Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Gets a Rare Event for Mario Day

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be hosting a new in-game event in celebration of Mario Day this year. The event is a Community Challenge, and it will begin on March 7th, running through the 17th. During that time, the game’s community will be challenged to finish a combined one million laps. If players are able to pull off this feat, every participant that finishes at least one lap will receive 310 Platinum points. When the community challenge goes live, players must use the tournament code 1152-2501-4827 to enter.

At this point, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is nearly 8 years old, so it’s pretty surprising to see Nintendo still supporting it through an in-game event. Despite the game’s age, it continues to sell very well for Nintendo, and it’s likely the next week will see an influx of new players, since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of several games getting discounted for Mario Day. At the very least, this event might convince some fans to dust off their copy and jump back into some races to help the community reach its goal.

Platinum points can be redeemed for both digital and physical rewards. Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can put them towards limited time profile icons. In fact, just in time for Mario Day, Nintendo Switch Online is offering profile icons based on Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64. As is often the case with icons based on older games, subscribers must first play the games through their associated apps before they can claim them. As long as the game is booted up once, the icons can be claimed for 10 Platinum points each. If participants complete the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe community challenge, they’ll have more than enough to claim all these icons, and still have some left over.

In addition to those digital rewards, Nintendo has added some Mario themed physical rewards than can be obtained with Platinum points. A Super Mario stadium tote bag can be claimed for 500 points, featuring a clear design that should help it comply with the regulations of most sporting events. There’s also a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe license holder with lanyard, which also costs 500 points. Readers can find out more about these items at Nintendo’s official website right here.

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The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Community Challenge might just be one of the last events we see in the game. Nintendo Switch 2 was revealed back in January, alongside a new Mario Kart game. If the game and console are both released this year (as fans are expecting), it might finally mark the end of the road for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It’s hard to be too sad considering what a great run the game has had, so hopefully the Community Challenge offers a fun swan song for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Are you planning to participate in this Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Community Challenge? What do you think of this year’s Mario Day promotions? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!