What could the main gimmick be for Mario Kart on Switch 2? Let’s theorize

A new Mario Kart is on the way for Nintendo’s latest hardware, the Switch 2, and is expected to bring a new gimmick to the franchise that wasn’t in other games before. But there’s no way of knowing what it is from the brief glimpse of kart racing we saw.

That hasn’t stopped many eagle-eyed Nintendo fans from noticing some teasers for the game, such as the possibility of 24-player races over the usual 12 and what appears to be a couple of new items. Some have also noticed drastic changes to character designs, with Donkey Kong in particular gaining popularity online.

We doubt that an increase in racers will be the main gimmick when trying to sell this version of Mario Kart, so we wanted to theorize some potential directions Nintendo could go with its latest racing outing.

What we expect to be the gimmick in Mario Kart 9

There are a bunch of theories already being devised by the Nintendo community currently based on a mere few seconds of gameplay, but I have my own theories on how Nintendo might try to take advantage of the new hardware and deliver a truly next-gen experience.

If we look at (what appears to be), the Wonder Seed item players have seen under the gas station of the new track; this could be a key to the latest gimmick. In Super Mario Wonder, the Wonder Seed distorts the world and takes you to a different place altogether. Theoretically, a racer can enter a different dimension or part of the world by accessing the Wonder Seed on the map.

Alternatively, a gimmick that allows the combination of different tracks into one race would also be fun. Imagine doing one map on a track, and then you drive into a portal that takes you to an entirely new track instead. This could make each race unique, as you could have different combinations of tracks in one race to test your knowledge and abilities.

Also when it comes to modes, Nintendo could take parts from other games it has created and bring it over the Mario Kart for Switch 2. For starters, look at FZERO 99‘s battle royale mode, which gets rid of the driver in last place on each lap. Or, after some time, Mario Kart could offer longer, more challenging races outside of the typical three-lap race.

I’d also like to see Nintendo incorporate an actual ranked mode into the game in some form. We had scores before, which gave you an idea of how good a player was, but an actual ranked mode or leaderboard would offer some players who only play Mario Kart an incentive to grind away. We doubt this would happen as Nintendo likes to create a fun family atmosphere with the game, but we had a ranked mode in Mario Party Jamboree recently and would love to see a replication of that.