Nintendo’s business is in dire straights, and has been for three consecutive years. Perhaps that’s why the company let Mercedes-Benz sponsor three new cars into its cartoonish racing game for the Wii U, in the form of a free downloadable content (DLC) package set to release at the end of the month.
The company originally announced just one Mercedes-branded kart for Mario Kart 8 — the Mercedes-Benz GLA — but Nintendo has since added two new models to the game: the W25 Silver Arrow and the 300 SL Roadster, according to Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett.
According to Nintendo, the cars’ colors will change depending on the characters you use. For example, Peach would drive a red GLA, whereas Toad would drive a dark blue model.
Compared with the candy-colored karts of Mario Kart past, the Mercedes-Benz cars don’t look cartoonish at all, and seem a bit out of place. Hopefully this isn’t the start of a new trend for Mario Kart, where automakers can pay money to get their latest cars in Nintendo’s beloved racing franchise.
Though the DLC is free, this injection of realistic-looking cars is a bit jarring. But you be the judge: Check out Nintendo’s promotional video of the Mercedes karts and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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