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:
According to Nintendo, the MK8 DLC will work online, but it won't be available as an option if anyone in the room hasn't purchased it
— GameXplain (@GameXplain) November 5, 2014
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.