Key Takeaways
- McDonald’s and Nintendo are partnering for Mario Kart toys in Australia, previously featured in the US.
- Fans express excitement for plastic toys vs. cardboard and anticipate future collabs for upcoming Mario games.
- Collaborations between Mario and McDonald’s aren’t new, future giveaways and tie-ins likely.
McDonald’s and Nintendo are partnering up again, with Mario Kart toys arriving in stores, but there’s a catch. These Mario Kart toys will be made available in McDonald’s restaurants exclusively in Australia, and fans may notice that the teaser looks familiar.
Nintendo and McDonald’s have been partnering for years, bringing toys, events, and giveaways to McDonald’s stores. These events are usually a big deal for collectors and fans, with supplies of some giveaways generating tons of demand, like the McDonald’s Pokemon Trading Card Game giveaways.
McDonald’s is bringing back Mario Kart Happy Meal toys in Australia starting on September 5. The company has released one teaser thus far, showing Mario driving his Kart, seen from behind. Judging from the preview, this appears to be the same Mario Kart toy that was given away in 2022 in the United States. Presumably, the remainder of the toy line will also be on the list for McDonald’s Australia giveaways starting soon. In the US collab, eight karts were given away in total, including Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Toad, Toadette, Yoshi, and Bowser.
No New Mario McDonald’s Toys For Now
While it might be disappointing to learn that these don’t appear to be a brand new toy line, Mario and McDonald’s have had plenty of collabs in recent history. McDonald’s, Mario, and Universal teamed up to release a bunch of toys based on The Super Mario Bros Movie, and in Japan, a set of Mario toys based on the Universal Studios’ Super Nintendo Land. Similar to Australia just now getting the US’ collab, the west may get these toys at a later date, once Super Nintendo World area opens in Universal Orlando. That’s currently slated to happen in 2025.
It’s also possible that more Mario toys could be in the works to help promote game releases. Mario and Luigi: Brothership releases later in 2024, which could potentially lead to a tie-in. However, there haven’t been any major leaks in that regard as of yet. Even if the game doesn’t have a McDonald’s tie-in, though, Nintendo seems to always have new Mario titles in development, so it’s likely just a matter of time until it happens again.
For now, fans in Australia seem to be very excited about this Happy Meals toy collab. Several expressed how excited they were to have plastic toys given away instead of the cardboard that’s been used in recent times. Gamers in the area should plan on getting to McDonald’s soon after the new Happy Meals arrive, as the stock may not last long.
