You simply never know with Nintendo. One year they’re bringing out a full VR Nintendo Labo kit for Switch, and the next they’ve mashed AR into a remote-controlled car for at-home Mario Kart races. One thing is for sure: Nintendo’s latest is bound to be this year’s holiday must-have for Switch owners.
With Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, you pilot your own little Mario or Luigi around the house. Using a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite to control the physical kart, you race through your own custom courses.
Nintendo says that players will be able to place gates to create a custom course layout and unlock a variety of course customizations as well as costumes for Mario or Luigi.
Users will also be able to play with up to four players in local multiplayer mode, provided they have their own Switch and Mario/Luigi kart that is.
Information is still thin on the ground, although from the video we can infer that users will be able to play alone against AR koopalings. The little gates seem to act as AR visual markers, which likely helps the system draw the track’s ghostly boundaries. Although there probably won’t be any ramps or other physical obstacles to integrate like in real Mario Kart games, the special boxed appear to actually spin out, slow down, and speed up your little RC-Mario.
Both Mario and Luigi karts launch on October 16th, and are priced at $99 each. Nintendo says pre-order details are coming soon, although pre-orders should be available here when the time comes.