The rumour mill churned into life over the weekend around development of the next Mario Kart game, potentially titled Mario Kart 9.
Of course this are just rumours at this stage, especially since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to be the best-selling physical game week after week. In fact, the current Mario Kart title is the best-selling Switch game.
While this is great for Nintendo, it means fans are approaching five years since the release of a new Mario Kart title. That extends to eight when you consider that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is just an enhanced version of the 2014 Wii U Mario Kart 8.
So if a truly new Mario Kart title really in on its way, what do we want to see from it? Here's our top 3 wants for a new Mario Kart title.
New characters
The Mario Kart universe is usually self-contained and separate from the rest of Nintendo, but if there is one thing that Smash Bros. Ultimate has shown is that crossovers work. With Link, Inklings, and Isabelle in 8 Deluxe, it's time to extend the roster a bit.
While we all have our usual MK Main (Wario in my case), adding the likes of Samus, Captain Falcon, or even Pikachu would be incredible for fans of the extended Nintendo world. Going full Smash Bros Ultimate with the character choice would be a bit much, but new characters would help freshen up a new game.
New items
Speaking of freshening up the gameplay, new weapons would certainly help that. The usual mix of shells, bananas, and super items should of course be unchanged, but after the addition of the Super Horn, Crazy Eight and others for Mario Kart 8 it would be good to see new items.
Perhaps a Chain Chomp or even King Bob-omb item? That would be awesome.
Real-world crossovers
Mario Kart's kart selection and setup options have opened up the opportunities for crossovers like we see in Rocket League. Imagine Mario Kart but you are driving the 2022 Formula 1 cars while throwing red shells at your friends?
What about a Tesla pack where everyone has a Model 3 or Model X? Nintendo may be unwilling to shell out for the rights to these real-world products, but we've seen them be a hit in other games, and if they are hoping to treat the next Mario Kart title as a live service then using them for DLC would be a winner for everyone involved.