A prominent Nintendo leaker has claimed that Mario Kart 9 is in development for Nintendo Switch, and that it will feature characters from different Nintendo franchises, including ARMS, Pikmin, and Star Fox. The Switch already has a Mario Kart game, in the form of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it’s a port of a Wii U game rather than something developed specifically for the system.
The Mario Kart franchise has dabbled with crossovers in the past. R.O.B. the robot peripheral for the NES was an unlockable character in Mario Kart DS, while Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Blinky, and Mametchi appeared in the Mario Kart Arcade GP series. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has the most crossovers in the series, featuring characters and stages from franchises including Animal Crossing, Splatoon, F-Zero, and The Legend of Zelda.
Nintendo leaker Zippo has revealed new alleged details on Mario Kart 9 on their blog (via Game Rant), claiming that the game is real and that it will feature more crossover content than previous titles in the series. According to the leak, the crossovers include ARMS, Pikmin, and Star Fox. Zippo also believes there will be alternate costumes and expanded single-player content. This information has yet to be confirmed or denied by Nintendo, and it should be taken with a grain of salt for the time being.
It’s easy to imagine the Star Fox characters in a Mario Kart game, as an Arwing or Landmaster kart would be a good fit for the series. The characters in Pikmin arrive on alien worlds in spaceships, which often need to be fixed with the aid of Pikmin, so they could also be turned into karts. ARMS characters could also fit in well with a Mario Kart game, but it’s unclear what they would use for a vehicle. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe does already have costumes for the Mii racer, which can be unlocked using amiibo figures, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the same concept expanded to other characters in a new game.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Nintendo Switch game and it keeps shipping copies, so it makes sense that Nintendo would want to release a new game in such a lucrative franchise. The 30th anniversary of the Mario Kart franchise will happen in 2022, so it’s possible that Nintendo wants to celebrate the series’ history in style. The Mario Kart franchise has produced some of the best-selling games on modern Nintendo systems, so Nintendo might want to give it its due by creating the biggest Mario Kart experience of all time.
