Gaming

Nintendo Switch 2 Direct had a very unexpected yet iconic star

Everything Announced at the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct
IGN / VideoElephant

Nintendo fully revealed the Switch 2 during a dedicated livestream along with loads of first and third party games but there's an unexpected, yet iconic, star that stole the show.

On April 2, full console details were revealed along with a release date of June 5. It later emerged the console itself will cost $449 with a Mario Kart World Switch 2 bundle costing $499.

Mario Kart World was revealed at the very start of the hour long stream. It's the latest entry into the iconic Mario Kartseries and will launch as a Switch 2 exclusive on the same day the console releases.

A reveal trailer showed 24 cars racing around various different circuits both new and old, including DK Pass. Racers will be able to ride on rails or wall ride for boosts.

But it was a seemingly playable character that completely stole the show.

The stream was shown live at Mario Kart World in Nintendo New York and the biggest cheer from a crowd watching came when the cow from Moo Moo Meadows was shown racing.

Moo Moo Meadows is a Mario Kart circuit that first appeared on Nintendo 64 and has been included in a number of Mario Kart titles since. As the race goes on, cows start to enter the racetrack and players have to navigate their way around them.

A screenshot of the cow in Mario Kart WorldA Moo Moo Meadows cow is playable in Mario Kart World / Screenshot from Nintendo

With races now featuring 24 players, it seems Nintendo is upping who players will be able to control.

And the cow has also gone down extremely well on social media.

Audrey Lamsam, CEO and founder of Aitai Japan (an anime and video game merch store) could barely contain her belief.

That feeling was reciprocated.

Loads of memes were posted.

Another said the game "is already a 10/10" because of the cow.

One said it's "the most important part of the Direct".

And another said: "Imagine getting blue shelled AND overtaken by a dairy farmer's bestie."

Elsewhere, Donald Trump's global tariffs could have a huge impact on the Nintendo Switch 2 and the price of games on the console made the internet collectively groan during the reveal event.

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