Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a surprising new addition to Nintendo’s celebration of the Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary, but there’s one thing you should be aware of: you can only play this game indoors and you’re going to need a lot of space.
Earlier today, Nintendo released the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct. In it, they revealed a bunch of upcoming games including a new collection of 3D Super Mario titles, a new Game & Watch handheld console, and more.
One of the new additions was Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, an augmented-reality game where you control real-world RC racing karts using your Nintendo Switch. Players who pick up this game will get an RC racing cart with a built-in camera, 4 gates for laying out the track, 2 arrow signboards, and a USB charging cable.
It seems like a pretty neat idea, especially with the expansion of augmented reality that we’ve seen with games in recent years such as Pokemon Go. What may be unclear, however, is just how much space you’re going to need if you want to play this game.
The game’s official website and its trailer shows you just how big this game will be, but there aren’t any clear recommendations. Nintendo’s Japanese website, however, gives us some specifics.
A Q&A on Nintendo’s Japanese website (translated by @PushDustin) details just how much space you’ll need. Nintendo recommends that players use a 11’6″ x 9’10” (3.5m x 3m) playing area with no stairs or obstructions to get the best experience.
Other details are also revealed in the FAQ. You can play Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit on a Nintendo Switch or a Nintendo Switch Lite, although the latter won’t be able to use TV mode. 1–4 people will be able to play this game, but each human player is going to need their own kart and Nintendo Switch console.
One thing missing from the US Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit website is how much it will cost you. Those Japanese website lists its price as ¥9,980 (plus tax) which converts to $94.02/£70.90/€79.52, so we’ll probably end up paying roughly those amounts in the West. Thankfully, the software itself will be a free download in the Nintendo eShop.
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit will cost you a good few dollars and require a fair amount of space indoors, but it looks like it could be an awful lot of fun. Check it out in action in its announcement trailer! You’ll be able to play this cool new AR game on October 16, 2020.
