Even as the current game gets generous expansions, leaks about Mario Kart 9 make it hard not to think about the franchise's future. According to several sources, Mario Kart 9 is in development. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass may only just be getting started, but it would stand to reason if that surprising DLC is buying time for an ambitious new game that needs a few more years of development. If the rumors are true, then Mario Kart 9 may indeed be ambitious, breaking franchise tradition by focusing on crossover content involving other major franchises in the Nintendo game library.A crossover Mario Kart game could certainly be refreshing, since the franchise generally picks playable drivers from the same list of Super Mario characters with every installation. New faces would be a positive change. However, crossing over with other Nintendo properties could create an obstacle for a core part of Mario Kart: retro tracks. Mario Kart games always feature throwbacks to previous Mario Kart games nowadays, but Mario Kart 9 may have to give up some space usually given to retro tracks in order to make room for new content. That could turn out to be a serious downside.
Mario Kart 9's Possible Approach to Courses
Leakers claim that quite a few Nintendo franchises will be represented in the next Mario Kart game. One Mario Kart 9 source has suggested that the game will feature characters from franchises as famous as Star Fox and The Legend of Zelda, as well as far more obscure franchises like Balloon Fight. A Mario Kart 9 roster of this scope would inevitably result in a lot of new courses. In order to truly feel like a crossover game, the game will need courses that allow all the franchises to overlap with one another in a multitude of ways. If Mario Kart 9 just lets various Nintendo characters drive on Super Mario themed tracks, then they'll feel more like Mario Kart 9's guests, rather than the elements of a crossover-driven game.
Mario Kart 9 will probably still feature some number of new Super Mario tracks alongside these new tracks from other franchises, but that means the game's course roster will fill up rather quickly. Depending on how many racetracks each franchise gets, it may be impractical for Nintendo to both design a wealth of new courses and remaster a variety of old courses. In other words, in order to make room for other Nintendo-themed tracks, Nintendo may decide to omit retro Mario Kart tracks and focusing on making the best roster of new courses that it can.
Retro Tracks in Mario Kart
Dropping retro courses altogether would definitely be a controversial move. While Mario Kart fans love to see new courses in every game, they also really enjoy revisiting old favorites with better graphics and new characters. Retro tracks are a great way to experience how Mario Kart has grown and changed over the years. While it would be reasonable to trim down on the number of retro tracks for the sake of guest franchises, ideally Mario Kart 9 will still include some throwbacks. Maybe Nintendo can compromise between old and new by making less new Super Mario tracks or by trying to create an even split between guest tracks, new Mario tracks, and retro courses.
For the moment, though, fans should prepare for less retro tracks than usual, based on the Mario Kart 9 leaks. It may be that the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass, which brings dozens of classic courses back, is preemptively trying to make up for a retro course deficit in Mario Kart 9. If that's the case, then at least Nintendo already has some sort of solution in mind. If Mario Kart 9 is short on classics, then at least fans have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to fall back on.
Mario Kart 9 is rumored to be in development.