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News Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC announced, 48 courses by the end of 2023 ($25 / free with NSO Expansion)
- Thread starter mazi
- Start date
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Romancedawn
Octorok
Will be glad to get more of that energetic N64 music! This was the best course of action. I play the game once or twice every few months these days. Once this hits though? It's going to go back into my usual rotation.
Now give us some Kongs to go with it!
Now give us some Kongs to go with it!
- Pronouns
- She/They
So many additional cups here, and yet they didn't revisit the placeholder Shine and Boo cups datamined from 8 on Wii U.
Tour already has enough (unique) racers not in 8 Deluxe to add another row and column (and by the end of 2023 it'll have even more)
but there's no chance we get quite this many, if they add any new racers at all. The assets are all there, though!
I was thinking, at best, something similar to Hyrule Warriors; where owners of the 3DS port could redeem the new characters from that version in the Wii U game, while players who only owned the Wii U version could purchase those characters as an additional DLC pack. If you've passed some arbitrary playtime requirement in Tour you recieve a pack of character for both Tour itself (say; Diddy, Birdo and Hammer Bro as Super Rares; and Pauline, Kamek and King Bob-omb as High-Ends) and 8 Deluxe (the same set of characters, but without those gacha elements); but 8DX players who don't want to touch Tour could purchase that pack on the Switch eShop.
Tour already has enough (unique) racers not in 8 Deluxe to add another row and column (and by the end of 2023 it'll have even more)
but there's no chance we get quite this many, if they add any new racers at all. The assets are all there, though!
Magic-Man
Perseus Jackson
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Watching some Tour gameplay right now in DLC preparation, and holy fuck thank god I don't have to play Tour to get these tracks. Everything outside of the new characters and the track design/music sucks. Holy fuck these powerups look annoying as hell, and the constant combo sounds would drive me insane. Not to mention the microtransactions and weird controls.
This is Tour with extra tracks, none of the new characters, but also none of the bullshit. I'd pay a lot more for this than what they're charging.
This is Tour with extra tracks, none of the new characters, but also none of the bullshit. I'd pay a lot more for this than what they're charging.
D
Deleted member 2506
Guest
to me 25448 is a good deal ( $25 for 48 tracks )
and thanks to the direct , i re-downloaded MK8D on my switch again and online racing with strangers is very fun
and thanks to the direct , i re-downloaded MK8D on my switch again and online racing with strangers is very fun
Nathan Little
Paratroopa
- Pronouns
- He/him
Give it to me now!
- Pronouns
- She/They
Very length speculation post ahead!
The most interesting thing about the city courses from Tour, when it comes to discussing how they'd be adapted for 8 Deluxe, is that in their original game they each have multiple numbered varaints; like Super Mario Kart's courses. Unlike that game though, all of the variants are in actuality alternate routes on a single map; with the other routes blocked off depending on the number. It seems 8 Deluxe is taking an intriguing approach to combining these routes into one complete track.
Using Tokyo Blur as an example, because it has the most to go off for the purposes of my speculation. Right here in this press image (and as seen during the direct's gameplay) both the Tokyo Blur 2 (left) and Tokyo Blur 3 (right) paths are available at the same time.
In this view of the course we once again see routes 2 and 3 opened, with item boxes and coins placed on both (clearly indicating that they're both accessible). We can also barely see, on the far left of the screen, a segment of the track from Tokyo Blur 1.
This screenshot from the key art for the pass adds a confusing wrinkle to all of this though. Here we clearly see the Tokyo Blur 1 route open
but you may also notice the arrow sign pointing towards towards that path. In Tour proper, these are typically placed to block the other routes off from access; there's even a set of them right there in Tokyo Blur 1 in Tour!
Unfortunately we can only see the one arrow sign, since the space the rest would occupy is covered by the Mario render. What would it mean if the path was blocked off in that screenshot though? Well, i've got one potential idea: perhaps each lap will take you down a different route on the course.
I don't know if i'm entirely sold on it myself, though, because there's a lot of factors to consider in this. I can't recall any tracks that change this dynamically between laps in prior Mario Kart games; and there's a lot of problems that could arise from a structure like this, like how racers behind in a previous lap could interact with one in a later lap with access to another route. So for now I want to assume that the course will just be totally open with multiple routes available on each lap, and that there's really only a single arrow sign there; but there's that other posibility I can't entiely discredit either. Will be interested to see which one turns out true, because i'm sure it'd apply to all the other Tour city tracks as well!
The most interesting thing about the city courses from Tour, when it comes to discussing how they'd be adapted for 8 Deluxe, is that in their original game they each have multiple numbered varaints; like Super Mario Kart's courses. Unlike that game though, all of the variants are in actuality alternate routes on a single map; with the other routes blocked off depending on the number. It seems 8 Deluxe is taking an intriguing approach to combining these routes into one complete track.
Using Tokyo Blur as an example, because it has the most to go off for the purposes of my speculation. Right here in this press image (and as seen during the direct's gameplay) both the Tokyo Blur 2 (left) and Tokyo Blur 3 (right) paths are available at the same time.
In this view of the course we once again see routes 2 and 3 opened, with item boxes and coins placed on both (clearly indicating that they're both accessible). We can also barely see, on the far left of the screen, a segment of the track from Tokyo Blur 1.
This screenshot from the key art for the pass adds a confusing wrinkle to all of this though. Here we clearly see the Tokyo Blur 1 route open
but you may also notice the arrow sign pointing towards towards that path. In Tour proper, these are typically placed to block the other routes off from access; there's even a set of them right there in Tokyo Blur 1 in Tour!
Unfortunately we can only see the one arrow sign, since the space the rest would occupy is covered by the Mario render. What would it mean if the path was blocked off in that screenshot though? Well, i've got one potential idea: perhaps each lap will take you down a different route on the course.
- Lap 1: Tokyo Blur 1
- Lap 2: Tokyo Blur 2 / 3
- Lap 3: Tokyo Blur 4
I don't know if i'm entirely sold on it myself, though, because there's a lot of factors to consider in this. I can't recall any tracks that change this dynamically between laps in prior Mario Kart games; and there's a lot of problems that could arise from a structure like this, like how racers behind in a previous lap could interact with one in a later lap with access to another route. So for now I want to assume that the course will just be totally open with multiple routes available on each lap, and that there's really only a single arrow sign there; but there's that other posibility I can't entiely discredit either. Will be interested to see which one turns out true, because i'm sure it'd apply to all the other Tour city tracks as well!
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Are all the screen grabs on the promo image from the first 8 courses do we know? I assume so, but I can't see any dupes.
I'd hazard a guess they're all different promo images of the same 8 tracks but have people gone all internet detective on this yet?
I'd hazard a guess they're all different promo images of the same 8 tracks but have people gone all internet detective on this yet?
- Pronouns
- She/They
Yeah, they're all just different shots of the courses in Wave 1; no teases of Wave 2 and beyond. That applies to the full version of the art tooAre all the screen grabs on the promo image from the first 8 courses do we know? I assume so, but I can't see any dupes.
I'd hazard a guess they're all different promo images of the same 8 tracks but have people gone all internet detective on this yet?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Very length speculation post ahead!
The most interesting thing about the city courses from Tour, when it comes to discussing how they'd be adapted for 8 Deluxe, is that in their original game they each have multiple numbered varaints; like Super Mario Kart's courses. Unlike that game though, all of the variants are in actuality alternate routes on a single map; with the other routes blocked off depending on the number. It seems 8 Deluxe is taking an intriguing approach to combining these routes into one complete track.
Using Tokyo Blur as an example, because it has the most to go off for the purposes of my speculation. Right here in this press image (and as seen during the direct's gameplay) both the Tokyo Blur 2 (left) and Tokyo Blur 3 (right) paths are available at the same time.
In this view of the course we once again see routes 2 and 3 opened, with item boxes and coins placed on both (clearly indicating that they're both accessible). We can also barely see, on the far left of the screen, a segment of the track from Tokyo Blur 1.
This screenshot from the key art for the pass adds a confusing wrinkle to all of this though. Here we clearly see the Tokyo Blur 1 route open
but you may also notice the arrow sign pointing towards towards that path. In Tour proper, these are typically placed to block the other routes off from access; there's even a set of them right there in Tokyo Blur 1 in Tour!
Unfortunately we can only see the one arrow sign, since the space the rest would occupy is covered by the Mario render. What would it mean if the path was blocked off in that screenshot though? Well, i've got one potential idea: perhaps each lap will take you down a different route on the course.
I haven't actually mentioned that last one yet; since Tokyo 4 combines segments of the prior three variants into one. I think it'd only be represented here if my above theory is correct; definitely isn't the one and only route (another potential conclusion you could come to based on what i've presented so far) because in that case Mario would be driving the wrong way in this clip!
- Lap 1: Tokyo Blur 1
- Lap 2: Tokyo Blur 2 / 3
- Lap 3: Tokyo Blur 4
I don't know if i'm entirely sold on it myself, though, because there's a lot of factors to consider in this. I can't recall any tracks that change this dynamically between laps in prior Mario Kart games; and there's a lot of problems that could arise from a structure like this, like how racers behind in a previous lap could interact with one in a later lap with access to another route. So for now I want to assume that the course will just be totally open with multiple routes available on each lap, and that there's really only a single arrow sign there; but there's that other posibility I can't entiely discredit either. Will be interested to see which one turns out true, because i'm sure it'd apply to all the other Tour city tracks as well!
While I love this idea of a dynamic track, my guess is it'll be more like Animal Crossing or Excitebike where it picks a variant when the course is selected and sticks with it for that race.
- Pronouns
- She/They
That's a posibility I didn't even consider! Though, this would change up the track a lot more than the Animal Crossing and Excitebike Arena variants do; the different routes noticably varry in length and can cover totally different stretches of course.
Compare Vancouver Velocity (definitely one of the Tour tracks I can't wait to see in 8DX; nice vibes, great music that'll sound even better rearranged, fun layout) 1 and 2; besides the very start and end of a lap they're practically different courses!
The answer to all of this is at most five weeks away anyway (if they don't plan on showing any more until launch), so the wait for this mystery shouldn't be too bad!
rokero
Octorok
I can see a mixture of 1 and 2 and have no problem with that
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I agree it's a bigger change then those two courses, they're just the only ones I can think of that each time you pick the course you get a slightly different variant.
Grumble Volcano in MK Wii has a similar type of concept to the one you proposed. While it keeps the same general track structure all 3 laps, on lap 2 the volcano erupts and parts of the track sink into the lava making the course narrower. While not full on unique routes through each lap it's still Nintendo playing with the idea of different experiences on different laps.
There are modded custom tracks in past MK games that have that different routes based upon the lap, so it should be something that can work in MK8D's engine for how it counts laps.
As you said we'll find out soon, though if I has to bet I'd go with the "game will pick a variant when the course is selected"
- Pronouns
- He/him
I was thinking about whether to get the Expansion Pass for this DLC. That route ties players to the pass vs. “owning” the DLC outright for $25. As a family NSO pass person, the expansion costs way more. The only other interesting bit for me is Ocarina of Time. I still don’t think the expansion pass is worth it either!
- Pronouns
- he / him
In the same way that Netflix isn't worth it if you only want to watch one movie from it.
The Mario Kart Tour art style is really starting to grow on me quite a bit with it's tweaks in the MK8DX DLC.
This DLC is also making me a bit hopeful for some Mario Party DLC. Being available through the subscription can bypass some of the issues with a la carte DLC for a casual audience.
- Pronouns
- He/him
I'm bummed it seems they aren't remixing the music. The arrangement of Coconut Mall used in the trailer is the same one from Mario Kart Wii.
48 courses for $25 is a steal, and it adds a ton of longevity to MK8D, but I do wish they did just a bit more to really make this shine.
I was crossing my fingers for some more boards for Mario Party Superstars at the Direct too. I guess there's still a chance at E3.
48 courses for $25 is a steal, and it adds a ton of longevity to MK8D, but I do wish they did just a bit more to really make this shine.
I was crossing my fingers for some more boards for Mario Party Superstars at the Direct too. I guess there's still a chance at E3.
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I was feeling more of a fall Direct presence. E3 Direct is more big showy game and big collaboration with third parties than expansion to existing casual game that probably wouldn't release until September in the first place (especially if it is a part of the expansion pack)
Magic-Man
Perseus Jackson
- Pronouns
- He/Him
IMO, if we don't see it at E3 then it's not happening. We're going to be getting Mario Strikers and Mario Kart DLC in the second half of the year. I can't see Mario Party on top of that.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Actually, Coconut Mall was remixed. The instrumentation is different - subtle, but it's not identical. The sax is the most noticable part - not sure if it's a live recording or just a better synth. Kinda hard to improve on perfection, but unless I'm mishearing...they might just have?
Mario Kart is going to be all year. It's presence doesn't change anything.
Mario Strikers is also 1st half. It should launch prior to the E3 direct. If anything, that's a point against Mario Party DLC at E3 since E3 will be initial post launch free content for Strikers
Magic-Man
Perseus Jackson
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I meant Strikers DLC in the second half of the year. Doing three Mario DLC's close to each other might be overkill. And I believe Strikers comes out the same week as when E3 would have been.
- Pronouns
- He/him
Nevermind then! lol
Coconut Mall's original arrangement was already great too. I just didn't want to hear the un-orchestrated music tracks from the handheld entries.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, MK8's music remixes were some of the best things about the new tracks - it's also something Tour doesn't do for its remake tracks (unless I'm wrong?), which is interesting.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well the person I originally quoted wasn't already an expansion pass member, and sounded like they were getting it just for this, so yes
- Pronouns
- She/They
It was already pointed out above, but yeah, Coconut Mall was an arrangement in the trailer! Very close to the original but the instrumentation is definitely different. Easiest to hear with the sax around 30 seconds in.
Tour doesn’t do arrangements for retro tracks, yeah; with one single exception being GBA Sunset Wilds (because they didn’t have any Wii / 3DS enhanced version to pick from)
That’s why i’m looking forward to finally getting some new arrangements for the tracks in that game, even the nitro tracks could do with an upgrade. Can’t wait to (hopefully) hear Vancouver Velocity and Sydney Sprint done right with live instrumentation.
Robin
Cappy
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oooh I've never touched Tour but those two tracks sound real nice. You're right, they'd be cool to hear new arrangements for.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I feel like the new music tracks introduced in Tour are among the very best in the whole Mario Kart series actually. Really happy more people will finally discover them!
Reminds me of how people finally came to appreciate how great Cheese Land is, once it was added to Mario Kart 8.
Reminds me of how people finally came to appreciate how great Cheese Land is, once it was added to Mario Kart 8.
MusicProposition
Bob-omb
- Pronouns
- he/him
I hope they make the tracks as open as possible and not have different versions. I can’t see it being intuitive for causal players if you have to rethink the route every new lap, especially in 200cc mode. Just have one good playable version of the track for 8DX.
Other than that, I’m a HUGE fan of this DLC. While the graphics are a bit worse, I kinda appreciate the change in art style. MK9 would’ve been a little more hype but this is really great nevertheless.
Other than that, I’m a HUGE fan of this DLC. While the graphics are a bit worse, I kinda appreciate the change in art style. MK9 would’ve been a little more hype but this is really great nevertheless.
- Pronouns
- She/They
From what we've seen, there are some lighting and texture changes between Tour and 8 Deluxe; though they've been very selective with the latter. Choco Mountain, for example, has a higher quality texture for the main track, updated water and a redone model for the boulders; but the textures for the walls of the track remain simplistic like in Tour.
I don't think the art direction of Tour's tracks are bad, just very different from the style of vanilla 8. It'll be a jarring difference at first but i'm sure i'll get used to it.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sounds good. I just want to see an increase in detail to help close the gap. Watched a side by side of Yoshi’s Circuit and it wasn’t great.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Yeah, its definitely a weird look compared to the style of 8 Deluxe. Doesn't help that the marketing material is using a mix of captures from both 8 Deluxe and Tour itself too. All of these smaller preview images, shown during the direct and on the eShop right now actually come from Tour rather than the 8 Deluxe versions we've seen running in-game.
Sky Garden is the easiest to immediately spot the difference with, because the 8 Deluxe vesion is changing the color of the track from grey to brown (and again, totally different texture). That shot of Choco Mountain doesn't have the track texture from Tour, and also only has eight starting positions (which I guess is another clear giveaway, lol). The differences are noticable elsewhere too; Coconut Mall's colours are a bit more washed out (likely to fit in more with the MK8 visual style) and has some NPCs on the side of the track, Ninja Hideaway has some additional textures for objects like the bridge and water wheel, etc.
Certainly not 100% in-line with MK8's style; I think they could stand to at least update stuff like trees and plants (which have somehow gone 100% untouched from Tour); makes Shroom Ridge and Toad Circuit look more off than the others; the sand and grass on the latter especially just being flat colours just looks bad.
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- Pronouns
- He/him
I do wonder what the story is about how this DLC came about. Like was it just "hey we have this NSO Expansion service we are trying to sell and fans are begging for Mario Kart content. Since we never did paid DLC for MK8D, let's repackage what was in Tour".
Like seeing the screenshots MondoMega posted, it really is blatant Nintendo just showed us the Tour versions of Coconut Mall and Shroom Ridge for the first time. lol
So I wonder if this project had a quick turnaround to when Nintendo actually started working on it if the NSO expansion pack was the driving factor? Also I'm curious about the developers behind this, because I could see this being highly outsourced due to the simplicity of it being to just upgrade mobile assets for console.
Like seeing the screenshots MondoMega posted, it really is blatant Nintendo just showed us the Tour versions of Coconut Mall and Shroom Ridge for the first time. lol
So I wonder if this project had a quick turnaround to when Nintendo actually started working on it if the NSO expansion pack was the driving factor? Also I'm curious about the developers behind this, because I could see this being highly outsourced due to the simplicity of it being to just upgrade mobile assets for console.
- Pronouns
- He/him
Yeah like it looks fine until we compare it to the other 48 courses in MK8D.
Like Choco Mountain's screenshot looks funny because compare the boulder used there to the mountain itself in its color pallete and texture. I imagine the boulder asset could be reused from the main game which has them in Bowser's Castle, but I havent looked it up to verify.
- Pronouns
- he/him
Oh, Arlo. Love the guys attitude, but when he misses, he misses
His whole idea for this video is that the 25 tracks from this pack are from a MK9 that was in development, but is being held for Switch 2. Even though they are ported from tour, and have worse graphics than 8 lol.
He then addressed that in a pinned comment, but I really don't buy that it wasn't an oversight when making the video
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It’s really not gonna matter what these tracks look like when you’re on 200cc
moondog
Rattata
- Pronouns
- he/him
@MondoMega I really hope the footage is a little old and things like those sand and grass textures on Toad Circuit get changed before release. It won't be the end of the world if it doesn't, but the clashing art styles of 8 and Tour will bother me.
- Pronouns
- he/him
This announcement had me return to Mario Kart 8 tonight and damn.
From a small TV back in my childhood up to a big ol' 4K in my living room now, this game hasn't aged a fucking day.
I'll never understand how they got this game so right. It deserves a victory lap with this pass. Tho, it'll be a bit of an ironic shame if the new content can't compare to the 2014 tracks graphically lol.
From a small TV back in my childhood up to a big ol' 4K in my living room now, this game hasn't aged a fucking day.
I'll never understand how they got this game so right. It deserves a victory lap with this pass. Tho, it'll be a bit of an ironic shame if the new content can't compare to the 2014 tracks graphically lol.
Sometimes I boot up Mario Kart 8 just because I want to marvel at the tracks. It still looks so good.
- Pronouns
- he/him
My thoughts on this are overall pretty positive, but still a little mixed.
To get the negatives out of the way first, the biggest issue I have is the time frame. Starting next month is great; going another 20-22 months less so. I wish they did something more like 4 waves of 12 tracks; I'm not sure that at the end of 2023 I'll be that excited to get just 8 more tracks in a game I've been playing since 2014 that has already climbed to 88 tracks. We'll see, I guess.
Which leads me to my other complaint: MK8D isn't my favorite Mario Kart mechanically, and the fact that a follow-up that plays a little differently is at least 2 years away is a bit of a bummer for me.
BUT. 48 tracks is awesome. The Tour tracks look cool (despite being an avid fan of the beta, I've never had any motivation to play the official release). The pricing is fair, and arguably a better deal than the original MK8 DLC if you don't care that strongly about new characters/vehicles or the difference in graphical fidelity... which I don't all that much. But I already felt the family plan price for the NSO + Expansion Pack was fair, so this is basically all just extra for me.
Yes, I'm aware of the sales difference between Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I'm not so sure it matters.
As an aside, I'm not nearly as confident as everyone else that this signals most Nintendo DLC will be in the subscription in the future. Casting a wide net for subscribers with two of the biggest sales juggernauts on the platform makes business sense; I'm not convinced adding every little thing like Xenoblade does. They'd run into a lot of consumer overlap.
To get the negatives out of the way first, the biggest issue I have is the time frame. Starting next month is great; going another 20-22 months less so. I wish they did something more like 4 waves of 12 tracks; I'm not sure that at the end of 2023 I'll be that excited to get just 8 more tracks in a game I've been playing since 2014 that has already climbed to 88 tracks. We'll see, I guess.
Which leads me to my other complaint: MK8D isn't my favorite Mario Kart mechanically, and the fact that a follow-up that plays a little differently is at least 2 years away is a bit of a bummer for me.
BUT. 48 tracks is awesome. The Tour tracks look cool (despite being an avid fan of the beta, I've never had any motivation to play the official release). The pricing is fair, and arguably a better deal than the original MK8 DLC if you don't care that strongly about new characters/vehicles or the difference in graphical fidelity... which I don't all that much. But I already felt the family plan price for the NSO + Expansion Pack was fair, so this is basically all just extra for me.
It's obvious why, but it's a real shame. This two are some of my favorites across the entire series. Unfortunately I think they still won't want to deal with tracks that long.
There's also the fun little fact that the Switch technically didn't get a new Mario Kart to drive sales. While it'd make the lifespan of the game a little silly, I could see a new device that plays a still actively supported Mario Kart doing pretty well, even if it's still available on the old system.
Yes, I'm aware of the sales difference between Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I'm not so sure it matters.
It's scummy if you subscribe specifically for it/Happy Home Paradise, yes. I personally recommend subscribing if N64/Genesis games are worth the price to you on their own; the booster course pass on its own is half the price of just one year for an individual. As an N64 enthusiast paying $10 a year in a family plan, I think it's pretty great, but obviously YMMV.
As an aside, I'm not nearly as confident as everyone else that this signals most Nintendo DLC will be in the subscription in the future. Casting a wide net for subscribers with two of the biggest sales juggernauts on the platform makes business sense; I'm not convinced adding every little thing like Xenoblade does. They'd run into a lot of consumer overlap.
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