Zelda crossover (and more) DLC for Mario Kart 8

[Julius Seeker]

Starting in November, Nintendo will be releasing new DLC for Mario Kart 8. These will be released in packs that each include two new Cups with 4 new tracks each, 3 new characters, and 4 new Karts. People who get both packs will get bonus content which includes 8 new colours for Yoshi and Shy Guy. Among the upcoming courses are courses themed on Warioland, Excitebike, Hyrule, Animal Crossing, and F-Zero.

http://mynintendonews.com/2014/08/27/he ... io-kart-8/

PACK 1: Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, and Link, 4 tracks, 4 Karts.

Pack 1: The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8 (Release Date: November 2014) – $7.99

3 Characters: Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Link
4 Vehicles
8 Courses
Pack 2: Animal Crossing X Mario Kart 8 (Release Date: May 2015) – $7.99

3 Characters: Villager, Isabelle, Dry Bowser
4 Vehicles
8 Courses
Pack 1 + Pack 2 Bundle – $11.99

6 Characters: Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Link, Villager, Isabelle and
Dry Bowser
8 Vehicles
16 Courses
As a bonus for purchasing both packs bundled or individually, buyers receive eight new colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy. Those who advance purchase both packs can begin using the Yoshi and Shy Guy characters immediately.

Update, Nintendo confirmed 4 new cups:
Green Leaf Cup
Egg Cup
Gold Bell Cup
Triforce Cup

[Anarky]

Pretty good DLC actually...

[Eric]

hehe

[Shrinweck]

Those DLC packs look real nice and meaty and are incredibly low priced for the value. COD DLC usually amounts to two maps that they charge $25 or some crazy amount for.

[Eric]

Those DLC packs look real nice and meaty and are incredibly low priced for the value. COD DLC usually amounts to two maps that they charge $25 or some crazy amount for.

The hyperbole is strong in this statement, Call of Duty is just there for the image, you can put pretty much any game with DLC in it over the past generation in it's place. Nintendo is pretty new to the whole DLC thing, and this looks like a noble effort, much like DLC originally was added content post release. Hopefully Nintendo won't join the day 1 "DLC" crowd anytime soon.

[Julius Seeker]

I think Nintendo should have priced it higher. $12 for one and $20 for both would would have probably pushed their margins higher, I still think a number of people would consider that a deal given the level of content.

No comment on Call of Duty, I don't know a great deal about the game, but if at least half people are willing to pay $25 for two new maps as those willing to pay $12.50, then it is the correct price. Philosophically it's not an issue either, I doubt it hurts the core game in any way for players not to have those two maps.

[Anarky]

DLC like this makes me optimistic for what the do with the new Smash Bros.

[Oracle]

Fuck DLC.

[Anarky]

Fuck DLC.

Edgy.

[bovine]

I think that Mario Kart 8 seems to have a healthy amount of content in it. Ever since they have been putting in a shadow set of cups that are redone old levels (and now the level of quality being as high as it is in these new remasterings of the old levels), I have thought that the amount of tracks and racers in these newer Mario Karts is HUGE.

Adding DLC atop this large amount of content, to me, seems like the very ideal of DLC that I have always been hoping for. This feels like Dishonored's two story DLC packs, Bioshock 2's Minerva's Den, Borderlands 1 and 2 DLC, Rock Band's DLC - which is just icing on the cake. It is extra content that these developers are making to enhance a game that I love and in ways that don't feel cheap or extra content that was held back just to make us pay for it (Pre order DLC, Street Fighter X Tekken DLC, or DLC that was made to gate people into buying the game new). I also don't like DLC that adds to a campaign that I may have already finished - like in Dark Souls or Mass Effect. Since there isn't a state in those games where I am just roaming the world after I have beaten it, I have to either load up a save/character before I have beaten it and then complete the additional content that way, or start the entire game over again just to see a tiny slice of new content.

This mario kart stuff seems like both great content and at an extremely low price. It seems unlikely that others will copy it, but I applaud Nintendo for being brave in the face of a pretty dirty DLC market out there. Good show Nintendo! I don't own your system, but I think you are still okay.

[Don]

I don't think it makes much sense to try to measure DLC in terms of value if value means the effort the developer put into it. I'm sure it's all very little compared to what you're getting. It's more like does DLC do something cool that you can't have otherwise. It's not like having Zelda models is inherently more expensive than any other model, but maybe Zelda characters are just that cool so it works out. That said I feel most DLC don't even bother try. It's often like 'we made 3 generic boring mission that's totally indistingushable with rest of the game but we hope you'd be dumb enough to pay us $20 for it.' So this particular DLC looks decent since they're at least trying to put something cool for you to part with your money.

[Oracle]

Fuck DLC.

Edgy.

eh, I'm just sick of the nickle and diming. Maybe Nintendo's approach to DLC is "better", but to me, all DLC feels like is a bunch of microtransactions from a Free-to-play game, yet I already paid for the software.

I took a chance on the Watch Dogs season pass DLC, but I've been so completely disappointed with the game, I will likely never consume the content.

[Julius Seeker]

Think of it as an expansion you just happen to have to download to install instead of buy on CD to install.

[Shrinweck]

If they're adding content to the game after the game has been produced then they deserve to be able to charge money for it. Free maps like Team Fortress 2 just can't feasibly be the norm. The shit a lot of these companies perform where they release, like, reskinned bullshit and try to charge people for it, yeah, that's nickle and diming, microtransaction nonsense. But the actual creation of content (maps, additional story, new characters) should probably be gated behind a pricetag because they ostensibly put work into it after the actual game's development cycle has ended.

Also it's probably best to never buy a season pass. I don't think I've ever felt like I've gotten a good value for my money once the DLC has all been released. It's always best to hunt and peck for the well reviewed DLC with a good reputation from word of mouth or to at least wait until it's on sale.

I prefer DLC to expansions. It's nice to quickly get new content for a game I enjoy, as opposed to having to wait 6-18+ months. Especially since by then the game would feel old/dated even with the new life breathed into it.

[Zeus]

The only reason I ain't up in arms about this is the fact that Mario Kart 8 did ship with a substantial amount of content that no one can complain about. It had 32 tracks (plus mirrors), lots of modes, great online.....it was probably the most packed Mario Kart ever. We're not talking about Assassin's Creed 2 which took out two entire sequences (of 14; 14% of the full game) to sell them to you later as DLC. That's complete bullshit but that's not what this is or feels like.

I don't inherently have an issue with DLC as long as the original game was still worth it. The one thing maybe you can complain about with the original Mario Kart 8 roster is the stupid amount of repetition. I mean, you've got 5 babies, 2 "metal" versions, and all 7 Koopalings....that's what, half the roster? You still had the same roster as all the others aside from maybe some of the minor changes in the mushroom kingdom enemies (no Petey Pirhana, yes to Shy Guy and Lakitu) and Rosalina. The fact that you're now getting some non-Mario guys with the DLC (Link and Animal Crossing) seems a bit of a money grab considering the repetition in the original roster. Would it really have killed them to give me Link instead of Metal Mario, Pink Metal Peach, or Baby Rosalina? A little annoyance there for sure.

But man, they're giving us 4 new cups (I'm assuming 4 tracks each), that's like adding a whole new half game. That's a ton for $12 (if you buy the two packs together). The extra costumes are whatever uselessness and it's neat that you get a couple decent additions to the roster, including Link. But an entire half-game worth of extra tracks? That's cheap when you compare it to other DLC. If they're as well-done as the original tracks (I'm assuming we're talking about 2 sets of new tracks and 2 sets of remakes, 1 of each with each pack), I may even buy them if the reviews are good. And I never buy DLC, I just wait for GotY re-releases.

[Julius Seeker]

I am alright with, in the future, always keeping vanilla Mario Kart purely in the Mario/DK universe. The 8 Koopa Kids I thought were the most exciting new characters to the roster since the inception of the series; aside from the Roaslinas, I have been playing almost exclusively the Koopa Kids since the game launch. Again though, as long as there are 12 Mushroom Kingdom characters, and a heavy, medium, and light weight class, then 95% of what interests me about Mario Kart are the tracks - and Mario Kart 8's tracks are brilliant.

Shrin, I think you may be a little disappointed then with the Mario Kart DLC, because it is going to be a strategy of about 6-12 month spaced expansion-style releases.

On DLC philosophy in general? I think I am a little more accepting of what is appropriate. If a company wants to open up a revenue stream by selling skins for a few bucks a pop, by all means let them. I don't think that sort of DLC will effect the core game in any way, and people who see the price and are willing to spend it for that skin can do it if they wish to. The only people who will be angry about it are people who want the skin for free and are jealous of the people who are willing to pay; I think it is the spenders a company should cater to when deciding DLC pricing, because they're the ones who are going to infuse the company with more resources for expansion and more projects.

[Julius Seeker]

They just announced that the May expansion pack has been bumped up to April 23rd.

In addition, for the first time in the history of the franchise, Mario Kart 8 is receiving 200 cc mode! I am really excited about this one as cpus in Mario Kart At 150cc just aren't as challenging as they used to be... for 20+ year series veterans.