Nintendo / SEGASega has reignited its decades-old rivalry with Nintendo after the latest Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds trailer took a direct swing at Mario Kart.
The commercial wastes no time leaning into the classic console war energy. It opens with a grainy, pixelated shot of what’s clearly meant to resemble Mario Kart World, while a narrator says: “We all know that kart racing game, it’s great, we don’t need to show it to you, but what if you can blast through and race on a whole other level?”
From there, the trailer cuts to Sonic speeding through colorful tracks, showcasing car customization options and highlighting cross-play features, all set against footage of a real race car tearing across a circuit.
The scene continues with a tongue-in-cheek sequence featuring a rundown camper van, which has a TV attached to the back. Mario Kart World gameplay continues to play on the monitor screen, while a tortoise slowly crosses the road outside.
Sega reawakens console war with Nintendo
As if things couldn’t get worse for the poor plumber, the van coughs out smoke, while Sega’s voiceover mocks World’s defining feature: “What if you want to roam around in the open road?” Seconds later, a sleek racing car blasts past, leaving Mario Kart World in the dust.
Fans are loving the trailer with thousands of comments reveling in the rekindled beef. “Damn, Sega didn’t come to throw shade, they threw the whole tree,” said one fan. “So that’s why Crossworlds wasn’t in the Nintendo Direct,” joked another.
By directly calling out Mario Kart while loading its roster with crossover icons like Hatsune Miku and Persona’s Joker, Sega isn’t just promoting Sonic’s latest racer, it’s keen to show that its kart racer is bringing something different to the table.
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CrossWorlds launches on September 25, 2025, for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version set to follow in early 2026.