How Mario Kart 8's Handling DLC Integration [UPDATED]

UPDATE: According to VentureBeat, characters from the DLC will appear to players who haven't paid for the DLC. That's encouraging. You just can't experience the new tracks, which seems pretty reasonable. They're the equivalent of new maps.

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We know Nintendo's dropping Mario Kart 8's first wave of downloadable content next week, and some concerns been raised about how the company might be handling it. I saw this tweet floating around:

That sounds bad, and it's mostly true.

Many games have fumbled DLC integration into the past. It's especially problematic for multiplayer games. Some games require every player to download the DLC, meaning they can see the new content but not use the new content. This is common for fighting games. But it's not how Nintendo's handling it for Mario Kart 8. Maybe it's because every Wii U doesn't come with much hard drive space?

The company told me that before hopping online, players have the option to only be matched with players with the DLC. The also applies to tournaments. If someone doesn't own the DLC, it's okay. The player doesn't need to leave the room, but everyone will have to ditch the DLC and only play with on-disc content.

It's not an ideal situation, but it's the one we've got.

Ahh Nintendo, one step forward two back. I thought modern consoles solved these problems after Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.

They did! The key-word is "modern", and Nintendo sure ain't that... :(

With multiplayer fps dlc, you can't play on maps you don't own typically; that's kind of the point of selling it. This isn't different. It's not like this dlc adds new mechanics or whatever like an expansion.

This is only relevant for the new stage cups.

I hope Nintendo gets this better and learns with Smash Bros. Not being able to use DLC characters in any fight would be very bad.

That's exactly it. I had that problem when I tried to play CoD Zombies years ago. Heck, if you don't have the new BF4 maps you just got kicked from the server when a map you didn't own loaded up.

This is a pretty awkward way to handle DLC, but I guess the inclusion of DLC at all means Nintendo is at least making an effort to catch up to other companies when it comes to online and digital aspects of gaming.

Still, handling DLC this way not only splits the userbase, but also is not as likely to convince people to buy DLC as allowing them to see the DLC would have been. After all, having a lot of fun on a track which you need to rely on others to access or seeing someone take the lead with a new kart/character you don't have access to are more clearcut and direct incentives for purchasing DLC than a marketing statement and a video or two.

At least in MK9 they get it all figured out. You get cool Sektor and Cyrax skins for downloading the compatibility packs!

I don't see the issue? You can match with people that have bought it. What is the alternative here? Letting people race on tracks they didn't buy? That is insanity, no map pack is treated like that in any game, Call of Duty and Battlefield is exactly the same.

Yeah, the characters and karts should probably be usable when playing with people that didn't buy it but make no mistake, these are map packs first and foremost. The rest are basically cosmetic bonuses.

I understand that you shouldn't be able to race on a DLC track if you don't have the DLC. But it would be nice if you could race with anyone on original tracks but with DLC characters and karts if you own the DLC.

Anyone else think they mean "Mortal Kombat 8" whenever someone uses the abbreviation "MK8?" I didn't even play hardly any Mortal Kombat games, but somehow after hearing a lot of people just say "MK9" and always say "Mario Kart" I can't wrap my head around using "MK8" as the abbreviation.

@benmo316 said:

This. This would be the ideal way to handle it.

I think there's some sense to it, if it was just characters and karts it would be more egregious, but theres two cups worth of tracks in there too.

actually, come to think of it I don't recall any problems using the free Mercedes DLC or the coloured yoshi's and shyguys that you get for preordering both DLC packs online. I wonder if it's only talking about tracks and it's just bad messaging? if theres anything Nintendo is is worse at than online it's messaging.

This always worked well in the past!

Nintendo: Yesterday's problems, Today!

I do this every time.

I don't get the big controversy here, they're not going to have people race on tracks that they don't own. This seems to be the way most games handle this for tracks/levels. (Titanfall does intergrate the DLC into the rotations and match you in and out as required but that's more the exception than rule.). Of course characters are a different issue.

I'm guessing the implementation is that this is also going to be the case for the DLC characters, which is a shame when other games have dealt with DLC characters online better.

Actually, what happens with the coloured Yoshi and Shy Guys? Not tested that online.

Isn't that how everybody else handles it? I can't play on Battlefield DLC maps if I don't own them.

I don't know. That's not terrible.

Agreed, I don't see why this is a big deal. If you don't own the DLC, you shouldn't be allowed to play the courses in the DLC.

Also, we're not talking about a $50 season pass here, it's $12 for what amounts to 50% more game. Is there anyone who owns Mario Kart 8 that won't be buying the DLC?

I was thinking the same thing. Many months after the release I would imagine the game is going to get an influx of people coming back specifically for the DLC. My hope is this results in the vast majority of online players are DLC owners.

This is how everybody handles it. Either new DLC playlists or this exact feature.

Why is this a problem?? Nintendo is handling this EXACTLY how it should be handled. You don't get to play the tracks online if you don't buy them, that's a MASSIVE part of the game.

Either play with people who own the dlc with you or play with those who don't have it. Exactly how it should be.

Why would people have acces to maps/tracks they haven't bought? If the case was that people couldn't use DLC characters unless everyone had the DLC or some insane shit like that, THAT would be classic Nintendo, taking one step foreward, then stumbling headfirst down a ditch. This is a nothing story.

I don't see the issue. You don't buy the track, you don't get to play it.

the only way to get past this is forced updates for online.

I'm actually entirely behind this method. This is what you do when you want everyone who bought the base game to feel like they have a complete product.

The other option is "all you non-DLC players need to have a compatibility pack downloaded to make sure that the people who bought the optional additional content always have access to it." But a compatibility pack is just a mandatory download of the DLC in a form that you can't select for yourself. Since everyone has to get it, it's not actually optional content.

There's something shitty about being told "hey, the game got bigger! Now your $60 only bought 95%, and you need to pay $5 to unlock the last 5% to have the full game again." It doesn't always feel that way, but after enough games that release DLC and then put out a GOLD or GOTY or ULTRA edition that includes it all, it's saying "yes, WITH all the DLC is the full, definitive edition. The original version is a lesser product."

I know you need to pay service to customers who have paid money for something, but everyone in this situation has already paid in the main price. It seem like strange values to say "we know you already paid full price, but it's that last extra $5 is what makes them more important than you."

So to keep it from feeling like the full price you paid suddenly didn't include the full game, that bonus content needs to actually be optional. Stuff that doesn't affect the play experience of non-DLC owners. That's usually just limits it to cosmetic stuff, but if you want to add something mechanical, I think this is the way to do it. When you want to play with people who don't have it, you don't get to have it either. Because it's extra. It's not part of the "full game experience", and you knew that when you bought it, because it was an extra purchase and not included in the original price.

(Or you go the other way, and if anyone has the DLC, then everyone gets to use it as long as they're around. That's what Dota 2 does with skins / announcers. It's like when you have a board game night, and you have the base, but your friend has the expansion. Everyone gets to play the expansion as long as that friend brings it. I would almost expect Nintendo to use a system like this over a compatibility pack solution, because it does have that idea of friendship and sharing an experience.)

Looking at how something like Trials Fusion was done, a "season pass included in full price" seems to make a lot of sense. You buy the full game, and that include whatever full means after it gets bigger from them adding more content. Then you can still have you "base game only" version, but that costs less and the trade off of "you're paying less, and so you're getting less game," is seen up-front. But then we almost get into a question of "Well, aren't we just kind of wrapping back around to a (paid) demo vs. full-game split?" And yeah, I think so. I'm even behind pushing it more towards the KI / LoL system of "You get the minimum amount of game possible, but it's free, and then you buy only as much of the game as you want piecemeal." There's usually only about 4 characters / cars / levels that I like in a game anyway. If the only one I want is going to be behind DLC anyway, let me just buy only that little bit of the game, and pay very little for it.

VentureBeat has confirmed how the DLC will work.

This is a nothing story and almost exactly how any other company would have handled this situation. You can use DLC characters whenever and set up which set of courses you would like to race on beforehand.

That's basically the way Burnout Paradise handled it - you had to download an update if you wanted to play online, you could see other people using cars you don't own, but you couldn't go to Big Surf Island or play the extra modes unless you paid. The limited storage space on Wii U might make that a harder proposition though.

Nintendo should make that weird sleep monitoring thing they were talking about into a Wii U external hard drive.

This is the BEST way to handle it. Extra playlists for dlc owners = everyone wins.

I guess I missed the part about being able to sort out people who dont have the DLC I guess its not to bad. I should still be able to use the playable characters and cars if people have the DLC or not. I understand the tracks but characters sucks. Just splits the playerbase.

Wait...what? This article is kind of confusing.

@Chaser324 - The only main part that you would need to force people to download are the new characters & karts, so the space shouldn't be an issue. You could keep the download of the tracks, which would take up the most space, to just the people that pay.

Isn't that how map packs always are? Maybe I've misunderstood something?

Doesn't seem worth posting.

That being the case, Patrick should probably update or just retract this story. Wasn't really a huge issue with the way it initially looked, but with what VentureBeat has confirmed, that's the ideal solution and this is now completely a non-issue.

Welcome to a Klepek article, where he loves to talk about how weird and behind the times Nintendo does things when its really not that different from anyone else. Oh, but he reiterates that he likes them most of the time, so its ok.

I would say it is GB as a whole not just Patrick just listen to anytime Nintendo are mentioned on the bombcast.

@zippedbinders: Actually the whole website has this attitude, not just Klepek. They are opinions, you don't have to agree with them.

Wait, so this works like all other DLC? Am I missing something?

Oh, I know that. Its one of the reasons I actually use things like Destructoid and Operation Rainfall for actual news and coverage of Nintendo/Japanese stuff. I love Jeff, Dan, Vinny, and Brad, but I gave up on them as a news source years ago. Which really doesn't explain why I'm on this article in the first place I guess.

I don't play FPS's so I don't know how map packs are typically handled in games. I would assume that there's some sort of checkbox when searching for matches in Mario Kart 8 (I don't own it, yet) that asks you if you want to race in your purchased DLC or not. And according to the article, that's essentially what's happening here.

What's the problem?

Man, Patrick really needs an editor who's more willing to be critical. Really sloppily written, and that's the case pretty frequently.

Hate when DLC is handled like this. Reason alone is it makes the stages less likely to be chosen since not everyone owns them. If I'm buying them I would like to be able to play people on them. The way there doing it just divides the community. Online gaming should be more about keeping the community intact instead of dividing it. Most games don't handle it the way I would like it to be handled. For me i'd rather it be playable online but those stages you can't chose off line. Sure maybe its going to get less buys but at least the game as a whole stays fun for longer. If it was handled this way the publisher could think of it more as a investment in keeping there game around longer then letting it become stale.

For the characters thats easy, just don't let people that didn't pay play as the new characters, but they can still see them from other players. Its kind of like advertising this way.

If investing in the community would be the big thing for online gaming it would be more fun and IMO I think more gamers would buy more online games in the end (not just the popular ones). Why nickel and dime everyone when you can get a bigger audience.

How many online games have you picked up just to see the community totally dead, its sales tactics like this that kill online gaming as a whole. One of the reason's I've become to hate DLC, it just doesn't work in online games the way it should.

MK is Mortal Kombat. It's the law. Mario Kart never earned the right to dethrone it and claim the initials.

Now then...getting into Gears of War vs God of War is a bit more tricky.

Yeah this seems like a totally fine, actually really good way to handle dlc. Interested to see how many downloads it gets.

OK, so clarification: it sounds like the character and car models will be part of a mandatory patch for the game (since other players without the DLC will have to be able to see them online), but the tracks themselves are only downloaded if you bought the DLC? And you basically choose a matchmaking hopper, whether you want the original 32 tracks, or the 40 tracks that include the DLC ones?

This doesn't seem too different from how shooters handle map packs...