Nintendo unveils new details for Mario Kart Live, like its 24-race Grand Prix mode

The Koopalings are your opponents

Mario Kart Live is out very soon, and I know some people are still confused as to what it even is, so I’ll break it down.

In short, it’s an AR-based real-life toy that has a giant camera attached to it, which links up to your Nintendo Switch to simulate a digital racetrack. You’ll scoot the actual toys around the floor of your house while you watch the screen: which divines all sorts of magic like imaginary question mark blocks and other CPU racers.

Effects like getting hit with an item will spin you out in real-life and the game, and you create the course yourself by placing “gates,” and the app will take care of the rest. The kit is $100 per kart and at launch, you can bring Mario or Luigi onto the track for solo or multiplayer experiences. Assuming it all works, that’s it. The video above explains it visually.

But beyond that basic rundown, Nintendo also had a few extra details to share with us today. First up Nintendo recommends you have an area of roughly 12′ x 10′ as a “recommended” play area, which can be restrictive for a lot of people. The “main” mode has also been revealed: a Grand Prix consisting of eight cups and 24 different races, which will feature themes such as “underwater, volcanic and retro.”

As the above video points out, the speed classes include 50cc, 100cc, 150cc and 200cc, which directly impact the speed of your real kart. There’s also a metagame to chase, in that coins you collect will grant you customization options and costumes for your digital kart.

More modes have been revealed too, like custom race (add hazards and items to your liking), time trials (compete against other people asynchronously without buying two karts) and mirror mode, which warps your real-life setup. Nintendo says that “up to four players” can race as long as they have their own karts and systems.