The Nintendo Switch 2 appears to be shaping up to be what everyone is looking for with fancy new Joy-Cons, a fresh paint job, and if the GPU leaks are true, some serious raw power.
In Nintendo’s official reveal of the console, we got a good look at the console coupled with a tease of the very first Switch 2 game – Mario Kart 9.
Now this looked like standard Mario Kart on the face of it but after taking a closer look, many are suggesting that 24 player races could be introduced.
Mario Kart 9 could be the most innovative entry in the franchise
In previous reports, it has been stated that Mario Kart 9 will feature a “new twist” that will change things up from its predecessor, and with this initial tease, it could very well be 24 player lobbies.
The main reason pointing toward this being true is that you can clearly see that there are 24 spaces on the start line grid so why would they have been placed in the game if there wasn’t a possibility of 24 karts being on the track?
The other potential switch-up is the introduction of gas stations.
If you’re eagle-eyed, you may have seen a few frames in the gameplay that almost look like one of the karts has stopped at a Yoshi-themed gas station.
Now, this may not mean that you will literally have to go through there to collect gas in order to power your kart and instead, it could just be a new boost system which refills when entering.
haven't seen anyone else talk about this but the gimmick of mario kart 9 is definitely a fuel tank
karts have conspicuous fuel tanks now and there's something on this track that doesnt look like an item box
it'll be a resource you can use freely to boost pic.twitter.com/bhGnEOe8Xo— chloe (@payapaberii) January 16, 2025
If it is the former though and you will need to take an F1 style pit stop, this would add a serious strategic element to the game that could create a skill gap for competitive online races.
Mario Kart 8 has seemingly been around forever, akin to that of Smash Bros. Ultimate, with multiple content drops keeping a sense of freshness that suck you back in time and time again.
Many are probably thinking how it’s possible that 9 will be able to trump this, but if the game will truly support 24 player races or fresh mechanics such as gas stations, it changes the whole dynamics of what Mario Kart has been since its inception.
We’ll likely know a lot more about Mario Kart 9 when the April 2 Switch 2 Direct comes around, hopefully getting an in-depth look at gameplay.
