New Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Trailer Offers A Closer Look At Booster Course Pass Wave 1 DLC
Nintendo has finally released new information on DLC for their popular kart racer "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe." As of March 18, owners of Nintendo's premium subscription pass for the Nintendo Switch, called "Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack," will now be able to download Wave 1 of the Booster Pass DLC series for "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" for no added charge.
Six waves will be released over the course of the next year and a half, culminating with Wave 6 at the end of 2023. There are eight courses in each wave, and the courses in Wave 1 are throwbacks to fan favorites from previous "Mario Kart" games across the entire series, spanning several console generations worth of content.
Here's a complete list of what is added into "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" once the Wave 1 DLC pack is installed and activated on your Nintendo Switch console:
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Tour Paris Promenade from "Mario Kart Tour"
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3DS Toad Circuit from "Mario Kart 7"
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N64 Choco Mountain from "Mario Kart 64"
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Wii Coconut Mall from "Mario Kart Wii"
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Tour Tokyo Blur from "Mario Kart Tour"
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DS Shroom Ridge from "Mario Kart DS"
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GBA Sky Garden from "Mario Kart Super Circuit"
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Tour Ninja Hideaway from "Mario Kart Tour"
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack slowly increases in value
When it was first announced, critics of the "Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack" expressed concerns that the amount of content provided by the pass was far too slim to justify the price of $49.99 per year.
TechRadar called it a "bad deal" outright in October 2021, essentially saying that there just isn't enough in the retro console or Switch DLC catalogs to justify paying for the highest-tier service vs subscribing to a basic "Nintendo Switch Online" plan, which includes what's widely considered a decent backlog of Nintendo classics at only $19.99 per year, or $3.99 per month, or $7.99 for three months.
Since then, "Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack" has gradually increased in value, slowly adding new games to its N64 and Sega Genesis catalogs, such as the widely acclaimed "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask," and now with the addition of this "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" DLC rollout, it's becoming clear that Nintendo's strategy is to slowly develop its high-tier premium content library over time – which may just make it worth the $49.99 asking price, at least sometime down the line.
If you don't want to shell out for a subscription in order to get the "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass" and start playing the new DLC pack today, you can purchase it independently from the Nintendo Switch Store for $24.99.