Five years after hitting store shelves - eight years if fans consider it the same game as the Wii U version - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is finally getting some DLC. Known as the Booster Course Pass, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe fans will be treated to 48 new courses throughout six different waves. The courses will be remastered versions of courses from previous Mario Kart titles, making Mario Kart 8 Deluxe the premiere version of Mario Kart.
Much like how Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the definitive edition of Smash Bros and a celebration of the series, with this new DLC pack Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will become the Ultimate of the Mario Kart franchise. Both Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are not the only games being penned as the ultimate collections for fans of their respective series. The latest entry in the Mario Party franchise, Mario Party: Superstars, is a celebration of what came before it. With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe receiving 48 DLC tracks, maybe it's time for Mario Party to receive more boards so that it can become the ultimate Mario Party experience.
Mario Party Superstars was Lacking at Launch
Mario Party Superstars launched in October 2021 and served as the twelfth title in the series on home console. After Super Mario Party shook up the Mario Party formula with special character specific dice, Mario Party Superstars promised to bring the series back to its roots with five classic boards and a selection of the series' best mini-games. It felt like a celebration of the beloved franchise, but it only went so far.
Mario Party Superstars launched with only five boards, which was more than Super Mario Party, but less than some previous entries in the series. The remastered boards also only originated from the first three games in the series, leaving out many fan favorite boards. On top of that, the mini-games included in Mario Party Superstars were only from the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube eras of the series. While fans were thrilled to return to the series' roots after a couple of experimental entries, many felt like something was missing.
Mario Party Superstars was meant to be a celebration of the series, but it seemed to only want to celebrate the original three titles. That left out the entire Wii and Wii U era of Mario Party, along with the later half of the Gamecube era. It also failed to celebrate the handheld titles, and as such the game did not really feel like a celebration of the franchise it was promised to be.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is Becoming a Celebration of Mario Kart
To some, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is already the definitive Mario Kart experience. It includes many tracks from previous Mario Kart games including almost every iteration of Rainbow Road, an improved battle mode, and a whole host of characters with newcomers like Link. While the game was missing fan favorites like Coconut Mall, it felt like a complete package and a true celebration of the franchise.
Late last year, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe became the best-selling entry in the entire franchise. Over 40 percent of Switch owners own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and those many fans have been playing it for hours. Now, Nintendo has announced that 48 more tracks from Mario Kart history are being added to the game through DLC. This will significantly expand the size of the game and provide it with a large boost in sales. The DLC will also cement Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a true celebration of what has come before it.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe already had 48 tracks that represented both classic play spaces and brand-new ones, and now Nintendo is doubling that number. That will bring the total amount of tracks in the game to 96, ensuring it has over half of the entire Mario Kart track history. That is most of the Mario Kart franchise all bundled into one title, turning Mario Kart 8 Deluxe into Mario Kart Ultimate. Mario Kart fans will be able to boot up the title and celebrate the franchise that they love in one complete package, which is exciting.
Mario Party Superstars Could Follow Suite
It seems that Nintendo wants to make definitive editions of its biggest franchises with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Mario PartySuperstars was penned as a collection of the best from the older titles, so maybe now is the time for it to actually fulfill that promise. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is well into its lifespan and is receiving a large helping of extra content, and Super Mario Superstars is still only in its first year of release, so it could be a very likely candidate for DLC.
Nintendo seems to want to build up the value of its Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack by adding extra DLC to it, as both Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pack are included in the expansion pack at no extra charge. Just like those titles, Mario Party is more fun with friends, and people who like to play with friends are usually more willing to pay for online access. If Nintendo wanted to keep boosting the value of Nintendo Switch Online, then adding a collection of boards for Mario PartySuperstars could go a long way to getting people to subscribe.
Mario Party Superstars should not just be a celebration of the first three titles in the franchise, but a celebration of the entire franchise. It should include boards from Mario Party 4 through Super Mario Party while also taking some from the handheld titles like Mario Party Star Rush. After all, a game with Superstars in the title should be the Superstar of the Mario party franchise.
WIth the announcement that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be doubling its track count four years after hitting store shelves, there may be hope for Mario Party Superstars as well. For now, fans of the series will just have to wait and see, while fans of Mario Kart will be preparing themselves to race around on familiar tracks when the first wave of the Booster Course Pack launches.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now on Nintendo Switch.
