• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Captain Astronaut brought up a good point: Most of the chosen Mario Kart Tour real-world city tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are a bit......pale

Neoxon

Neoxon

Spotlighting Black Excellence - Diversity Analyst
Member
Oct 25, 2017
85,433
Houston, TX

Of the 6 real-world cities added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe from Tour, 5 of them are.....well......you know. Granted, Singapore & Bangkok are rumored to be coming to 8 Deluxe (both are already in Tour) while Mumbai (a city Captain Astronaut suggested) is rumored to be in Tour. And those would most certainly help with the problem. But maybe other cities from currently-underrepresented parts of the world like Lagos, Kinshasa, Cairo, Baghdad, & Mexico City would be nice to include as well in addition to the cities I mentioned that are already rumored in some capacity. I mean, look at these cities...

Victoria-Island-580.jpg
p07zy3y6.jpg
mexico-city-travel%20(1).jpg

These would be awesome to have in Mario Kart.
 
Last edited:
--R

--R

Being sued right now, please help me find a lawyer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,808
Bangkok Rush released in June on Mario Kart Tour, by the way. Not just a rumor anymore.
 
Tbm24

Tbm24

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
16,329
I don't think Mario Kart needs to go racing around Dubai imo. Also, hope that pale comment isn't looking at NYC.
 
OP
OP
Neoxon

Neoxon

Spotlighting Black Excellence - Diversity Analyst
Member
Oct 25, 2017
85,433
Houston, TX
Tbm24 said:
I don't think Mario Kart needs to go racing around Dubai imo. Also, hope that pale comment isn't looking at NYC.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's more in keeping true to Captain Astronaut's point (though you're right, NYC is hella diverse). Places like Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, South America, & Central America deserve some love.
 
Last edited:
Iztok

Iztok

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,139
Am I crazy in thinking Mario kart should have wild fantasy tracks based on Nintendo properties instead of these real life cities ...

These are easily the worst tracks in MK history, bar none. IMO only?. It seems?
 
Cantaim

Cantaim

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,396
The Stussining
I get the sentiment and want for more cities that aren't within the stereotypical Western European sphere of influence. But I don't know if I'd say London and NYC are pale. But I get their point and understand it can be a difficult one to make when you gotta make it short and succinct for YouTube.
 
Xterrian

Xterrian

Member
Apr 20, 2018
2,804
Iztok said:
Am I crazy in thinking Mario kart should have wild fantasy tracks based on Nintendo properties instead of these real life cities ...

These are easily the worst tracks in MK history, bar none. IMO only?. It seems?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
No, I agree. I don't hate these courses, but I much rather tracks that aren't explicitly set in real life locations.

Much better to take them and twist them somewhat to fit. Like San Francisco ---> Toad Harbor.
 
HMS_Pinafore

HMS_Pinafore

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,159
Straya M8
The Devs clearly visit the city's that they put into the game (the Sydney track is incredibly faithful), so I can't see them putting a Baghdad track in while Iraq still has a "do not travel" trip advisor warning.
 
Blue_Toad507

Blue_Toad507

Member
May 25, 2021
2,690
Xterrian said:
No, I agree. I don't hate these courses, but I much rather tracks that aren't explicitly set in real life locations.

Much better to take them and twist them somewhat to fit. Like San Francisco ---> Toad Harbor.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, I much prefer them giving the Mario spin to these locales. Like, you can tell Toad Harbor's inspiration easily, but it also feels like a unique location in the Mario world. As opposed to racing around New York with some Mario signs and boards.
 
L Thammy

L Thammy

Spacenoid
Member
Oct 25, 2017
50,094
I'd imagine that the big cities that people would want to drive through would generally be less homogeneous than their surroundings by virtue of being the big cities that people would want to drive through.
 
L Thammy

L Thammy

Spacenoid
Member
Oct 25, 2017
50,094
Have New Delhi stage and also have the music in the stage just be deafening honking.
 
Wishbone Ash

Wishbone Ash

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
3,856
Michigan
Neoxon said:
Brasília comes to mind...

Planalto_Central_%28cropped%29.jpg


...not to mention Mexico City. Hell, we got an entire Forza Horizon game in Mexico.

mexico-city-travel%20(1).jpg
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think hoping that Nintendo represents different cities/countries is futile, as seen with their other output, but God damn does that Brasilia picture look like they could go wild with it

Someone mentioned Brazil was "big" in Japan, that would be cool
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,962
If the rumors are accurate it'll be a decent mix. A little too Northern hemisphere focused but not that much, with some interesting and probably unexpected picks.

Asia has Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, and Mumbai (rumored to be mob_mu)
NA has Vancouver, LA, New York, and Orlando (rumored to be mob_or)
Europe has London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Athens (rumored to be mob_at)
And then Sydney

A lot of Southern Hemisphere cities don't have a bunch of very recognizable landmarks or features so they're not as well suited for a racetrack and a lot of those that do wouldn't fit Nintendo's needs. Rio for instance wouldn't get picked because it's most recognizable icon is a religious statue, I think a city like Cairo or Giza wouldn't be selected, at least for 8 Deluxe, because Dry Dry Desert already plays on the Ancient Egyptian theme, and Dubai is frankly just a worse Singapore in terms of recognizable icons.
 
Last edited:
platypotamus

platypotamus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,416
Neoxon said:
We got Paris, Tokyo, New York, Berlin, Sydney, & London in MK8D so far.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I guess I gotta get back in there and play more, I only really think I remember Paris. Maybe I'm picturing NY when I say the nondescript Toad one, or are there 7 urban courses? Wild. The airport too? I guess there's a lot more modern/urban stuff in this Mario Kart than I was remembering....
 
ned_ballad

ned_ballad

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
48,258
Rochester, New York
I wonder what happened to the Cairo track

The Pyramids were in the background of the beta official art but the game released without it and years later there isn't even a hint of Cairo in the files
 
perfectchaos007

perfectchaos007

It's Happening
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,250
Texas
The World Tour stages have by far been the worst stages in each of the 3 waves thus far. Would love for the tide to change in waves 4-6 but I won't be holding my breath
 
ned_ballad

ned_ballad

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
48,258
Rochester, New York
100% of Tour's city courses will be in 8DX, so if it's in Tour it's coming to 8

--R said:
Bangkok Rush releases Wednesday on Mario Kart Tour, by the way. Not just a rumor anymore
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Neoxon said:
I know, hence why I specified that it's already in Tour (or more accurately, it will be in Tour soon).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Bangkok Rush is almost a year old by now. Tour releases city tracks in three separate pieces, BR1 was released last year, 2 and 3 are coming this week. These three pieces then make up the 3 laps in 8DX

Edit: ah, you edited to mention the first part released in June
 
LexiStarrDust

LexiStarrDust

Member
Mar 31, 2019
121
I would rather have no more of these real world stages, they're not what I want in a Mario Kart, especially when there are plenty of old stages that could come back, but I imagine they will continue on the trend and I can live with that.

As far as new cities go I would like to see more diversity but not Dubai, it's like glamorizing the exploitation of the poor people who built and maintain the city. Also just a horribly design city.
 
Berry Pie

Berry Pie

Member
Nov 29, 2022
1,196
Iztok said:
Am I crazy in thinking Mario kart should have wild fantasy tracks based on Nintendo properties instead of these real life cities ...

These are easily the worst tracks in MK history, bar none. IMO only?. It seems?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Agreed. Mariofied versions of real world places can run into some pretty big tonal clashes, like the Berlin wall being represented by falling Thwomps...

Although if they want to get super meta and do either a Universal Studios Japan/Hollywood track, where you the course takes you to Super Mario World and the eventual Mario Kart ride, I wouldn't be opposed.
 
Poltergust

Poltergust

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,842
Orlando, FL
platypotamus said:
I guess I gotta get back in there and play more, I only really think I remember Paris. Maybe I'm picturing NY when I say the nondescript Toad one, or are there 7 urban courses? Wild. The airport too? I guess there's a lot more modern/urban stuff in this Mario Kart than I was remembering....
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Er, have you actually played MK8D since the Booster Course Pass started? They've been consistently adding 2 city tracks per wave. The airport track is part of the base game and isn't a city track.

perfectchaos007 said:
The World Tour stages have by far been the worst stages in each of the 3 waves thus far. Would love for the tide to change in waves 4-6 but I won't be holding my breath
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I disagree in a general sense. I do think New York Minute, Tokyo Blur, and London Loop are pretty weak tracks (they were weak in Tour too, which didn't make the best first impression since these were among the first 4 city tracks added to the game), but the others have far more interesting track layouts compared to them.

Honestly, the only one I can see people not jiving with in regards to unreleased tracks is LA Laps. All the others are great, and I think people are really going to like Vancouver Velocity in particular (although it's probably slated to be in the last wave).

Benzychenz said:
The earlier ones like New York and Tokyo are easily the worst ones.

The better city tracks are the ones still to come to 8.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
What this guy said.
 
OP
OP
Neoxon

Neoxon

Spotlighting Black Excellence - Diversity Analyst
Member
Oct 25, 2017
85,433
Houston, TX
LexiStarrDust said:
I would rather have no more of these real world stages, they're not what I want in a Mario Kart, especially when there are plenty of old stages that could come back, but I imagine they will continue on the trend and I can live with that.

As far as new cities go I would like to see more diversity but not Dubai, it's like glamorizing the exploitation of the poor people who built and maintain the city. Also just a horribly design city.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's a valid point, I'll remove it from the OP.
 
Regulus Tera

Regulus Tera

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,458
Welcome to first world vs the Global South Mario Kart edition

Hell there aren't even any ex-USSR locales either, and those can be considered "pale" too
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,962
Regulus Tera said:
Welcome to first world vs the Global South Mario Kart edition

Hell there aren't even any ex-USSR locales either, and those can be considered "pale" too
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Um, Berlin Byways. It has the wall and everything

Honestly what other former Soviet cities would you ever see them doing there? Moscow is the most obvious choice with several globally recognizable landmarks but the geography is not very exciting and Nintendo isn't going to have Mario driving through the Red Square. Budapest has favorable geography but no big landmark. Maybe Prague but the astronomical clock is the only obvious landmark and that doesn't strike me as enough.
 
Last edited:
Ninjadom

Ninjadom

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,197
London, UK
Just for context, these are the countries/cities that are currently in Mario Kart Tour
  • New York (launch, 2019)
  • Tokyo (2019)
  • Paris (2019)
  • London (2019)
  • Vancouver (2020)
  • Los Angeles (2020)
  • Berlin (2021)
  • Sydney (2021)
  • Singapore (2022)
  • Amsterdam (2022)
  • Bangkok (2022)
 
Madao

Madao

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,701
Panama
i've been dubbing the game "Mario Kart First World Tour" for a while since they only do the same first world countries all the time.
for us in places that never get represented it gets boring to see the same combo of France-germany-england-USA-etc.
 
HelloItsPulse

HelloItsPulse

Member
Dec 14, 2017
2,069
There's nothing else to have an issue with, so now the location choices are "too pale"? I could understand it if they picked places akin to the backwoods of Alabama, but every choice they've made have been iconic locations with a huge amount of diversity in either their population or the tourists that decide to visit.

Also, I know for a fact that Sydney Australia has a huge asian population, and New York is one of if not the most diverse places in the US, so claiming that they are "pale" is just flat out incorrect.
 
jph139

jph139

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,388
I'd be shocked if we don't get locales in India and Brazil during Tour's lifetime, but who knows if it'll be soon enough to get into MK8D. And I'm surprised we don't already have something for Egypt.

Unfortunately sub-saharan Africa doesn't have much in the way of internationally-recognized urban iconography, modern or historic, so I don't think they'd ever really dip down there. They could pick a thousand different places, but 99% of players won't even know where those cities are, nevermind what's in them. (And, I dunno, I feel like people might get kinda mad if you had Mario drifitng through the Great Mosque of Djenne...)
 
TheGuyFromBefore

TheGuyFromBefore

Member
Dec 8, 2022
232
Amsterdam
Neoxon said:
Of the 6 real-world cities added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe from Tour, 5 of them are.....well......you know.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Neoxon said:
Those would most certainly help with the problem
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I believe it would be helpful for this thread if you made your issue with the track selection a bit more… well… you know. Because to me the track selection makes sense. They could have gone for some more African cities but the theme is clearly to have super touristic cities from countries that are not controversial in the West. I'm open to change my mind for what you consider an issue so some explanation would help.
 
Last edited:
elLOaSTy

elLOaSTy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,851
Iztok said:
Am I crazy in thinking Mario kart should have wild fantasy tracks based on Nintendo properties instead of these real life cities ...

These are easily the worst tracks in MK history, bar none. IMO only?. It seems?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yep. Can we just not have these at all? Id kuch rather have remakes of old tracks or brand new designs. If they mined Mario too far then go to Metroid, Pokemon ect.

Fuck a Pokemon course would be so great, add pikachu and the track car from Snap to the available drivers even. I dont need mario and friends in real world cities it does nothing for me
 
Mik2121

Mik2121

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,945
Japan
I'm a Mario Kart fan but never played Mario Kart Tour. Every city track that has arrived on the booster has been, personally, the worst track by far of each wave.
It's not just that they don't match the theme, but they are generally a bit ugly and the track design is, at least for my taste, horrible. I always have been of the opinion that MK tracks are generally spot on, but the city ones have been a frustrating mess of barely knowing where to turn left or right, how far in the race am I, etc..

I hope we don't get more of those tracks... (I know we will)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.