As part of a future Mario Kart 8 tournament, Nintendo offers top competitors a wealth of Nintendo eShop Gold Points. Gold Points are Nintendo’s virtual loyalty credits that can be applied to digital purchases on Nintendo devices such as the Switch and 3DS, which will soon no longer be supported on the eShop.
Possibly the most popular arcade racing series of all time, Mario Kart has been a long-standing platform for competitive gaming. The skill floor for the game is very low, which means that even the most novice players can pick up a controller and start running with relative ease. However, as anyone who has played competitively knows, the skill cap for Mario Kart games is also astronomically high. Veteran players will often spend dozens of hours mastering each course, learning its shortcuts and various intricacies. These dedicated players will also be well trained in the game’s simple but vital mechanics, such as drifting. These course design mechanics and philosophies are built upon with each release and will likely continue to be developed and refined in Mario Kart 9which is said to be in development.
Until this game is released, however, players are still heavily competing in Mario Kart 8, with Nintendo promoting the North American Open taking place this spring. As part of this tournament, Nintendo will reward the top eight players with 2,500 gold points every day, according to the official Nintendo of America Twitter account. This amounts to a $25 USD reward for the top runners each day. The tournament will take place March 25-27 between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. PT.
There will probably be some fans who think that 2,500 gold points is a bit small reward for being in the top eight of the best racers every day, especially considering the competitiveness Mario Kart can get. With Mario Kart 8 getting several DLC courses soon, it is likely that this tournament will also attract a lot of attention, which will make the reward more difficult to obtain. Still, the reward can be obtained on all three days, bringing the total potential reward amount to 7,500 gold points or $75 – a slightly more desirable endowment.
Regardless of what some players think of this reward, it will definitely attract a lot of people into the tournament. It costs nothing to participate, so it will be interesting to see how many of the competitors are new or novice players as opposed to series veterans. At the end of the day, Mario Kart 8 exists to be fun for players, so the Gold Points reward is just a nice bonus.
Source: Nintendo of America/Twitter
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