Last week Nintendo announced the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass, a collection of 48 “remastered” tracks from the series’ long history that will be delivered throughout 2022 and 2023. It was exciting news, but it also has the potential to split the Mario Kart 8 fanbase in a pretty big way, as those who don’t buy the pass will be missing on a major chunk of content. Or will they?
Surprisingly, the official page for the Booster Course Pass reveals that you’ll be able to play the courses locally so long as one person in your group has bought the pass. Even more generous, after a few days tracks will be added to the Random online selection, allowing anybody to play them, even if they don’t know somebody who owns the pass.
Courses from Wave 1 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass can be played from March 18th locally or online in Friends and Rivals races, even if only one player owns the Booster Course Pass or has access to it as part of a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. From March 22nd, courses from Wave 1 will also appear in the Random selection when playing Global or Regional races online.
Now, Nintendo’s blurb does specifically mention “Wave 1,” raising the possibility that they won’t be so generous with future waves (there will be six in total). It seems unlikely Nintendo would do that, but then again, the company moves in mysterious ways. By the way, here are the 8 tracks that will be included in Wave 1 of the Booster Course Pass…
Golden Dash Cup
- Paris Promenade (Mario Kart Tour)
- Toad Circuit (Mario Kart 7)
- Choco Mountain (Mario Kart 64)
- Coconut Mall (Mario Kart Wii)
Lucky Cat Cup
- Tokyo Blur (Mario Kart Tour)
- Shroom Ridge (Mario Kart DS)
- Sky Garden (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)
- Ninja Hideaway (Mario Kart Tour)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now on Nintendo Switch. The Booster Course Pass will be available on March 18 for $25 or for “free” with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass subscription.
