Sega is ramping up its marketing for the upcoming game, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, by taking direct shots at Nintendo’s well-known franchise. A new 30-second advertisement, along with a tweet urging players to “Leave the open road behind and come race on our level,” makes a clear dig at the open-world mechanics of Mario Kart World, which has recently seen both commercial and critical success. This challenge brings back the competitive rivalry that shaped the gaming world in the 1990s.
While the rivalry is nostalgic, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds aims to modernize the gameplay by featuring a wide range of characters across franchises. The game is trying to become the “Super Smash Bros. of kart racers,” with confirmed guest characters like Joker from Persona 5 and Ichiban Kasuga from Like a Dragon, along with fan favorites from Minecraft, Pac-Man, and SpongeBob. This collaboration with different franchises stands in stark contrast to Nintendo’s more limited approach in its own racing series, giving Sega a unique edge in a crowded market.
The advertisement itself plays a key role in this campaign by visually comparing the two games. It starts with a blurred screen showing Mario Kart World, while a narrator lightly mocks the game’s basic mechanics. The ad wraps up by showing the rival title displayed on a rundown RV, contrasted with CrossWorlds being shown on a screen attached to a high-performance drag racing car. The message is clear: Sega believes its traditional, fast-paced racing provides a better experience than the open-world exploration popularized by its rival.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set for a multi-platform release on September 25, with launches planned for Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch. A future release on the Switch 2 is also scheduled for 2026. Even with the competitive nature of the new ad, the long-standing respectful relationship between Sega and Nintendo, which has led to collaborations like Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, has fans and industry experts viewing this marketing effort as a friendly revival of a classic rivalry.
