Skip to main content

Mario Kart 9 quietely revealed alongside the Nintendo Switch 2

Mario kart running on a Switch 2.
Nintendo

The next Mario Kart game has been revealed via the first official Nintendo Switch 2 trailer. The clip shows us a very short glimpse at what is most likely Mario Kart 9 running on the console.

Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 today in a short video. The clip focused solely on the system’s design, which matches recent leaks out of CES. While there was almost no software featured during the reveal, Mario Kart shows up at the very end of the clip, teasing the series’ next game.

Nintendo Switch 2 – First-look trailer

The snippet we saw today is vague. We see Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, and more characters riding around a track. On overhead shot shows a brief glimpse at more racers, like Pauline, Baby Mario, and Wario.

Recommended Videos

The track itself is a highway-themed course that takes racers through a desert with some American west influence. We see a roadside pitstop in the form of a Yoshi-themed diner and some big rig trucks on the road. It’s a straightforward track with long stretched, some sandy turns, and cactuses on the side.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

We only get to see a bit of the Switch 2’s updated graphical power here, though the leap doesn’t seem too noticeable at a glance. It looks the way you’d expect a Mario game to look, though it’s certainly a crisp, smooth image that we see in the trailer.

That’s about all we’re getting for now. Nintendo did not release an official store page for it, nor reveal its official title. If you want to know more, you’ll likely have to tune in for the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on April 2.

Giovanni Colantonio
As Digital Trends' Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…
The Nintendo Switch 2 marks the end of the ‘toy’ video game console
The Switch 2 on a blue background.

I still have a clear memory of Christmas Day 2001. After a morning of eagerly unwrapping my gifts, my parents rolled out one more surprise that I'd been so desperately anticipating. I tore off the wrapping paper and there it was: the Nintendo GameCube. Without a second of hesitation, I pulled it out of the box and started poking and prodding every button on the little box. It wasn't just a fancy new electronic device; it was a toy.

That used to be the dual function of a video game console. Each one was unpredictable, bringing entirely new innovations or gimmicks that begged to be played with as much as the games. The ones that didn't at least got playful with their design. That's slowed with each passing generation. Vibrant colors has been replaced with black and white plastic. Xbox console designs now border on brutalist. Everything is slowly converging to one unified vision of what a video game console looks like.

Read more
Don’t expect these games to be backwards compatible with Nintendo Switch 2
Wario and his friends appear in WarioWare: Move It! key art.

Nintendo Switch 2 – First-look trailer

Yesterday, Nintendo revealed its next console, the Nintendo Switch 2, via a short video. The clip didn't reveal too much outside of its design and a brief glimpse of the next Mario Kart game. We did get one crucial detail, though: the system is compatible with Nintendo Switch games, both digitally and physically. There is one caveat that has fans nervous, though. Nintendo says that select games won't be backwards compatible, but it hasn't explained what that means yet.

Read more
The Nintendo Switch 2 could sell 15 million consoles its first year, analysts say
Nintendo Switch.

Industry analysts have great expectations for the next Nintendo console, predicting it will sell as many as 15 million units its first year. The Nintendo Switch 2 saw its first official teaser today, although a full Nintendo Direct won't happen until April. The company hopes to outsell the original Switch, but given that it has sold 147 million units since 2017 — with a large boost of sales during the lockdown — that's going to be tough to do.

But it's possible, especially with an existing base of at least 105 million users, according to analyst George Jijiashvili. He says the most important factor in the success of the Switch 2 is the transition period. "However, the biggest challenge will be managing the transition effectively — convincing users to upgrade to the Switch 2 while ensuring those sticking with the original Switch remain supported and engaged," he told us.

Read more