‘Mario Kart 8’ DLC Pits Link Against Mario This Fall, ‘Animal Crossing’ Next Spring

Nintendo ‘s UK store revealed two upcoming DLC packs for Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U. Both will feature new characters, vehicles, and tracks including cross-overs such as The Legend of Zelda‘s Link for the very first time in the series.

It’s currently not clear if the Mario Kart 8 DLC reveal was a slip by Nintendo’s UK branch or not. A press release via Business Wire was finally made available hours after the listing first appeared.

Both DLC packs will come with two new cups, eight courses, four vehicles and three new characters. Nintendo will begin taking pre-orders on August 27 with the release of the free Mercedes-Benz DLC for Mario Kart 8. They can be purchased for $7.99 each or $11.99 for both.

“More than 1 million Wii U owners in the United States alone are already enjoying the fun of Mario Kart 8,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “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.”

The store listing and press release state that the DLC packs “include classics like Wario’s Gold Mine from Mario Kart Wii, as well as new courses, some taking place in the worlds of The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing.” It doesn’t detail what the split will be between new and remastered courses, but it’s safe to assume there will be one or two classic courses included in each Mario Kart 8 DLC.

The first DLC will release this November and is called The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8. As the name suggests, it comes with Link from the series plus Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach from Super Mario Bros. World. Meanwhile, the four new vehicles based on the screenshots include a cat car for Peach, a Hyrule-themed kart and motorcycle, and the Blue Falcon from F-Zero.

The second DLC is due out May 2015 and is another themed pack titled Animal Crossing X Mario Kart 8. It includes Isabelle and the villager from Animal Crossing plus Dry Browser, the creepy skeleton look for the character. Naturally, there will be at least one Animal Crossing-themed course and vehicles plus who knows what else.

Those who purchase both packs will also receive eight new colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy. If both packs are pre-ordered, the colors become available immediately in Mario Kart 8.

Nintendo is still feeling its way out with the use of DLC for its Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games and Mario Kart 8 could definitely use some as the Wii U’s biggest seller. What do you think of this DLC for Mario Kart 8? Is the price and content right? Let us know in the comments below.

[Images via Nintendo]