Nintendo and Sega are two companies that every gamer knows. Known for their respective “Super Mario” and “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchises, these two companies and their mascots have become synonymous with gaming. These two companies were famously rivals in the 1990s, practically inventing “console wars.” However, as time went on, Sega was becoming less and less successful, and, by the mid-2000s, they exited the console industry and just became game developers. While this turned out to be good for the company, this did effectively end their big rivalry with Nintendo.
Or so we all thought, at least. The 2020’s so far have been kind of a renaissance era for the “Sonic” franchise, and their games have been reaching mass popularity again. This is especially true for the most recent game in the franchise, “Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.” What’s interesting is that the game was released just a little under four months after Nintendo’s “Mario Kart World.” Which means both games were being marketed around the same time. The reason why this is interesting is because in promos for “CrossWorlds,” Sega seems to have been implying that they’re trying to get back at Nintendo once again. Is it possible that Sega is trying to reinstate their rivalry?
While it feels more apparent now, Sega’s intentions could go as far back as 2023, with the release of the video game “Sonic Superstars,” which was released just three days before Nintendo’s “Super Mario Bros. Wonder.” Both games are 2D platformers, which would line up with their rivalry in the 90’s. However, there wasn’t really any marketing that referenced it, and in terms of impact, “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” was way more successful critically and commercially, whereas “Sonic Superstars” was released to mixed reviews.
At The Game Awards 2024, Sega announced the newest entry in the “Sonic Racing” subseries, “Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.” About a month later, Nintendo revealed a first look trailer for the Nintendo Switch 2, and in it, they showed a brief clip of a brand-new, then-untitled “Mario Kart” game. More people tuned into Nintendo’s announcement, as “Mario Kart” is a much larger series, and the “Sonic Racing” series was nowhere near as popular. However, when Sega released an official gameplay trailer for “CrossWorlds,” everyone was interested. It looked way more exciting than any other “Sonic Racing” game, bringing in lots of characters, new and returning gameplay elements, and plenty of original race tracks as well as tracks based on previous “Sonic” levels. People were saying that the new “Mario Kart” had big competition, and would have to do a lot to be the biggest racing game of the year.
On Apr. 2, 2025, Nintendo held their Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, a presentation about the system itself, as well as games being released for it. It opened with a trailer for the new “Mario Kart” game, officially revealed as “Mario Kart World,” which took the internet by storm. It revealed an open world mode, lots of new and returning tracks, lots of new gameplay elements, and several new and crazy characters, such as the Cow.
After the trailer was released, later that day Sega made a post on the official “Sonic the Hedgehog” YouTube channel, saying, “Big day for worldly racing games! Anyway, get ready for the ONLY upcoming kart racer you can play with your friends around the world across all your favorite platforms: Sonic Racing CrossWorlds!” This was obviously referring to “Mario Kart World,” and how it was only available for the Nintendo Switch 2, while “CrossWorlds” was being released across all major platforms.
When “Mario Kart World” released, it was critically and commercially successful, however, most fans agree that it was not as big as they had hoped. For starters, it is priced at $80, a new high not just for Nintendo, but for the gaming industry as a whole. This decision was criticized by many, stating that the game was too overpriced for what it offered. On top of that, many of the open world gameplay aspects have been heavily criticized; many fans claim they are too dull and boring, and would rather stick with the traditional gameplay style. The online mode has also been criticized for its lack of customization and the method of choosing a track. The game as a whole did not maintain its popularity, some fans going as far to say it was a disappointment.
Meanwhile, “CrossWorlds” had been gaining popularity again. Leading up to its release, Sega made a trailer referencing a promo from the 90’s of them calling “Super Mario Kart”, for the Super Nintendo, slow by strapping a TV playing the game to a slow-moving vehicle, while also strapping a TV playing one of the “Sonic” games to a racecar. While Sega didn’t directly show any footage of “Mario Kart World,” it was obvious that it was “that kart racing game” the promo was referring to.
Many fans stated how this was Sega’s attempt at “reawakening the beef” from the 90’s. On top of that, “CrossWorlds” also released to greater acclaim and popularity, many fans saying it was better than “Mario Kart World.” So, this could be Sega’s way of getting Nintendo to start rivaling them again, now that “Sonic” appears to be on the same level of popularity as “Mario.” There’s no official proof of if Sega is actually trying to compete with them again, or if they’re just referencing nostalgia. However, if Nintendo chooses to respond to it, this could be the start of a newly refreshed rivalry.
