Leaks about the next Mario Kart game are starting to come hard and fast, making it seem more and more likely that the new installation in Nintendo's beloved racing franchise really is around the corner. Perhaps more importantly, though, leakers seem certain that the game will be a departure from the rest of the franchise in that it won't focus solely on Super Mario's characters. Instead, the new Mario Kart title, which may be called Mario Kart 9 or Mario Kart Crossroads, will focus on uniting a long list of Nintendo franchises in the style of Super Smash Bros. Mario Kart 9 could feature playable characters hailing from Zelda, Splatoon, Animal Crossing, and many more.

Introducing so many guests is certainly a major departure, not simply because of the introduction of guests, but also the sheer volume of guest drivers. Mario Kart usually sees a few playable drivers come and go between games, but a crossover Mario Kart game has many more characters to introduce. In that case, it wouldn't be surprising if Nintendo made a bigger deal out of Mario Kart 9's new drivers than usual. Nintendo fans might start seeing individual trailers revealing the guest characters in Mario Kart 9, much in the style of new character reveals for Super Smash Bros.

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Unveiling the Mario Kart Guests

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For years now, Super Smash Bros. has drummed up hype for new playable characters by announcing them very slowly, with Nintendo creating individual trailers to announce each character and give fans a peek at their moveset. With the help of these steady announcements, both for the base game's newcomers and for DLC fighters, Smash stays in the public consciousness. Although Mario Kart 9 might not have fighting game kits to show off in a trailer, it could raise its own visibility with the help of similar trailers.

If Mario Kart 9 really is a guest-focused game, then Nintendo probably won't confirm all of the guests at once. It wouldn't be surprising to see a few core franchises like The Legend of Zelda confirmed in the game's reveal trailer, but Nintendo might save a few guests to reveal afterward in individual trailers. While characters may not be entirely distinct enough to all get individual trailers, each Nintendo franchise joining Mario Kart 9 could get its own trailer. For instance, a trailer announcing Splatoon content could reveal Callie and Marie as two distinct drivers, a Star Fox trailer could focus on Fox, Falco, and Wolf at the same time, and so on.

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The Value of Multiple Mario Kart Trailers

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Splitting Mario Kart 9's guest roster up into multiple trailers is particularly valuable because the arrival of guests implies a ton of other new content aside from drivers. Odds are that Mario Kart 9 will feature lots of new vehicles and courses inspired by other Nintendo IPs if the game is a crossover. Trailers focusing on each franchise would give Nintendo the opportunity to not only unveil the characters but to spotlight their courses and vehicles as well.

Mario Kart 9 will be a big deal no matter what form it takes since there hasn't been a wholly new game in the core Mario Kart series for consoles since 2014's Mario Kart 8. Branching out into other Nintendo franchises could make Mario Kart grow to proportions that the series has never seen before, however, adding vastly more characters, vehicles, and racecourses than the series has ever seen. If Nintendo has this amount of new content to cover, then it only makes sense if it doesn't try to explain all the content at once. On the contrary, the new Mario Kart game might be better off if Nintendo takes its time unveiling the guests, building as much anticipation as possible on top of the existing demand for more Mario Kart.

Mario Kart 9 is rumored to be in development.

MORE: The Rumored Mario Kart Crossroads Seems Like the Logical Next Step