Mario Kart Live was a bit of a revelation due to the way it took the core gameplay of the Mario Kart series and transplanted it in the real world using remote-control karts equipped with cameras – and the power of the Nintendo Switch, of course.
However, if Mario Kart Live wasn't quite 'real' enough for you, then you might want to check out Chaos Karts, which is billed by its creator as a "live-action video game experience that combines real-life racing with augmented reality".
Imagine indoor go-karts, but with state-of-the-art, digitally-projected detail; when you fire a weapon at a rival, you see it glide along the floor before smashing into your opponent. However, due to the fact that the obstacles are entirely virtual (and the karts come with clever anti-collision technology), you don't need to wear a helmet during play, which means that anyone aged 13 and over can take part.
Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the founder of Chaos Karts, had this to say:
We are so excited to be launching this brand-new attraction, and especially to be doing so this summer. Creating a real-life version of a videogame has been an obsession for some time and we are delighted to have cracked it. Every time you play it, the adrenaline, the pure elation of it… it still surprises me every time. The gamification of experiences is a phenomenon that is here to stay, and this is the purest distillation of it… it’s a game and an experience, wrapped up in a whole load of silliness, with a sprinkling of nostalgia for good measure. CHAOS KARTS is game changer. All this and opening in time for a summer of fun that we so desperately deserve, is frankly a dream come true!
Bookings are open now, and the event is due to open on 14th August 2021, with London's Shoreditch being the first venue. It certainly seems like the closest thing to a real-life Mario Kart experience – even more so than Mario Kart VR – but the team behind Chaos Karts have wisely decided to give their brand its own visual identity, perhaps in response to the way Nintendo has tirelessly hunted down imitators in the past, such as the Toyko-based 'MariCar'.
Disclaimer: In the interests of transparency, we'd like to mention that Rupert Loman, Nlife Media's chairman, is one of the investors in Chaos Karts.
[source chaoskarts.com]
Comments (13)
I imagine it would be fun, but it's not something I'll ever do. Who wants to spend lots of money for a few hours of real-life mario kart? Not I. That and I hate most booked events.
Honestly sounds great but would be much much better if it was easier to acquire for everyone.
Where's that 💔/👎 button?
If they franchize this i can see a few locations picking this up.
I wonder how long till Nintendo tells them they can't do that.
@Tasuki
Eh, it just looks like a standard bumper kart game. No mario assets or names. What would Nintendo have a problem with?
I'd be willing to give this a try if my company wanted to send our department for a "team-building" activity. Would I spend my own money on this? Probably not.
@acNewUpdates Because Nintendo thinks they own the rights to everything Kart related.
@Tasuki I think this one will be fine as long as they're not using Mario assets or props that connect it to Mario Kart.
If anything, I have a hard time figuring out what does this have to do with Mario or Nintendo.
Looks great! A good kart track is fun on its own and it looks like the extras could be fun and the visuals are working.
The advertising was a big, big misstep, though. They should show how it actually works more, those glimpses are what sold me. Have someone show a new driver how to activate the features what to look for and then get into the montage showing it in action.
That animation did nothing because you just wondered if it would be any good in real life the whole time. And people wandering and transporting through light. Why?
@Tasuki More than a bit of exaggeration.
Only thing I noticed was the question block looking thing in the top artwork.
Otherwise, Nintendo would not be able to touch this. Sonic Racing and many, many other actual videogames sell just fine without lawsuits.
There was that one company trying to use Nintendo IP to advertise, with people dressed up in actual Nintendo character costumes, etc. Is that what you are comparing this to?
At that point, why not just go to a regular go-karting place?
The little bits of real-life footage looks quiet boring for grownups. The "speed" of it looks like those one-time-fun battery cars for kids imo. If you have to be 13 to drive, the age of the audience this aimes for seems extremely narrow to me. Might just be the way the trailer is filmed. But honestly: it looks like good idea, not thought through to me.
I hope it will be fun, though!
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