As part of the 35th anniversary of Nintendo’s Mario franchise, the Japanese video game company has revealed a brand new Mario Kart game. While it may not be the ninth entry to the beloved racing game, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a new title that allows you to race with augmented reality (AR) enabled remote controlled (RC) karts via the Nintendo Switch.
According to the company, players will have a choice of owning either a Mario or Luigi RC kart along with the game. On the vehicle itself is a camera that will stream its point-of-view (POV) of the race to the Nintendo Switch’s screen, which would also render in-game 3D graphics in real-time. Unlike most RC cars available, Nintendo has ensured that the physical karts will not exceed a predetermined speed limit for safety purposes – the game is designed to be kid-friendly, first and foremost.
As demonstrated in the video above, users will be able to play the game on their own or with friends via local multiplayer – the latter will require at least one more RC kart to be present, obviously. It appears that most of the familiar gameplay mechanics from the Mario Kart series will be present in Home Circuit, including the infamous Blue Shell power-up that can stall an opponent’s kart.
Most of the action and special effects will be shown on the Switch’s display or your living room TV, of course. So if your kart is hit by an attack from another player (or an AI racer), your RC kart will either slow down or stop for a brief moment until it is able to move again.
If you are planning to play this game at home, just make sure that you have a large enough room to have the race track set up – Home Circuit is an AR game after all. You’ll be able to create your own custom tracks by placing four different gates around the room and then determining its turns and corners.
All in all, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is looking to be a very fun game to play, especially with friends. The new AR + RC title for the Nintendo Switch will be released on 16 October, and is priced at USD100 (~RM415). As mentioned earlier, the package will include the game, a Mario or Luigi RC kart, four gates, and two arrow markers.
(Source: Nintendo US)
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