The idea of Sega competing with Nintendo might seem strange in today’s gaming landscape. The original “console war” was represented by Sonic and Mario, the two mascots of the competing companies, and while these are still two firm icons of the video game world, it’s safe to say that Mario’s legacy has raced ahead.
With Sonic Racing: Crossworlds approaching at the end of the month, Sega has decided to release a trailer that draws a direct comparison between their game and Mario Kart – specifically by targeting the decision of to include an open world Mario Kart feature.
Open World Mario Kart
The nature of the remark in the trailer was relatively good-natured, but it does mirror the criticisms that an open world Mario Kart has drawn.
Some players feeling as though it detracted from the more focused and linear environment where a kart racer thrives, creating superfluous content as a result.
In the trailer, the narrator draws comparisons between Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, and a blurred-out Mario Kart World, later represented by an RV in a desert next to a cow (a likely nod towards its iconic character), which the narrator sounds notably bored by, especially when he uncertainly mentions the open world.
Early Impressions of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds?
Of course, while this might just be a good-natured joke to raise the profile of the release attention, taking potshots at the most well-known racing series there, is while promoting your own, is bold to say the least.
While Sonic Racing: Crossworlds might lack the contentious open world, does it have the driving mechanics to rival Mario Kart?
Early impressions given by the network test seem fairly positive, but with so many characters being locked behind DLC paywalls, it’s unclear whether this will be big enough of an issue to sink the experience.
The full comparison will be clear once the game releases on September 22nd.
Sega vs Nintendo Rivalry
Realistically, while this might harken back to the days of the Dreamcast, Mario Kart World sold over five million copies in the first month of its release, which is a high standard for Sonic Racing: Crossworlds to meet.
Perhaps it’s looking, instead, to match it in terms of critical success – yet even with the backlash caused by design choices like the open world, Mario Kart World reached 86 on Metacritic, with 97% of critics recommending the game on Open Critic.
In any case, the companies are in different markets now, with Sega focusing much more on the software side of things.
