Mario Kart 8 DLC announced

[eastman23]

So tomorrow there's the free (as in cost to the players, it's still advertising) Mercedes Benz DLC pack.

But there will be actual paid DLC coming in the future. So this will apparently be a thing...

http://mariokart8.nintendo.com/dlc/

There are 2 planned packs - one in November, the other in May. And each pack has 3 new characters, 4 new karts, and 8 tracks. The price looks pretty good too.

Although I will admit that it does look a little weird to see Link in Mario Kart...

 

[Kelthaz]

Super Smash Kart. It's about time Nintendo.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Has Nintendo done DLC in the past? Just curious, I don't ever recall hearing anything peripherally but I'm not in that scene so I'm not sure.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

They did a few bits of DLC, most of it free like a few level and such for the odd game like Pikmin and Sonic lost world, but Mario kart is the first to have full on DLC, and at £11 here in the UK for both packages with what amounts to half the main game in content, it seems Nintendo are the new masters of doing DLC right, talk about bang for your buck.

 

[Kelthaz]

New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Fire Emblem Awakening both have a fair amount of DLC.

 

[bigdaddy]

Any yet Animal Crossing gets nothing! It be like The Sims, just print money.

 

[eastman23]

Has Nintendo done DLC in the past? Just curious, I don't ever recall hearing anything peripherally but I'm not in that scene so I'm not sure.

Yeah, a little bit as Kelthaz and Haggis and tatties noted. Certainly not as much as most/all of the other major developers and publishers, but they're learning. And going by the amount of content in these packs and the price, they're learning how to do it right.

Mario Kart 8 was pretty much a complete game (battle mode aside) at launch. It had the same number of tracks as the most recent versions (3DS, Wii, DS) and more characters. So anything on top of that is pretty good.

That being said, the appearance of the added characters and courses on the selection screens when they won't be available for months is just teasing. Seriously?!

 

[Sparky]

That being said, the appearance of the added characters and courses on the selection screens when they won't be available for months is just teasing. Seriously?!

It's actually a brilliant strategy, as soon as the free DLC/Patch was released the 2 paid DLC packs went up for pre sale. If you bought both you immediately got a bit of an extra with multi colored Yoshis and Shy Guys. I'm sure quite a few people bought both DLC packs as soon as they went up....I know I did.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Looks like good DLC but I'm annoyed that they're joining the 'You have to pay more to get the complete game' bandwagon.

 

[Kelthaz]

Looks like good DLC but I'm annoyed that they're joining the 'You have to pay more to get the complete game' bandwagon.

You're not paying to get the complete game. You already have the complete game. This DLC is more like an expansion pack.

 

[Newspaper Taxi]

I hope this is what the future of Nintendo DLC looks like. In fact, I wish this is what all DLC looked like. (Not the Mercedes thing, the awesomely sized + priced DLC expansion packs.)

 

[Sparky]

I hope this is what the future of Nintendo DLC looks like. In fact, I wish this is what all DLC looked like. (Not the Mercedes thing, the awesomely sized + priced DLC expansion packs.)

I couldn't agree more. This should be the poster child for DLC. It's not already on the disc. It's not required to enjoy the retail game, but it's a substantial amount of content added to the core game if you choose. There are no micro transactions for game changing items, just a massive amount of content for a very good price.

 

[Thestral]

Generally I'm very much down with this. Buut I'd prefer they added more Mario Kart characters first because that's pretty much my only complaint about the vanilla game. Was anybody *really* clamoring to cut Paratroopa and Dry Bones (to name 2) to spend 8 character slots on the Koopalings?

 

[Random_Spock]

Looking forward to getting this game and the DLC when I can. The Mercedes one looks nice and the other ones seem pretty fairly priced.