'Mario Kart 8' eSports Special: Nintendo Partners with Disney XD for TV Special
Disney XD is partnering once more with Nintendo for a new eSports special featuring a Mario kart racing game.
The eSports special will be a video game tournament focusing on the Nintendo game "Mario Kart 8." Titled "Clash of Karts: Mario Kart 8," the tournament will have two teams compete using Nintendo Wii U consoles. Each team will have four players — kids who are 13 to 17 years old. These players are among the top teenage gamers, according to Forbes.
YouTube gaming stars Mari Takahasi, Seth Bling, Meghan Camarena, and Andre Meadows will act as coaches to help out the young gamers. The tournament will be shot with a live audience.
"Clash of Karts: Mario Kart 8" is Disney XD's second original eSports TV show. It had previously partnered with Nintendo in October for the Nintendo World Championship 2015, a one-hour long special that was a success.
Marc Buhaj, senior vice president of programming and general manager of Disney XD, told Forbes that the first special's success led to the company exploring more into eSports.
"ESports is something that's blossoming, but it's still early days," Buhaj says. "How it'll be covered for the kids' audience is still something that remains to be seen."
Regarding its second eSports special, Buhaj says the company wanted to focus on a single game and have a more intimate event. Unlike its upcoming eSports special, the Nintendo World Championship 2015 was more of a "decathlon of eSports." It had 16 gamers compete in a series of five games: "Mario Kart 8," "Super Smash Bros.," "Super Mario Maker for the Wii U," and "Super Metroid for the Super NES."
"Mario Kart 8" was chosen since it doesn't take itself too seriously and offers a comedy element to eSports. The game requires skill but can be played by gamers of all ages.
"Clash of Karts: Mario Kart 8" is a one-hour long show scheduled to be aired on Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. on Disney XD.
