The rivalry between Sega and Nintendo dates back to the late 80s and early 90s, but I never thought I’d be talking about the feud resurrecting in 2025. SEGA is turning up the heat on Nintendo once again, only this time, the battle’s playing out in 4K instead of 16-bit. In an interview with Automaton, the creative director for Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, Masaru Kobayakawa, proudly talked up the new game, emphasizing that it rewards skill and strategy over luck.
You can already see how that’s a subtle jab at Mario Kart World, but he went further by saying the following:
“Our arcade development team includes players who are, frankly, among the best in Japan when it comes to the racing genre,” said Kobayakawa. “We had them do countless all-out serious matches, tuning the game until everyone agreed the balance felt right. It’s probably not something many other studios do.”
Can you think of another kart racing development team in Japan that prides itself on making the best kart racer? This is pretty much an obvious dig at Nintendo — one that’s subtle enough that you can label it as a “sneak diss”, and it comes at the perfect time.
Sonic Racing Crossworlds Vs Mario Kart World
After comparing Sonic Racing: Crossworlds against Mario Kart World, I can confidently say that both are great games. Nintendo’s offering has a great new Knockout Tour mode, an open world, and plenty of polish. SEGA’s kart racer focuses on spectacle, but it also has the better “racing feel” in my opinion because it relies less on punting the person in first place out of position.
There’s certainly a lot of chaos in Mario Kart World, which is why it works so well as an unpredictable party game. You can say the same for Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, but the game does have a more measured approach. Kobayakawa stated that the item chaos and fun are still present, but the developers have maintained a balance that allows the game to reward real, good racing.
I do tend to agree with that sentiment, as I feel there’s more of a challenge in Crossworlds than in Mario Kart World. That doesn’t automatically make it better, though. People know what Mario Kart is, and the newest entry works just how they expect it to. It’s a formula that works, and clearly tons of people enjoy it. So, it’s all subjective.
What’s more interesting is that Sega’s game came at the perfect time. Nintendo has had a bad PR run in 2025: increasing game prices to $80, the whole lawsuit situation with Palworld, physical games shipping without the cartridge, etc. In a world where people are frustrated with Nintendo, a cross-platform Mario Kart alternative that is better in certain elements is certainly compelling. The creative director’s statements just add further fuel to the fire.
