Technologies

Nintendo Fails to Justify $80 Price Tag in Mario Kart World Direct

Nintendo still hasn’t explained why it’s charging more for the game.

Nintendo held its Mario Kart World Direct on Thursday morning to show off the flagship game that’ll launch with the Switch 2 in June. But even as the company showed off the game’s new features, most people watching wanted one thing: For Nintendo to lower the price.

Mario Kart World received backlash when it was revealed to have an $80 price tag after the Switch 2 reveal event on April 2. Those interested in the Switch successor are excited about the new games but concerned that its higher price may be the start of a new trend. There are already concerns about the Switch 2’s price and whether it will increase from the announced $450 mark following recently instituted tariffs, which caused a delay to preorders for the US. The price of new games currently tops at $70 across different platforms.

While Nintendo didn’t justify the price, the showcase did go over all the details about the game.

Mario Kart World will be the biggest Mario Kart game, giving players the freedom to travel across the map on their own. This is the first time racers can freely roam with no need to stay on the track — unless, of course, they want to win the race.

The Mario Kart World Direct showed off the game’s new courses: Mario Bros. Circuit, Crown City, Salty Salty Speedway, Starview Peak and Boo Cinema. Reimagined tracks from older games will also be included. There are three new racers: Goomba, Spike and Cow.

It couldn’t be a Mario Kart game without new items to use during a race. Those items include the Coin Shell, which can knock out opponents as well as drop coins, the Ice Flower to freeze other racers, the Mega Mushroom to grow huge to bump everyone out of the way and the Feather to make some big jumps. There’s also Kamek, the longtime magical enemy of Mario who will help a racer by transforming everyone else on the course.

There are two racing tours: Grand Prix and Knockout Tour. In Grand Prix, there are three cups to choose from — Mushroom, Flower, Star — and players compete in multiple races to earn points in order to win the cup. Nintendo teased that after completing the Grand Prix, the beloved Rainbow Road track might be unlocked. Knockout Tour is similar to Grand Prix except that you have to place or else get kicked out of the next race. In both tours, players will have to drive from one track to another.

New techniques are making their debut in #MarioKartWorld!

With Charge Jump you can leap over obstacles, grind along power lines, and dodge attacks from rivals!

Charge Jump toward a wall to Wall Ride for a short period of time! pic.twitter.com/xuFqRsFDny

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 17, 2025

During that roaming time between races, players can experience the Mario Kart World map. There are hidden coins and panels, as well as P buttons that will start quests to collect blue coins in a certain amount of time. The world also has Yoshi drive-thrus, where players can pick up food that will unlock new outfits for characters.

One of the big new additions in Mario Kart World is the Rewind function. During a race, a player can rewind themselves to make a jump or reach a platform. However, if done during a race, all the other racers will continue forward, which could cost you the race.

For multiplayer, one person with Mario Kart World can let up to four players play on the same system via split screen. Online races will support up to 24 players, and with the Switch 2 Camera and GameChat, players racing against each other can see their faces positioned over their characters while playing.

Mario Kart World launches on June 5 for $80 with the Switch 2. There is a Switch 2 Mario Kart World Bundle for $500, and during the Direct, Nintendo mentioned that this bundle will be available for a limited time.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Nov. 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s fairly straightforward, but if you need help, read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: On the ___ (using Tinder or Bumble)
Answer: APPS

5A clue: Color of the second-hardest Connections category
Answer: BLUE

6A clue: Prepare, as a Thanksgiving turkey
Answer: CARVE

8A clue: Have to have
Answer: NEED

9A clue: Camper’s construction
Answer: TENT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Kimmel’s channel
Answer: ABC

2D clue: Audience member who’s in on the magic trick
Answer: PLANT

3D clue: Many a baby food
Answer: PUREE

4D clue: Typical number of objects that humans can hold in working memory, hence phone numbers
Answer: SEVEN

7D clue: Summer hrs. in N.Y.C.
Answer: EDT

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 3, #406

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 3, No. 406.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. The purple category, as always, is a real brain-bender. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Catch up!

Green group hint: Beehive State.

Blue group hint: Hoops statistics.

Purple group hint: Signal-callers, but tweak their last name.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Fall behind.

Green group: Utah teams.

Blue group: Categories of points in a basketball box score.

Purple group: NFL QBs, with the first letter changed.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fall behind. The four answers are drop back, falter, lag and trail.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Utah teams. The four answers are Cougars, Jazz, Mammoth and Utes.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is categories of points in a basketball box score. The four answers are bench, fast-break, paint and second-chance.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL QBs, with the first letter changed. The four answers are cove (Jordan Love), Ellen (Josh Allen), mix (Bo Nix) and wields (Justin Fields).

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 3, #876

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 876 for Monday, Nov. 3.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has some exceptionally long clues. All of them have at least two words. If you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Primary color.

Green group hint: Your lungs also qualify.

Blue group hint: Parents’ nightmare toys.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection in the second word of each phrase.