Mario Kart World was originally designed for Switch 1 reveals Nintendo
The new Mario Kart for the Switch 2 was not originally designed for the console, as Nintendo reveals how and when the game came to be.
The launch of a new console is always an exciting time but the first few years of a new format's existence can be frustrating, when it's obvious that most of the games were actually designed as titles for the previous generation of hardware.
This has been exacerbated on the PlayStation 5, where Sony continued to release cross-gen games for much longer than usual. It was equally obvious with the Switch 1, given launch title Zelda: Breath Of The Wild was released simultaneously on Wii U and many of the other first party titles were also Wii U ports.
The only similar situation so far for the Switch 2 is Metroid Prime 4, which is primarily a Switch 1 title, but Nintendo has revealed that Mario Kart World was originally designed for the earlier console, until they realised it was never going to work on the older hardware.
Nintendo has revealed that they first started thinking about the new game way back in March 2017, when the Switch 1 was originally released. That's not too surprising, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a Wii U port and technically there's never been a new Mario Kart made for the Switch 1.
'I felt that in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, we were able to perfect the formula that we'd been following in the series up to that point, where players race on individual courses,' says Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki in a new interview.
'That's why, this time, we wanted the gameplay to involve players driving around a large world, and we began creating a world map like this.'
The idea that Mario Kart 8 takes the original idea as far as it can go has been echoed by many, with Mario Kart World appearing to be the series' Breath Of The Wild moment, where it radically changes the franchise's approach.
No previous Mario Kart game has had an open world environment but according to programming director Kenta Sato, the current Switch 1 couldn't handle the ideas they wanted to include.
'We discussed things like toning down the visuals, lowering the resolution, and we even considered dropping the frame rate to 30 fps in some cases. It was a tough situation,' he admitted.
'Once we decided to release this game on Switch 2, we expected our worries to evaporate all at once. I remember being overjoyed when I discovered we could express even more than we'd originally set out to.'
According to Sato, the decision to move the game to the Switch 2 took place 'around 2020', which enabled the team to expand their plans and ensure the game would still run at 60fps. More Trending
'Back then, we already had an idea of the next console's expected specs, but it wasn't until a bit later that we actually received working development units. Until then, we just had to proceed with development based on provisional estimates,' says Sato.
'Once we decided to release this game on Switch 2, we expected our worries to evaporate all at once. I remember being overjoyed when I discovered we could express even more than we'd originally set out to.'
The whole four part interview is well worth a read on Nintendo's website, with a lot of insight on both the game and how Nintendo prepares for the launch of a new console.
Mario Kart World will launch alongside the console itself on June 5. Controversially, the game is £75 for the physical edition and £67 for a digital download. However, the game is effectively half price if bought along with the console, as part of the official hardware bundle.
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