--- title: "Mario Kart World Almost Came Out for the Original Switch. Good Thing It Didn’t" date: "2025-05-22" modified: "2025-05-22" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/mario-kart-world-almost-came-out-for-the-original-switch-good-thing-it-didnt" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Video Games" --- # Mario Kart World Almost Came Out for the Original Switch. Good Thing It Didn’t ![Mario Kart World gameplay screenshot.]() *\Nintendo of America via YouTube\* We're less than two weeks away from the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 and, by extension, *[Mario Kart World]()*. Nintendo's taken the run-up to share one of its insightful developer deep dives around the [game](), and it's brought some interesting nuggets to light. Like, for example, how the dev team was originally planning to release *MK World* on the original Switch—seriously. As some of the game's core minds tell it in the latest edition of [Nintendo's "Ask the Developer" interview series](), it was decided early on that the sequel to *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe* would be a more sprawling experience, rather than one constrained to closed circuits. The team was also committed to doubling the number of competitors in races from 12 to 24. With *MK8* already pushing the original Switch to its limits, it was clear that cutbacks would be required to make all that possible on existing hardware. "When we were developing for Nintendo Switch, we often worried whether we could find the right balance between planning and performance," programming director Kenta Sato said. "Of course, the Switch system's performance is sufficient for developing different kinds of games, but if we had included everything we wanted to in this game's vast world, then it wouldn't have run at 60 fps and would have suffered from constant framerate drops. I think there were a lot of people on the team who were worried about whether we could really manage it." ![Mario Kart World screenshot.]() ![Mario Kart World screenshot.]() ![Mario Kart World screenshot.]() Sato recalls feeling "overjoyed" when the decision was made in 2020 to move the game to Switch 2, because it meant he and his colleagues would be able to express their full vision for *MK World* without the concessions to performance and visual fidelity that would've assuredly been necessary on Nintendo's current platform. The team had begun prototyping the game as far back as 2017, meaning that it's truly been in development for the entire eight years of the Switch's lifecycle, up to this point. At that time, five years ago, Sato and company still didn't know the specifics of the Switch 2 architecture, and it wasn't "until a bit later" that they had working dev kits. But the move appeared to energize the team all the same. "Of course, the graphics needed to be more detailed," art director Masaaki Ishikawa said. "But like Sato-san, I also felt like it was outweighed by the sense of relief. From the beginning, the designers were saying they wanted to make the art richer, so I thought we could achieve that now. For example, team members who were creating the terrain in the scenery were really happy because they could now place more trees, which were key to giving the world a more natural look." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWjkbAQOGY8 It would've been quite jarring to go from *MK8's* lush, albeit constrained environments, to a sparse map devoid of trees and other environmental details that give richness to a game's world. Couple that with a 30 fps performance target—negatively impacting the game's smoothness, responsiveness, and sense of speed—and it's clear *MK World* on the original Switch would've lacked the quality that has made *MK8* so enduring more than a decade since its original release on the Wii U. If you're eagerly anticipating *Mario Kart World*, I highly recommend [reading the rest of Nintendo's interviews](), because they cover everything from the challenges in designing a soundtrack for a seamless open world, to the intricacies of the game's new day/night cycle and weather system. It'll surely be tough to top *Mario Kart 8*, but *World* certainly has the ambition behind it to try. ![]() ![]() *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com*[]() ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()