Over the weekend of Mario Kart 8’s release, Nintendo announced sales of 1.2 million units worldwide for the popular kart racing game.  I have played around 35 hours of Mario Kart since its release and I can easily say that it has my attention.  I know that I will have a lot of fun times with friends and family with this game, and I anticipate further challenging moments over the online multiplayer.  Towards the end of the year we will see the release of Super Smash Bros. on Wii U, and our attention will be averted there.  I will likely download it at its midnight release and play it with little sleep for days on end, neglecting both my studies and responsibilities.  A year from now, I will yearn for new content.  In order to keep the dust from collecting on my Wii U GamePad, Nintendo will need to give me reasons to occupy it more than my PC (or other systems, for that matter).  While I do enjoy seeing a large flow of great games entering the market, it doesn’t always agree with my wallet.  I believe that Nintendo has an amazing opportunity which, if done right, could pay off in spades.

Mario Kart 8 DLC

The levels in Mario Kart8 for the Wii U are amazing, both new and classic.  The classic tracks come from a selection of other Mario Kart games before.  While I love the classic remade tracks on Mario Kart 8, I was upset when I saw a lot of my favorite tracks were not included.  Nintendo could easily take advantage of my emotions right now and release map packs from past Mario Kart games.  I think that Nintendo could even give Mario Kart the Forza treatment and give hundreds of add-on options for tracks, carts and new characters.  Mario Kart 8 is a cash-cow that will probably take a decade to go dry, so why not profit off of it?  Would I personally spend a couple of hundred dollars on add-on content?  My answer is this: I will buy all extra tracks and characters that are offered.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U  DLC

Next week at E3 we expect to have a release date for the new Super Smash Bros. forWii U and Nintendo 3DS.  Nintendo already has me hogtied with the release of not one, but two Smash Bros. games.  $100 is a small price to pay for a rich experience that will come from these games.  One of my favorite features for any game is the ability to build a level or track for trade or use.  Trials: Evolutions is a great example of this because, through the release of DLC content, you could expand on the items that were used for level editing.  Super Smash Bros for Wii U will likely have a level editor like in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  Nintendo has another opportunity to run off with my bank account in the form of DLC content.  I think that Smash Bros. is a game that could cash in from future DLC content in the form of extra characters, levels, level editor additions and ranked tournaments.
Nintendo is in possession of some top-tier series with all sorts of DLC opportunities.  Future Legend of Zelda games could benefit from additional dungeons, and future Metroid titles could come with options of additional missions in DLC packages.  I will always be here, eagerly waiting for Nintendo to release more titles with the quality of Mario Kart 8.  Recently, we have seen Nintendo release DLC for some of their games.  New Super Mario Bros. U got a DLC package of New Super Luigi U which was basically a whole game in itself.  Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Mario Golf World Tour also have DLC content available for download.  I trust that Nintendo will do the right thing and release some DLC for these amazing titles.  Whatever the case, things are looking up for Nintendo right now, and they are only going to get better through the end of the year.

Landon Luthi is one of MONG’s newest editors.  You can follow him on Facebook.