Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Version 2.0.0 Is Now Available - Adds Split-Screen Multiplayer And More

My kid will be excited for this! He loves this game.

I still need to buy this, there's just no space in my apartment.

This has more big updates than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

I'd love to play this, but unfortunately my house is a dusty mess. The kart would get dusty as soon as I take it out of the box.

Not the Mario Kart game that needs updating. We really need new content of some kind in a main series Mario Kart game (make Mario Kart 9 or 8 Deluxe DLC, I don't care, the main games desperately need new tracks/cups/characters).

I bought the kart on sale, gave it a test run, and now it sits on a shelf. I should dive into it.

@Bolt_Strike I agree, we need more content for the main MK game on Switch. Probably Nintendo are holding back for a MK9 now, and I suspect it (along with other games like BOTW2 and Metroid Prime 4) will coincide (or at least take advantage of) a potential Switch 2 in early 2023.

@HalBailman 2023 is too late, main series Mario Kart games release every 3 years. It's been 4 since 8 Deluxe. They should just release it when it's ready and then port it to the Switch 2 afterwards. Not like Switch and Switch 2 players can play together unless there's some kind of cross play between the two, so may as well just try and get some sales out of the Switch version and then release an updated, definitive version on the Switch 2 later.

So just to be clear, you can play split screen on a TV with this now? Might actually have to get it

Between this game, the mobile one, the arcade one and mk8dx still selling like crazy at full price its no wonder why nintendo hasn’t done mk9 or dlc for the main games. They don’t want franchise fatigue, they need to tread carefully

@Moonlessky Stores out by me stopped carrying this game because it didn't sell.

@Bolt_Strike : I hate the idea of another Mario Kart game with paid DLC (which is why I am opposed to having it in 8 Deluxe; leave it complete as is), but releasing 9 on the current Switch followed by a definitive edition with all of the DLC on the cart for the Switch’s successor is something I can live with.. I just wish that “game of the year” editions was something that Nintendo would dabble in more often. I’m actually finding myself skipping certain games this generation in the hope that a complete (and technically superior) rerelease will come along in the next generation. Nintendo have recently released complete editions of Breath of the Wild and Splatoon 2 in Japan, and I’m tempted to import the former, but sadly, Splatoon 2 only includes Japanese support. There were of course the Pokémon Sword/Shield Expansion Pass editions as well, but they seem to be (oddly) out of print, as I would have expected these to eventually succeed the base releases.

Either way, Nintendo are going to need a “killer app” to get the ball rolling with the Switch’s successor, and having Mario Kart 9 as a launch title would do very nicely indeed. With MK8D showing no signs of slowing down on the charts, it would be foolish of Nintendo to release a new instalment now (despite how badly you or I may want to have a sequel now).

Live is a nice little proof of concept and compromise rolled into one, perhaps with the intent of appeasing fans starved for more Mario Kart without cannibalising the strong sales of 8 Deluxe.

Just give us an update for mario kart 8 deluxe already

This is great. Gonna give it a try

@Silly_G Not... really. Think, what's going to sell more at this point, a 4 year old game or a new entry in the series?

And people here thought Nintendo was done with Mario Kart on the Switch…

@Bolt_Strike : That was my point. Releasing Mario Kart 9 now would (pun intended) drive MK8D’s sales to a screeching halt. Why release a new game while the older instalment is still dominating the charts?

Mario Kart 9 makes far more business sense as a launch title for the next console (and to help maintain consumer enthusiasm in the likelihood of a post-launch drought) rather than taking sales away from a game that is costing Nintendo almost nothing to duplicate (and is likely to have cost them very little to port over in the first place) and is still demanding full price more than 7 years on. Any business would be foolish to release a new instalment when momentum for the current is still sky high.

@Bolt_Strike I have to agree with G here. MK8 is doing super good for a game that old. That cow still has a lot of milk! So until the momentum will go down, or Switch 2 will launch, I'm sure we will not see a new full MK entry on switch.
I would love to have one, but business wise Nintendo would be smart to wait longer, and they are smart...

Honestly? As a grown adult I am ashamed that I had giddy fun with it.

I mean I am the same person who spent several hours Labo Fishing soooo...

....I swear I beat Doom 2016 on it's hardest difficulty I can like other things too

@HotGoomba Especially since this game is selling horribly bad (which is not unsurprising due to price). While Mario Kart 8 on the other hands keeps selling well.

But maybe that is actually why they keep updating it? To get rid of existing stock.

Lot of local stores here have been trying to dump this game at ridiculous low prices in recent months. Which is really unheard of for a first party Nintendo Title.
Only other I can think of is Nintendolab boxes that they end up dumping at low prices in the end.

Literally played this once as had to turn most of the downstairs upside down to make space!! Not in a rush to download this update and play it again, but nice to know I suppose.

I think everyone that held off buying this because they knew they'd only play it once is sitting pretty right now...!

@nocdaes That is one of the reasons it did not sell well.

The other reason was the price. Crazy expensive and if you want to play with two, you needed 2 Switch consoles before this patch and buy two sets of Mario Kart Circuit.
They solved the first part, but the second part is still stingy.

Why spend over 200 bucks, when you can just buy Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and play with up to 4 people together on the couch.

It's a little bit =Double Dash!! with the 4 player player switching isn't it? Cool.

This is so cool, but they're so expensive and I really don't have the space for all this.

I imagine this may have been more popular had it been 2 players from the start, I've just bought the Luigi set for my son's birthday but may have to get a Mario on as well now

This game was more or less fun but the enjoyment has been and gone at this point my kids loved it. It seems built for tiny Japanese rooms and not stately British manors as the signal would cut out pretty fast in for example a ballroom. The smooth floors make it work good but you have to keep it within limits or else it goes wacky.

I’ve never seen a large Japanese house before. I’m resigned to the belief they either don’t exist or are for royalty only. Personally I love the space.

@Bolt_Strike The problem is MK 8 Deluxe still sells like crazy so Nintendo won't want to cannibalise those sales. When a new MK was released every 3 or 4 years, that was across 2 systems (handheld and home). Individual platforms have only ever had 1 MK game and sadly it looks like MK 8 Deluxe is the Switch's.

I'd expect Switch 2 would be fully backwards compatible - essentially an enhanced Switch - or MK9 would be a simultaneously release on both like recently with the Zelda series. Again, Nintendo want to maximize $$.

Early 2023 is only just over 1 year away so it's really quite soon. If the Switch 2 is much further in the distance then, yep, they should get MK9 out soon, like mid next year.

@Bolt_Strike you realise Mario Kart 8 is over 7 years old

@Silly_G @mazzel @HalBailman Not really. If Mario Kart 9 could sell say, 10 million copies this year and Mario Kart 8 would only sell about 2-3 due to cannibalization vs. Mario Kart 8 only selling 5 million, which is more profitable? Obviously Mario Kart 9, because you're getting 12-13 million sales vs. 5 million. It's not as simple as cannibalizing sales = bad, you have to calculate out if the sales MK9 will bring in are more than the sales MK8D will lose.

It's also not guaranteed that the Switch 2 will release in 2023, nor that people will actually be interested in the concept of the Switch 2 to buy in. A strong lineup isn't the only reason the Switch was wildly successful, it was also because the concept behind the Switch was much more clear and easily marketable than the Wii U.

I see no need for Mario Kart to be there from the start. There are other games that can be ready for the next console launch. We haven't seen any 2D Mario games or 2D Zelda games since 2019, those would be great launch titles for the Switch 2.

Also HalBailman, if the Switch 2 is BC, it renders the whole argument moot. If you can just play any Switch game through BC, it doesn't matter if it releases at launch because you can play any Switch game regardless of when it released. In that case it would actually be smarter to target a 2022 release, get more money from the game in 2022, and then continue on to the Switch 2 without seeing a drop in sales due to the hardware transition.

Furthermore, a cross gen release doesn't make sense for a multiplayer game unless you can cross play between the two, as then you're cannibalizing your online players (Switch players and Switch 2 players would have separate pools of players). If that's the case, it'd be better to spring for 9 Deluxe a few years into the Switch 2's lifespan.

EDIT: And if they were so worried about blowing their load with big games before a new console, why have they announced games like BotW2, Splatoon 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Pokemon Legends Arceus now instead of saving those for the Switch 2? They're clearly not in "save big games for the next console" mode right now (now this is probably because they intended for them to be 2020-2021 games and then COVID happened, but still). Mario Kart 9 feels more at home in that wave of big games in 2022 then being arbitrarily saved for a next gen release.

@Bolt_Strike Yes, that is "IF". I'm talking probability and speculating based on Nintendo's history. I believe a Switch 2 could be early 2023 so Nintendo will save their big titles for that. If they push it out to 2024, then your scenario comes into play.

Come on! There's plenty of cross play now between Nintendo and other platforms so doing it across Nintendo platforms is nothing. It's the same server and all it does is push out geometry settings and data points. The individual consoles then translate it all into graphics. Even if this is not supported, it means nothing because MK games are so popular that you always get an online race.

MarioKart is a console seller. They will hold off a new version until there is a new console, and it will be exclusive to the new console.

For those that were implying there is some kind of release cycle for MK: there is not. It’s just 1 game per console/handheld. Current sales of MK8dx are an incentive for Nintendo to continue doing so.

This is what prompted me to get the game honestly, now waiting for a battle mode…

@SuperSwitchtendo That's exactly as I see it. Bolt_Strike seems to be arguing with himself about the practicalities of MK9 on Switch and on a Switch 2. There's only ever 1 MK game per Nintendo system. The Switch got MK8 Deluxe. Unless Nintendo plan for Switch to last another 5 years, MK9 will be reserved for Switch 2. There'll be no MK9 Deluxe either. MK8 Deluxe was a one-off due to the failure of the WU, so they carried it over (just like countless other games), improved it and added a bit more content. Any new content to MK9 would be DLC, not a whole new "Deluxe" version.

Amazing, you can use 2 karts with only one Switch now? Looks like I missed the Black Friday sale - hopefully it is discounted again on Boxing Day.

@Silly_G
Hahaha,... NINTENDO recently stated that no new MK game is currently in the works, just the MK8 dlc that's going through the end of 2023. They're expected to start on a new game in mid 2024 if the DL doesn't sell well.

@carlos82 MK8 is but not MK8D

@TheBlayman same game

@Bearzilla823 you don't have a WalMart, Target, GameStop Best Buy, etc... near you?