Nintendo wants Mario Kart World to be the reason players buy a Switch 2. But can it really convince us to pay $80 for a game and $450 for a new console?

Mario Kart World will be adding a huge slate of new characters to the Mario Kart roster, albeit with a few interesting omissions.

On Wednesday, Nintendo held a big Direct dedicated to the upcoming Switch 2. The new console is set to launch on June 5 and will cost $450. And one of the launch games for the console is Mario Kart World, a big, sprawling kart racer that looks like a lot of fun. But uh, what the heck is Mario drinking in that can?

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct provided a bounty of knowledge regarding the new console from Nintendo, including a first look at some Nintendo Switch 2 games coming – one being Mario Kart World, the iconic racing game series' first-ever open-world entry.

The new Mario Kart World video also suggests the game will have at least 28 tracks spread across seven Cups, along with 24 vehicles. Interestingly, it looks like Mario Kart World has fully formed vehicles; players seemingly no longer select individual parts to assemble a car.

A recent demonstration of Mario Kart World suggests that an unprecedented number of characters will be available to play as and race against.

Amid the ongoing backlash to Nintendo's shock pricing for the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World, two former Nintendo PR managers have described the situation as "a true crisis moment for Nintendo."

In Mario Kart, often times the only thing standing between you and certain defeat is a banana peel, which you can drag behind your kart by holding down the L button to protect yourself from turtle shells and the like.