ario Kart is the number one racing game that all the family can enjoy, and now, Nintendo is taking the game one step beyond the tv screen and moving the race right into the players home.
During a recent Nintendo Direct broadcast on Thursday, the makers celebrated the 35th birthday of Mario Kart by announcing several new Mario-themed games, one of which is an exciting instalment of the Kart franchise called Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. But this isn’t just a remake with better resolution and more appealing sound effects, Nintendo have collaborated with Velan Studios, based in New York to develop a new innovative way to play the classic Mario Kart game but now using AR.
To play the AR Mario Kart game, players will need to use their Nintendo Switch to set up various gate makers to set out the track and navigate a physical kart around their home. Players are able to customise the track with exact precision by driving the tiny car around. Once the setup has been completed, the race takes place on the track and is controlled on the Switch
Just like the classic game, the new one will also feature various traps and power ups and the physical kart will actually respond to them accordingly, including stopping if the player crashes.
When asked about the new Mario Kart game in a recent interview, a representative of Velan Studios stated:
“Whether you are playing in your living room alone, or with your friends on their own karts, you can share the thrill of driving and exciting competition. We love the ability to seamlessly combine digital opponents and real world racing with your friends. It is a new take on local multiplayer.”
The Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is set to launch on the 16th October and will be available to purchase in both Mario and Luigi variants. The new game is an excellent demonstration of how AR can be integrated with a range of different hardware and interact with the physical world beyond the game screen.