A fresh take on the Wii U's Mario Kart 8 is coming to the Nintendo Switch. The updated version, Nintendo announced Friday, is entitled Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and will be available for all Switch players on Apr. 28.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will not only include everyone's fav characters and tracks from the Wii U edition, but also some newcomers. Splatoon's Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy will join Dry Bones, King Boo, and Bowser Jr. for some revamped Battle mode action. New courses, including Battle Stadium and Urchin Underpass, will also be available for nostalgia-addicted Switch players. Been itching for a Smart Steering feature? Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has that, too.
Thanks to the general dopeness of the Switch, players can crush the souls of their closest friends in TV mode in up to 1080p quality. In a press release put out on Friday, Nintendo boss Tatsumi Kimishima touted the Switch's versatility ahead of its highly anticipated release. "Nintendo Switch is a brand-new kind of home gaming system that offers a wide variety of play modes," he said. "We will introduce the world to new experiences made possible by the unique characteristics of the Nintendo Switch hardware and the Joy-Con."
Though Mario Kart 8 Deluxe won't arrive until April, the Switch itself will be available for immediate consumption on Mar. 3. For the fairly reasonable price of $299.99, you'll get:
- The console, of course
- Joy-Con (L) and Joy-Con (R) controllers
- Joy-Con grip
- Joy-Con wrist straps
- TV dock
- HDMI cable
- AC adapter
Both versions of the system, one with gray Joy-Con and one with neon Joy-Con, will be the same price. So start saving up.