Should Nintendo Fans Be Worried About Mario Kart 9?

Mario Kart 8 randomly got a new update last night on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch. Mario Kart 8 is an extremely popular game played by millions still. With this context, the update isn't that noteworthy, but it's not all of the context. This is the first update made to the game since the start of 2019. As a result, Nintendo fans are wondering what the heck is going on, and some are now even speculating that this could be bad news for Mario Kart 9. On the surface level, it does -- kind of -- look that way, but the update is so minor that it's probably not worth looking into.

If you haven't downloaded the update (1.7.2) or seen its patch notes, it does two things. The first of these two things is that it addresses an issue that was causing tournament points to reset, which is a fairly big issue, though it's unclear how prevalent it was.

Part two of the patch notes reveal that an issue that was causing match history with friends to be reset has been fixed, which is a less important fix, unless of course, it was a prevalent problem.

At the end of the day, it's an odd update. The first fix sounds big enough to warrant an update, but it's impossible to ignore the fact that this is the first update to the game in over two years. However, there's nothing here that suggests Mario Kart 9 isn't releasing anytime soon. If Nintendo replaces a couple more updates for Mario Kart 8, it may be time to sound the alarms, but until then, there's no need to panic.

According to the current rumors, Mario Kart 9 isn't very far away. While Nintendo has yet to reveal or announce the next installment in the series, it's reportedly coming sometime this holiday season or early 2022, possibly alongside the Nintendo Switch Pro.

For more coverage on Mario Kart, Nintendo Switch, and everything else Nintendo -- including all of the latest news, rumors, leaks, and deals -- click here. Meanwhile, as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler Fischer_ and let me know over there. Is this update bad news for Mario Kart 9 and its release?