Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Disses Mario Kart in New Ad

Sega has dropped a bold new ad for its upcoming kart racing game Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds that takes some jabs at Nintendo's Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is attempting to become the Super Smash Bros. Of kart racers, as it's inviting a host of familiar faces from not just Sega but the wider gaming world. So far, CrossWorlds has confirmed Joker and Ichiban Kasuga from Persona 5 and Like a Dragon respectively, but is also bringing in legendary characters from massive franchises like Minecraft, Pac-Man, and even SpongeBob.

Sonic Racing: Crossworlds Adding SpongeBob Content

As the launch title of the all-new Switch 2 console earlier this Summer, Mario Kart World's biggest draw was its open road exploration across a large, diverse map of biomes. As this generation's first game to take the leap up to $80, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding Mario Kart World's release. However, the game seems to have sold very well despite this, moving well over five million copies in June alone. Critical sentiment surrounding the game has been outstanding as well, with the launch title securing an 86 on Metacritic.

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As a celebration of previous Sonic racing games, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds brings back Sonic Riders' Extreme Gear, but the execution isn't perfect.

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By Zackari Greif

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Fuels Mario Kart Rivalry

With just over a week to go until the anticipated release of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega has gone ahead and created a new ad that seems to be firing clear shots at its competitor Mario Kart World. Shared as part of a tweet that starts with "Leave the open road behind and come race on our level," the 30-second ad shows what's believed to be Mario Kart World being played on a blurred monitor with a narrator snarkily belittling Nintendo's new kart racer. After the narrator goes on to gas up all CrossWorlds' bells and whistles showing the game on a monitor strapped to the back of a drag racing car, the ad ends with the blurred Mario Kart monitor strapped to a broken-down RV.

It's important to note that the rest of the tweet reminded Sonic fans that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set for its "Early Unlock" period one week from today for those who've purchased the Digital Deluxe version of the game, but that Nintendo Switch owners won't be able to access CrossWorlds early, as Nintendo doesn't typically support three-day early access periods for any game. It's unclear why Sega decided to create an ad like this that jabs at Nintendo, as the two Japanese gaming giants have been friendly in the past with collaborations like the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series and the Blue Blur's inclusion in Super Smash Bros., but fans of both Mario and Sonic agree under the tweet that the ad feels just like Sega and Nintendo's classic 90s rivalry.

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds - trailer screenshot

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set to release next week, on September 25, for Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch, with a Switch 2 release planned for 2026. It'll surely be interesting to see how well CrossWorlds sells compared to Mario Kart World as a $70 game that won't be exclusively tied to a brand-new console.

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