Mario Kart Live Brings AR Racing Right in Your Living Room

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is the company’s latest game that’s supposed to take advantage of augmented reality in a way that brings the fun generated by virtual racers right to your living room.

As compared to standard AR games that typically allow you to simulate a real experience using digital elements that are placed on top of images captured by the camera, Mario Kart Live comes with a Mario or Luigi set that includes remote-controlled karts that can be driven using a Switch console.

The karts are equipped with cameras that help stream real-time racing footage on the gaming console, and players are allowed to create their own tracks and compete against three other local players.

Needless to say, Mario Kart Live mixes the digital and the real worlds, so the obstacles that you add on your track can also come with an actual physical sibling that you can hit while driving the car. So the experience is as real as it gets, and it’s all thanks to the karts that are included in the set.

“The physical Kart responds to boosts in-game and in the real world, stops when hit with an item and can be affected in different ways depending on the race. Players place gates to create a custom course layout in their home, where the only limit is their imagination. Race against Koopalings in Grand Prix, unlock a variety of course customizations and costumes for Mario or Luigi, and play with up to four players in local multiplayer mode,” Nintendo explains.

The game doesn’t come cheap, however. According to Nintendo, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is projected to launch on October 16, and no matter what set you choose, it is available with a $99.99 price tag in the United States.