Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Sparks Rivalry With Bold Ad Targeting Mario Kart World
Published on 05:08 AM, Wednesday, September 17, 2025 by miladmim
Sega is no stranger to bold marketing, and its latest campaign for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is reigniting memories of the company’s classic rivalry with Nintendo during the 1990s. With the game set to launch worldwide on September 25, Sega released a new commercial that directly pokes fun at Nintendo’s highly successful Mario Kart World, a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2.
The 30-second ad, which surfaced on social media this week, opens with a blurred screen clearly meant to resemble Mario Kart World, accompanied by a narrator saying: “Leave the open road behind and come race on our level.” From there, the trailer shifts gears, showing Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds being played on a monitor strapped to the back of a roaring drag car, highlighting its flashy gameplay and massive crossover roster. The spot closes with the blurred Mario Kart monitor humorously attached to a rundown RV, making Sega’s jab at Nintendo crystal clear.
Mario Kart World’s Strong Start
Nintendo’s Mario Kart World launched earlier this summer as the flagship title for the Switch 2. Its standout feature was an open-road exploration mode across sprawling biomes — a first for the franchise. Despite controversy over its $80 price tag, the game sold over five million copies in June alone and holds an impressive 86 on Metacritic, cementing it as another commercial and critical success for Nintendo.
CrossWorlds Takes a Different Approach
Instead of focusing on open-world driving, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is being marketed as the “Super Smash Bros. of kart racing”, pulling characters from across Sega’s catalog and beyond. Confirmed racers already include Joker from Persona 5, Ichiban Kasuga from Like a Dragon, and surprise crossovers like Minecraft’s Steve, Pac-Man, and even SpongeBob SquarePants. Sega is clearly aiming to broaden the game’s appeal by tapping into multiple fanbases.
CrossWorlds will also be more accessible than Mario Kart World, launching across PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch, with a Switch 2 version scheduled for 2026. Unlike Nintendo’s first-party exclusives, Sega is betting on a multiplatform release to drive sales momentum.
A Throwback to the Sega vs Nintendo Rivalry
The decision to directly mock Mario Kart World feels like a callback to Sega’s aggressive advertising strategies of the 1990s, when campaigns like “Genesis does what Nintendon’t” defined the console wars. Ironically, the two companies have shared a more cooperative relationship in recent years, collaborating on the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series and even bringing Sonic into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Still, fans under Sega’s Twitter post were quick to point out that the jab feels like a “return to form” for Sega, stirring excitement while adding a playful competitive edge to the kart racing genre.
Looking Ahead
With only days left before release, Sega is banking on the buzz — and a little controversy — to help Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds stand tall against Nintendo’s juggernaut franchise. At $70 and with broad platform availability, the game could carve out its own lane despite Mario Kart’s massive head start. Whether CrossWorlds becomes a lasting rival or just a nostalgic callback to Sega’s bold past remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the kart racing battle is back on.
