Nintendo/MattelCrash Team Racing might be the hot new racing game of Summer 2019, but Nintendo are working to make sure we don’t forget about the one true kart racer any time soon, thanks to a slick looking new Mario Kart hot wheels playset.
This glorious collaboration between Mattel and Nintendo was originally made last year during 2018’s San Diego Comic-Con, but Business Wire now reports that the Mario Kart Hot Wheels set will be rolling into living rooms this Summer. Finally, we can enjoy all the fun of the iconic kart racer with none of the swearing that inevitably comes with last-minute blue shell strikes.
Mattel Matt Brutocao, Senior Director of Global Brand Marketing for Hot Wheels said of the team-up:
Mario Kart and Hot Wheels are two of the most iconic brands in play, each with their own storied history and devoted fan base, so the combination of the two is something very special. Our new Hot Wheels Mario Kart line creates an exciting Mario Kart play experience, complete with fun characters, authentic details and the type of out-of-this-world racing challenges that are synonymous with Hot Wheels.
The sets – which will be based on several tracks from Mario Karts gone by – will come with a number of various popular characters from Mario history, including Bowser, Yoshi, Luigi, and the famous portly plumber himself. Later sets will introduce the likes of Koopa Troopa, Princess Peach, and Toad, too.
The tracks will also come with various, infamous hazards from the series, meaning we’ll have to look out for Piranha Plants, Thwomps, and other such beastly obstacles. There’s no word yet on whether or not you’ll be able to create an actual exploding blue shell to lob at whoever is having the most fun, but I can’t imagine Nintendo would be in to that, despite my spirited letter writing campaign.
Finally, it was confirmed that the Mario Kart sets will be compatible with other Hot Wheels sets, so you mix and match till your heart’s content.
The Hot Wheels Mario Kart sets will be making their debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, which runs from July 17-21. After that, you can expect to find them globally in select markets and retailers. Now I just have to justify buying every single possible piece of this collection to my wife.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.