Two new downloadable content packs have been announced for Mario Kart 8 featuring crossovers with The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing.
Both DLC packs will feature three new characters, four vehicles, and eight courses each. Simply called "The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8" and "Animal Crossing X Mario Kart 8," the DLC packs are available separately but can also be purchased as a bundle at a lower price. Each pack costs $7.99 on its own but players buying the bundle need only pay $11.99.
New characters to be expected from The Legend of Zelda DLC pack include Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, and of course, Link, while the Animal Crossing pack will bring Villager, Isabelle, and Dry Bowser. Not a lot of details are available just yet on new vehicles but a Blue Falcon kart will be in play to represent the F-Zero franchise for those who have the Zelda pack.
The eight new courses included in each DLC pack will be split into two cups, increasing the number of courses currently available in Mario Kart 8 by half. Players can expect both new and classic courses, including Wario's Gold Mine from Mario Kart Wii and, of course, tracks looping around worlds of The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing.
The Legend of Zelda pack will be released in November of this year while the Animal Crossing pack will be made available on May 2015. Both DLC packs, however, can already be purchased starting Aug. 27.
Aside from saving on costs, Mario Kart 8 players purchasing the DLC packs as a bundle will also have access to eight new colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy. They won't have to wait either for the actual release of the DLC packs because they'll be able to use the new colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy immediately after buying.
"More than 1 million Wii U owners in the United States alone are already enjoying the fun of Mario Kart 8. Mario Kart 8 already includes the largest number of characters, karts and options of any Mario Kart game to date, and these amazing expansion packs give players even more choices," said Scott Moffitt, Sales & Marketing executive vice president for Nintendo of America.
The previously announced Mercedes-Benz DLC will also be available starting Aug. 27 once the game update goes live. This DLC will feature three new Mercedes-Benz cars: the GLA, the 300 SL Roadster, and the Silver Arrow.
