Nintendo hopes to reel in fans with Mario Kart 8 crossover DLC

Today, Nintendo Europe put up a page advertising two DLC packs for Mario Kart 8, due in November 2014 and May 2015, which each bring 8 new tracks to the game as well as characters from The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing franchises, as well as karts and (apparently) a track from its F-Zero racing franchise. DLC has long been a staple of a game's development strategy at other publishers, but Nintendo, as usual, has only done experiments here and there, in games like New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Mario Golf World Tour. These Mario Kart 8 packs -- priced at £7.00 ($11.60 U.S.) suggest a more conservative and appealing approach to DLC. Each contains eight courses, four vehicles, and three characters. Players who buy both will additionally unlock Yoshi and Shyguy characters for play in the game. The move may tie into statements made by president Satoru Iwata that Nintendo would better exploit its IPs and characters moving forward -- its only ongoing crossover franchise is Smash Bros., which has two installments (one for each of its platforms) due this year.