just as much a best-seller as the other games mentioned.

Yeah, it's a rip off, but I am going to go ahead and get it. I will feel like I am missing out if I don't.

@AlexSora89 Why the Roy?

@RaphaBoss
The trophy description deliberately hypes up the fact he's returning after skipping a game, which he had pretty much no reason to.
Dr. Mario, Roy, Pichu and Mewtwo could all have been kept in Brawl, and they (barring Pichu) only returned in Smash 4.
I can easily see the Ice Climbers getting the spotlight in Smash 5 as soon as that game is announced, right in the reveal trailer.
Rinse and repeat for any franchise that uses a returning character or feature as a selling point.
Street Fighter V? Buy it, because the only previous game with Charlie Nash will only be Alpha - no DLC for Street Fighter IV!

What's that? You want Goomba's Shoe outside of that single Super Mario Bros. 3 level? Buy a Wii U (or a 3DS as of 2017) and Super Mario Maker!

You get my point.

@Sir_JBizzle Yeah, I wasn't accusing anyone of doing that in this article. It was more just to express my own thoughts and feelings in response to the trailer and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe coming to Switch in general: It's cool to see the game coming to system, and Switch needs every single decent game possible imo, but it's basically a par for the course kind of deal imo. I want and expect to see hundreds of games like this by the time Switch's life comes to an end—and not in any way at the cost of, instead of, all the actual proper new games we want and expect to see (from both Nintendo and third parties). So yeah, it's cool but it should have been in the Wii U version from day one, yet it's still a generally good thing to see it on Switch now. I just want to make sure Nintendo understands my thoughts and feelings on it. Is it even listening. . . .

I'm still trying to figure out the double-item mechanic... has there been any explanation about that? Also, I wonder what the local wireless play distance is for Switch since N3DSXL has 45 feet-- Is it the same (or further?)

I demand that we can play as just three human players in battle mode if we want to! Unlike the damn Mario Kart for Wii where they forced a lot of AI drivers on you! Otherwise I won't buy Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! It should also be possible to choose the number of balloons and make it so player one can have two balloons if he wants to and player two can have four balloons if he's a beginner and needs a handicap! I hope we can play as Kirby!