Nintendo explains why it’s not called Mario Kart 9

Nintendo’s latest entry in its “ask the developer” interview series has some fun new details about the Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World. Among the many things discussed is an explanation for why the game isn’t called Mario Kart 9, despite being a sequel to the best-selling Mario Kart 8 — and it has to do with the game’s approach to open-world design. “If the idea had just been to add more courses, then I think we would’ve called it Mario Kart 9,“ explained producer Kosuke Yabuki. “But, that wasn’t our approach this time. We wanted to take the series to the next level. So, we decided to drop the numbering this time and go with a completely new title, Mario Kart World. So, we’d already added “MARIO KART WORLD” to the concept art from the early stages of development.“ The development team also discussed the game’s origins on the original Switch. Many of the key aspects of World — including its interconnected map and increasing the number of players per race from 12 to 24 — were in ... Read full article.