Mario Kart World: Innovative or Exorbitant?

In a Nintendo direct livestream on April 2nd, Mario Kart World was announced for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console, with a short trailer displaying the new features. The biggest change compared to previous versions is that everything in the game happens in one big world, so all of the tracks are connected, and races include the connecting roads. Like any Mario related console game, this game will be exclusive to Nintendo systems and will not be available on the Switch 1.

Due to the open world nature of the game, players are excited to see how this compares to past experiences because other Nintendo series that tried the open world formula found immense success in doing so. For example, in 2017, when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out, it was the first true open world game in the Zelda series, and since has become one of the best reviewed games in the series. It was a commercial success, selling 8.48 million units in the first year after release (Statista). If Mario Kart World can change the traditional racing game formula as much as Breath of the Wild changed the linear dungeon game formula, Mario Kart World could pave the road for other racing games in ways never seen before.

There is one problem, however, and that is the price of Mario Kart World, as the game has been announced to be $79.99 dollars. This sounds outrageous at first, since the standard price around the time of the Nintendo Switch 1 was $59.99, but the scope of the game has been used to defend the price. Prices in the video game industry have been a rising concern, and if Mario Kart World raises the price standard to 80 dollars, piracy rates will increase and the financial health of gaming corporations will decrease. 

Either way, it is important to consider whether or not the price scales to the game’s content. Stacy Henley, a writer at The Gamer, got a “hands-on preview” in which she was able to try parts of the game, but she mentions that she “can confidently say I have seen two thirds of Mario Kart World. I saw Mario, and boy did I see a lot of Karts.” What she is basically saying is that she has not experienced the open world element of Mario Kart World because she played only three races and hasn't tried the free roam mode. Keeping this in mind, she evaluates the game, saying that “that game, the one I've played, is just Mario Kart.”

The main problem with the price is the fact that nobody has played the full game, and the people who have played certain parts of the game were unimpressed. If the game does not live up to its full value, it will still sell for the full price and make tons of money for Nintendo. If this happens, it will promote laziness and lack of passion in the development of future games.