Mario Kart World was supposed to be a Nintendo Switch 1 game — but I'm glad it's not
Mario Kart World is the Switch 2 launch title that most people will recognize, but it wasn't always intended to be one.
In fact, the game's developers have revealed they actually wanted to release the open-world racer on the original Switch console. But the older hardware just couldn't handle it.
Speaking in an interview on the Nintendo website, Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki confirmed that the game had actually been in development since 2017. But programming director Kenta Sato said that apparently developing for the Switch 1 means it "was difficult for [them] to incorporate [they] wanted."
Evidently developers were always conscious of what they'd have to give up to get the game running on the Switch. They discussed things like lowering resolution, dropping visuals, and even reducing the frame rate to 30fps.
But in the end the team realized they couldn't let any of that go. 60fps was something the team felt was particularly important for Mario Kart games — something that even Mario Kart 8 could handle consistently.
Eventually the team decided to simply make more DLC for Mario Kart 8, as a way to bide time and figure Mario Kart World out. It was only after the Booster Course Pass was released that the topic of switching to Switch 2 came about.
According to Yabuki this "suddenly opened up a bunch of possibilities on what [they] could do." noting that "It was truly a ray of hope."
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If that means we get an uncompromised version of Mario Kart World, then that's definitely a good thing. Considering the expansive new environments and the 24-player races, it's not surprising that this is better off on the Switch 2 than the original console. It's enough to make me wonder what other games went through a similar situation.
Considering how long ago Metroid Prime 4 was announced, and how good the game looks, I wouldn't be surprised if there were similar conversations happening behind the scenes. But we may never know for sure.
And if you plan to play Mario Kart World on the Switch 2 for yourself but haven't got hold of a console yet, we're tracking pre-order restocks as they happen on our Switch 2 pre-order live blog.
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