We think it’s high time that Nintendo gave us some Mario Kart 9 news. As with any highly-anticipated sequel, there continue to be rumors circulating the next entry in the karting franchise, including that Mario Kart 9 will have a release date in 2020. Have a read through this to help gather some of your thoughts concerning the next entry into the fan-favorite kart spin-off. Below, you’ll find our thoughts on the potential Mario Kart 9 release date, potential Mario Kart 9 characters, any Mario Kart 9 leaks, and whether or not we’ll ever see Mario Kart 9 PS4 and Xbox One support. Remember, however, that nothing in this piece has been confirmed by Nintendo. Everything here is either based on leaks or our own guess-work about Mario Kart 9.
Mario Kart 9 release date in 2020?
It has now been over five years since Mario Kart 8 originally released on Wii U. It’s been over two years since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe released on Nintendo Switch, too. Now we have Mario Kart Tour, a brand new mobile game, though still no sign of Mario Kart 9.
Discounting the Arcade editions, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Kart Tour, mainline Mario Kart games tend to release every two or three years. The only time other than now when a full new Mario Kart release took five years or longer after its preceding entry was Mario Kart Super Circuit. Mario Kart Super Circuit released on GBA five years after Mario Kart 64 released on the N64 in 2001. As of writing, the longest gap between mainline Mario Kart entries has been the gap between Mario Kart 8 and 9.
Based on all of this, however, we’d like to argue that a summer 2020 Mario Kart 9 release date seems likely. A summer 2020 release date for Mario Kart 9 would put a gap of three years between it and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Time will tell if this prediction comes true, though. We’d argue that you should expect to see Mario Kart 9 release on Nintendo Switch by the end of 2020, anyway, summer 2021 just to be safe. What the game will be like, however, is anyone’s guess.
Mario Kart 9 characters
While Nintendo has yet to announce Mario Kart 9, this won’t stop us thinking about what playable characters it might feature. We’re pretty sure, for example, that Mario will be a playable character in Mario Kart 9. Crazy, we know. We’d fully imagine that the likes of Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Wario, Daisy, Yoshi, Toad, and Waluigi will all be playable, too.
Nintendo could pull another Super Smash Bros Ultimate. We could see all of the playable characters from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe return for Mario Kart 9, plus a few more newcomers. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Link, the Inklings, and Animal Crossing characters return, anyway. It would be nice to see other Nintendo characters enter the fray too. Kirby, Samus, Olimar, and Captain Falcon in Mario Kart 9, anyone?
More likely than that, however, would be for further playable Mario characters. This is Mario Kart, after all. Pauline could enter the race, as could the Super Mario Odyssey Broodals Spewart, Topper, Rango, Hariet, and Madam Broode. Cappy could even make for a surprise playable character. Cappy’s got to be a better choice than Gold Mario or Pink Gold Peach, anyway.
Could we see Mario Kart 9 third-party characters, though? It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see a couple of third-party characters in Mario Kart 9. Pac-Man was playable in the three Mario Kart Arcade GP games, anyway, alongside Ms. Pac-Man, Blinky, Don-Chan, and Mametchi. Nintendo could certainly add third-party characters into Mario Kart 9. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the return of Pac-Man and the addition of Sonic as DLC characters, anyway.
Mario Kart 9 modes and tracks
What good would a Mario Kart game be without a solid collection of modes and tracks to play through? We’d imagine Mario Kart 9 will release with the standard selection of modes:
- Battle Mode:Balloon Battle, Bob-omb Blast, Coin Runners, Renegade Roundup, Shine Thief
- Grand Prix: 50 cc | 100 cc | 150 cc | 200 cc
- Local and Online Multiplayer for all above modes
- Time Trials
Missing from the Mario Kart series since Mario Kart DS, however, we’d like to see Mission Mode return to add an extra spice to the mix. Leaderboards for every track in Time Trials would be nice, too. Nintendo might decide to alter Battle Mode again, however, adding different modes or taking a couple away.
In terms of what tracks to expect in Mario Kart 9, things are a little tricky. It depends on Nintendo’s approach. We could see all of the tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe return, but more likely is a different set of 32. This should include 16 brand-new tracks and 16 classic tracks. We’d imagine at least one or two from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to return, at least. Expect to see some Super Mario Odyssey themed tracks, too. Third-party or further Nintendo characters outside of the Super Mario or Donkey Kong series could have tracks included as DLC packs after the game’s initial release.
Mario Kart 9 PS4 and Xbox One support
Although millions of PS4 and Xbox One owners would like to play Mario Kart 9 on the respective platforms, it just won’t happen. Mario Kart 9 PS4 and Xbox One support isn’t likely at all. It’s not like Mario Kart doesn’t sell well enough on Nintendo platforms alone. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, has sold 16.69 million units on the Switch as of March 31, 2019.
While a Mario Kart 9 PS4 or Xbox One port would be loved by many, Nintendo wouldn’t allow it. Nintendo doesn’t release its games on other platforms (aside from mobile). The company won’t break this trend with Mario Kart 9. Despite this, you can always dream, pray, and hope that it’ll happen.
