Mario Kart 8 Deluxe yesterday revealed its second wave of DLC - unveiling another eight courses across two cups. There are seven existing tracks in this next batch and one new one - the sweet-themed course, Sky-High Sundae.
If you did miss it in the initial announcement, Nintendo has also confirmed this track will eventually be making it to the mobile release Mario Kart Tour at a later date. In other words, if you don't plan on buying this DLC, or don't have access to the Expansion Pack or Mario Kart on the Switch, you can essentially try it out for free in the mobile game.
While it's scheduled to appear at a "later date" in the mobile version, GoNintendo has pointed out how the second part of the Summertime Celebration event will begin on August 9th. And given its theme, a stage like Sky-High Sundae would slot right in.
The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe version of this course will make its debut on the Nintendo Switch next week on 4th of August. You can see more of it in our previous story:
Are you looking forward to a hot lap on this course? Tell us down below.
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Comments 38
Had a sneaking suspicion this was the case…
It does seem designed for the mobile game much like many of the others we got in the last wave. Overly simplistic, nothing terribly clever, not nearly as intricate or detailed or exciting as the levels that came in the base game almost a decade ago. I hope it's more fun than it looked but it kinda just seemed like a big oval.
Yeah ok I guess
I would much rather play it in a game where I have free control over my steering.
I hate that Tour is included in the DLC, and that most of these DLC tracks are mobile ones!
Lets be honest, they made it for mobile and then ported it to the switch LOL.
I'm still convinced that they planned this for Tour from the start but now make it look like an 8 Deluxe course to make themselves look better.
Not that that matters when ultimately it turns out to be a good track, but they did very much imply that there would be no new courses for this DLC and here we are with one anyway.
Hoping the courses will be fun either way! Looking forward to trying them.
since Sky-High Sundae is coming to Switch first it is not a tour track tho it's an original Mario Kart 8 Deluxe track
@Snatcher : Garnished with a tasty Switch tax to the sum of AU$37.50.
“Trololololololol.” - Nintendo, probably
@Silly_G This made me laugh eternally to hard lmao! The song is just running through my head as well Lmao!
There was a small print on the trailer that said this as well. Not surprising and I don't mind.
Nintendo right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJWmTksCAAU
@gloom I believe they all are mobile? Even the tracks that are from previous Mario Kart games are taken from Tour.
It's OK for the most part like Choco Mountain looks cool versus the original N64 version, but it doesn't look anywhere near as cool as Yoshi Valley in MK8D compared to Tour courses compared to original N64 course. There's much less detail (although I loved the hidden map from the N64 original - so it's always the best version!)
It's all from Tour. This is why the GBA Snow Land course is a surprise because that hasn't been in Tour yet - but it will be added in the future I expect.
And, I agree with you. On the one hand I like that Nintendo are adding more content to the game, but on the other hand I'm questioning the point of this. Mobile courses on Switch do not look good... so all they are doing is using up great content (Waluigi Pinball is a prime example) but with poor execution.
So what exactly happens with Mario Kart 9 now? New tracks, yes. What about retro tracks? There are still plenty available - but they keep using popular ones now...
Also, how does MK9 even work when you have MK8D with 96 courses?! I fear Nintendo are taking Mario Kart and Smash Bros (because that is also near impossible to follow-up!) into some sort of live service / subscription game.
Should've stayed on mobile. If the next Mario Kart will be as cheap and nasty as all this, I won't even touch it. It's not even just the art style, the track designs themselves are just bad. Very bad.
Having bought MK8 on WiiU ....how many years ago...I can say that I am definitely over MK8
I don't get the complains about the tour tracks. Imo Ninja Hideaway is an S tier track and Paris Parcour is very good too, only Tokyo Blur was pretty meh imo
@mariomaster96 I agree the exclusive to Tour tracks are a fair and good addition. I can see why people are disappointed with the retro courses being taken from Tour - that really does suck.
It's bad because you're getting a half baked version of one of your favourite tracks - Choco Mountain for example.
It's worse because the inclusion here is all but certain to rule out a full remake version in MK9. So Choco Mountain ain't coming back for a long long time you'd think.
See for yourself... do a Time Trial and compare Choco Mountain to Yoshi Valley - drive all over and explore the tracks. They are both N64 tracks - one has been lovingly recreated with loads of details, the other is Choco Mountain. Is this Choco Mountain better than the N64 original? Well, yes, it is - but its the fact it hasn't been given the full treatment that's annoyed people.
Nintendo know this... it's why you have all this Mobile content hidden on a seperate screen! It's like a poor version!
The funniest thing with this is all the rumours and hoping for a Switch Pro and a new Mario Kart game. Nintendo have literally done the opposite... they've essentially given Switch a mobile game.
I think it's a really poor decision - and I am genuinely sad to see these past tracks coming across in this way. The only saving grace for me personally is that it seems there are no more N64 tracks expected- which I believe is Nintendo compromising and ensuring that there are some (10 remain not on MK8D after Kalimari Desert arrives) for the next Mario Kart game to be loving remade properly.
And one final piece of irony? Everyone cheering Waluigi Pinball. Yay. Nintendo have chosen one of our favourite tracks of all time to NOT fully remake and just bash out a mobile phone version.
Careful what you wish for folks... we should all be cheering the bad track choices!!
Haha, people where seriously thinking Nintendo would bring a new stage tailormade for Mariokart 8? Nope, just another mobile track!
I'm a simple man. Do I like how the track looks? Yes? Is it fun? Yes? Good. Then I don't care where it came from, what they ported it from or how few faces were used to model the course.
I do get the disappointment about Retro Tracks not getting the great remake they could have for being taken from Tour (but even then, I think MOST (definitely not all) still look great), but for the new ones or Tour exclusive ones... well, Ninja Dojo is my new favourite MK Track ever (and it already was, when I played it as a Tour exclusive), and this new one looks colorful as heck, which I also really like!
I’m glad that they are even adding more tracks to a game that sells fine without them. Mario kart 8 could have stayed 8 but it became deluxe, then it could have died on wiiu but it was ported so more could play. And now cross dev work means new tracks, when folks were complaining about the content tour got while mk8 got nothing? Bring em on Nintendo. It’s zoom zoom time.
@nocdaes but some of these tracks were already reused (waluigis pinball was in 7 and choco mountain on DS, for example),so, even without this booster pack, it's easy to guess that they wouldn't had choose them for the retro courses of Mario Kart 9,since 'till MK8 they never put a retro track that was already a retro track in another game. Only in the WiiU DLC, Tour and this DLC.
What a cheap move to promote their mobile game 😑😑
@Snatcher that really is low tbh, not much thought went into these I see
@SilverM That is true - although we are now seeing a disturbing trend of Tour getting retro tracks that have NOT been in a previous Mario Kart game. GBA Snow Land has never featured anywhere previously.
This may just be my age showing and somewhat of an ***hole opinion, but I kinda wish Tour never existed. I feel like it's stifling creativity and effort put into these new courses. I'm happy we're getting new courses at all, but they look like they're straight from the mobile game.
The retro courses in the base game look so amazing, they fit right in with the unique to 8 ones. Like Cheese Land and Ribbon Road, you can hardly tell they're GBA course remakes. The textures, the alterations from the original, they're top notch! These DLC ones look so bland.
@nocdaes well yes, but Tour must have new content every two week, if it's going to stay successful for years it can even get every track ever. But I wouldn't count it. And I'm sure they won't reuse them directly from Tour for MK9, tbis DLC has been made just because everyone wanted new content.
@Vix Have you seen Ninja Hideaway? That one has easily one of the best track layouts.
This isn't exactly a surprise. For one the "ice-cream track" (Sky-High Sundae) has been known about for a while for Tour, and like people have said, the trailer mentions it's heading to Tour in the future. And no, it isn't a Mario Kart 8 track just because it's here first, not only is that "insulting" (for those who critique the quality of the DLC visually and design-wise) to 8's tracks, but it's clearly designed for Tour and shares that games design philosophy, being for combos, points and more simplistic with long straights and gentle turns.
As for the people saying it's taking away retros from a future installment, I don't buy that argument either. As someone has already said there's a fair few tracks in the DLC so far that have been used in previous games:
Mario Kart DS:
Mario Kart Wii:
Mario Kart 7:
The only tracks that have been "wasted" are DS Shroom Ridge, 3DS Toad Circuit and GBA Snow Land. 7 of the 10 retros have appeared in prior iterations since Nintendo doubled the course count to 32 with DS and began the retro cups. The Mario Kart 7 retros can't be criticised as "mobile tracks" either as all of those are direct ports from this title and been given the mobile hd "upgrade" so they look marginally better than they did in 7 (albeit with basic textures much like Wave 1).
My feelings on what's happening at the moment is that this Booster Course alongside releases like Splatoon 3 are here to tie over the Switch's twilight years to keep multiplayer active and NSO subscriptions going until Nintendo is ready for their next console. I don't see a new console release for a few years yet, and that's why this DLC is here. Quick, cheap and cheerful extra content to keep people playing MK8D whilst the next big thing is being worked on.
@TheBigK This is exactly what a lot of people are saying, so it's not a controversial view you have.
Ribbon Road is actually the best example! Everybody should compare the GBA Ribbon Road track to the GBA Snow Land track that is released on Friday. That highlights perfectly the point that is being made with regards to the difference in quality... Ribbon Road has been lovingly crafted into a brand new track. Meanwhile, Snow Land is a mobile port that has nowhere near the same level of creativity and visuals on show.
@SilverM Yes, but herein lies my problem. Tour getting new content that is then repurposed for Switch is entirely the wrong way around. On the one hand, great to have more content landing on MK8D, but this suggests Tour is their priority and that's a major worry - especially against the backdrop of the longest wait in Nintendo history for a new Mario Kart game / the first Nintendo console since the NES to not have its own Mario Kart game.
Pretty underhanded move to get away with saying that the Booster Pass has a "new" course when it was clearly designed for the mobile game all along...
Eh, guess as long as it's fun is all that matters at the end of the day I suppose; even if it looks like a Fall Guys course more so than a Mario Kart 8 track.
@TheLonePolar I get the point you are making, but I still believe it is taking away future retro tracks.
Nintendo are taking former retro tracks from previous Mario Kart games and then applying a Mario Kart Tour update onto them. They are then taking the Mario Kart Tour updated version of the retro track and putting it directly into MK8D.
This is unquestionably increasing the chances of these tracks NOT receiving a full Mario Kart Switch update in the future. Yes, Nintendo could still update any track they want, but the odds are surely reduced.
E.G. Mario Kart 9 has a higher chance of featuring a fully remade DK Jungle Parkway or Banshee Boardwalk both from N64 than receiving a fully remade Choco Mountain or Kalimari Desert from N64. Yes, this is hypothetical... but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect Nintendo to not revisit the same tracks again so soon.
@nocdaes yes, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have done anything to MK8D without Tour. It was already a deluxe version, after all, this dlc was done just because people asked for more for years, so that's really better than nothing, because I don't even believe that they would have release MK9 sooner, since I think they are just waiting for their next console (not something that I like, but than I can understand).
You know why I'm glad. You guys finally stopped nagging under EVERY SINGLE Tour post. "why isn't this in the real Mario Kart." "Would've been great in the actual map", "never playing this, shame it's not on the real Mario Kart."
Now everyone is complaining about it being from MK Tour! I get it, I wanted MK 9 instead of this too! If only for all the cool characters! But this is what we got, and it's a lot of fun. So let's enjoy the 96 (!) tracks we DID get. And hope the next MK one upgrades a few of these with proper anti gravity and beautiful graphics!
Yeah, definitely makes that "new" course seem less new and more like a Tour port. That's some good/sneaky PR.
thats pretty scummy.
@nocdaes Mario Kart could branch out into traditional Mario Kart (MK8 Deluxe) which gets a Booster Course Pass 2 featuring all the retro courses missing from MK8 Deluxe at the end of the first one and a new game with a completely different take on Mario Kart (e.g. something like Diddy Kong Racing or Forza Horizon) which only gets brand new tracks.
Smash however is a lot harder given a big batch of characters are 3rd party so even the fighting game approach of porting the newest entry to new consoles and continuing DLC for like a decade or so doesn't really seem feasible. The Square Enix characters and Snake at the least feel very likely to have licensing run out sooner rather than later.
I notice that antigrav seems to be active in this course. Tour does not have antigrav, so how is that going to work? Are they adding antigrav mechanics in the future or did they just enable it on the MK8D version to placate the people complaining about not having it in the Booster Course tracks? It's there but it doesn't look like they're doing anything crazy with antigrav here that would demand the mechanic (i.e. no going upside or up walls or anything).
@mariomaster96 Most of them are incredibly simplistic and watered down with minimal gimmicks or gameplay elements compared to some of the console made tracks. There's a few exceptions, Ninja Hideaway is the best example, but in general the designs feel more like the SMK tracks than the MK8 tracks.
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