Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – US Retail Launch
Posted on August 10, 2017 by RainKnight

Note:  This article primarily pertains to the US retail launch of the game based on first-hand experience.

The release of any first party Nintendo game tends to draw interest, particularly when it comes to a beloved, time-honored franchise.  These games are sure-sellers, and the retail giants know it, often running ads and special promotions to draw customers into their stores and away from competitors.  Occasionally, Nintendo will team up with a particular retailer or retailers, offering special in-store demos, exclusive pre-order bonuses, or unique store displays.  What’s interesting, though, is when stores go all out for the re-release of a game that’s already three years old.

This brings us to the strange case of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.  It’s not that Mario Kart 8 didn’t get the attention it deserved the first time around.  There was certainly plenty of fanfare surrounding the original Wii U release, and it had the commanding presence at retail that one would expect from a Nintendo game with the usual array of signage and heavy advertisement.  The Nintendo World Store (now known as Nintendo New York) even released an insanely limited run of the otherwise European-exclusive special edition, complete with a beautiful little Blue Shell statuette.  There were a couple of small pre-order bonuses, and even a promotion with Club Nintendo to get a free downloadable game with purchase.  A Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundle was also released, and the game was used heavily to try to get Nintendo’s struggling Wii follow-up off the ground.

And while the game did well for the Wii U, total Wii U sales were still never where Nintendo wanted them to be.  So, with the release of the Switch, the game was given a second chance to reach an audience that hadn’t had the chance to play it before, as well as those who were excited to be able to play one of the best Mario Kart experiences out there on the go (all while conveniently filling the gap in the Switch’s first party release schedule between Breath of the Wild and newcomer ARMS).

Boasting a couple of new characters, a more fleshed-out Battle Mode, and all previously-released DLC tracks and characters out of the box, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was essentially a “game of the year edition” of the three year-old Wii U game.  Retail partners showcased it as if it was a brand new release, however.  The recently-released Switch had been flying off the shelves, and Nintendo and their retail partners would only benefit from selling this as a must-have version of the game, worthy of all of the same attention as the original release.

While most retail outlets pushed the game as they would with any new Nintendo release, a couple stood out as going above and beyond.

Toys R Us

Toys R Us used Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s launch window to completely restructure their product placement to better connect Nintendo’s games with the toys modeled after them.  Previously, Nintendo toys had been placed amid the rest of the action figures , usually in the vicinity of other game-inspired toy lines.  They were distinctly separate from the electronics department, with just amiibo and other toy-to-life figures bridging the gap between game and toy.

In the weeks leading up to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s launch, however, the Nintendo (and Pokémon) toy sections were greatly expanded and had dedicated aisles right smack in the middle of electronics, complete with new signage of Mario and Pikachu marking their respective sections.  Walking through these aisles would take the customer from the entrance of electronics to a wall packed with Nintendo games and accessories, as well as an expansive amiibo display to put all other retailers to shame.

And to draw customers in, they were welcomed through a huge cardboard gateway decorated with flashy depictions of the various Mario Kart racers, including the newcomer Inkling Girl.

Again, Toys R Us had been a big proponent of Mario Kart 8 the first time around, decorating electronics with posters of various racers.  This time, though, the game was used as a literal gateway too an expanded selection of Nintendo products that was next to impossible to miss for any shopper walking the store.

Target

While Toys R Us used Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as an entryway for its expanded Nintendo merchandise section, Target was focused quite specifically on the game itself.  Not just with dedicated signage, or a custom cardboard shelving unit specifically to hold all of the copies of the game, or even Target-exclusive Mario Kart 8 Deluxe-themed merchandise, though they certainly had all of that.  No, Target was going to make every single customer who walked through their doors explicitly aware that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had arrived, and they were not going to be even remotely subtle about it.

The festivities started about a week before the game’s April 28, 2017 release date.  Before you even entered the store, you would notice that Target’s unique, brand-specific bollards (those big red cement balls in front of the store) had been transformed into weird round Mario and Luigi heads.  The bollards were outfitted with fabric coverings, held firmly in place by a zip tie (and my local store’s somehow survived the entire promotional period without being stolen!).  This was actually the second time the bollards received a video game-specific makeover, with the balls being painted to resemble Pokéballs the previous summer as Target capitalized on the success of Pokémon GO.  This time, however, fabric coverings were used in place of paint in order to facilitate the more complex design.

Luigi and Mario bollard coverings.

Upon entering the automated doorway, customers were greeted with the classic sound of the countdown to the start of a race, followed by Mario’s shout of “Woo-hoo!”  A checkered starting line door decal stretches before you as you see Lakitu hovering above along with the word “GO!” stuck firmly onto the entrance.  As a customer, this was delightful.  The sound effect was triggered every single time a person walked through the door, however, likely driving every single Target employee insane.  The sound effect didn’t quite last the entire length of the promotion at my local store, though it did make it through the bulk of it.  I’m unsure if eventually a battery powering the audio mechanism was drained, or if some Target employee who was now hearing those constant sounds in their nightmares put a premature end to it.

Entering Target on April 21, 2017.

My local Target seems to have had some trouble with the checkered starting line decal…

Once inside the store itself, customers could then encounter what was probably the most clever part of this promotion, literal Mario Carts.  Each store had several random shopping carts outfitted with Mario Kart-inspired decals, featuring Mario, Luigi, and Peach’s kart designs.

As for the actual game displays, Mario Kart-decorated stand-alone displays were placed prominently in the aisles, either up towards the front check-out lanes, or back toward the electronics section, depending on the store.  The electronics section also featured additional shelf displays near the Nintendo demo stations and with the new releases.

Along with the copies of the game, the stand-alone cardboard shelving units also featured some Target-exclusive Mario Kart 8 Deluxe merchandise. With Mario Kart 8’s initial Wii U release, Target offered an interesting bonus:  Preorder the game by purchasing a $1 preorder card in order to reserve your copy, as well as get a $5 Target gift card upon payment on release day.  Oh, and attached to that card?  Right then and there, get an exclusive Mario Kart 8 rubber keychain!  (Which I still use to this day.)  Target actually used to offer a few items like this, where the bonus item was attached directly to the preorder card, though they seem to have fallen out of favor, as you were essentially getting a keychain for a dollar, whether or not you ever actually picked up the game.

This time around, Target did offer a bonus with purchase of the game, though not specifically a pre-order bonus. (I believe pre-order cards may have been offered with the $5 gift card, but no other physical item  attached.)  This was an advertised “free with purchase” bonus that was also available to purchase separately, as they have done with some other recent Nintendo games (Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, for example).  Like with Mario Maker, the “free with purchase” item offered with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was a game-themed “puzzle cube” (a.k.a. Rubik’s Cube) featuring five promotional images of the game along with one side dedicated to the Switch logo.  For those who may have picked up the game elsewhere, the cube was also available to buy separately for $5.99.

In addition to the puzzle cube, a few other Target-exclusive items were also available to purchase, including a couple that capitalized upon the driving theme.  There were two different plastic tumblers available, a teal-colored one featuring an image of Bowser in his kart, as well as a clear tumbler with a black lid that simply features the “Mario Kart” logo, both at $9.99 each.  For $7.99, you could also pick up a 2-pack of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe keychains, featuring Mario and Peach.  Unlike the rubbery keychain for the Wii U release, these are made of a hard acrylic material.  And finally, one of the most fun items from this promotion, a 2-pack of vanilla-scented car air fresheners, featuring 2D art of Mario along with an item box, retailing at $5.99.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Target-exclusive air fresheners, puzzle cube, and acrylic keychains.

Overall, Target’s all-out setup was one of most entertaining game retail experiences I can remember, and the unique themed merchandise was a great touch.  The door and cart decals, as well as the bollard covers, were around for roughly a month, going up around April 21st and being taken down in late May.  The merchandise was available while it lasted, with some busier stores selling out on the first day and some lower-traffic stores keeping stock for weeks.  Generally, the puzzle cubes and air fresheners seemed to be the first to go with the tumblers being a bit less popular (particularly the one with just the logo).  As of August 2017, most stores in my area seem to be out of stock of all of the items, save the occasional tumbler, though they’re still available online at their original prices.