This is adapted from Plugged In, TNW’s bi-weekly newsletter on gear and gadgets. Subscribe to it (and our other great newsletters) here. Greetings gadget fans. This week Plugged In was fed another newsletter (Mad Cow Disease-style) and is feeling… well, weird…

This is adapted from Plugged In, TNWs bi-weekly newsletter on gear and gadgets. Subscribe to it (and our other great newsletters) here.
Greetings gadget fans. This week Plugged In was fed another newsletter (Mad Cow Disease-style) and is feeling well, weird.
Ive spent a lot of time writing about Apple of late  and for good reason: its the master of consistently churning out perfectly capable products. Just look at something like the Apple Watch. Its an amazing device, but its made to be steady, rather than jaw-dropping.
There are no wild new features, or crazy designs. Its simply another Apple Watch.
And thats fine. Being normie is a-okay. Its you know what? Fuck, I cant do this anymore. Its over: releasing batshit insane gadgets will always be cooler than playing it safe.
Its why Ill always respect Samsung for trying to make foldable phones happen. Or LG for doing well, whatever the hell this is:
Whatever the hell this is is actually the LG Wing.
Theres a downside to these products though: they arent very good. On the batshit spectrum they appear closer to the words second syllable than first. And this isnt uncommon. In fact, the opposite. Making something is incredibly hard, let alone an item that stands alone in its particular category.
But, once in a blue moon, theres an exception. A company that gets in a groove of releasing ridiculous, off-the-wall, and downright odd products that are somehow actually pretty fucking good?
And that company, friends, is Nintendo.
If Apple is Coldplay, soullessly pumping out a slightly tweaked sound time and time again, Nintendo is Bowie: an experimentalist with a populist edge. Will it sometimes release something thats utter shit? Of course. But at its best will it be untouchable? You betcha. And right now Nintendo is on its early-70s Bowie hot streak.
Since the release of the now-normal-but-once-
revolutionary Switch, Nintendo has been pumping out a steady stream of weirdness. You know, like a pretend robot you have to build, a plastic ring you squeeze to get ripped, and a cardboard VR kit.
And the latest in this line? Well, thatd be Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
Thats right: its real life Mario Kart.
It comes with a remote control Mario or Luigi vehicle that has a camera on top. You can either just drive around and have a good time, or create a course in your house and race against virtual competitors. 
This Luigi is the dude I have in Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Lets take a second to appreciate that. Take a breath. Ponder.
Were not having a stoned conversation about remote control cars and real life Mario Kart  you can go and buy this shit right now. Its out there. Its available. And its mind-blowing.
And what makes the whole thing extra special is and lean in close for this: Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is great.
Does it have issues? Who doesnt? (Am I right?!?) Yeah, the lack of single console multiplayer sucks. If you could control two remote control vehicles on one Switch? And race against each other? Christmas wouldve fucked so hard.
There are other negative parts too: the camera quality isnt amazing. There are occasional lag issues. Also, I worry about the longevity of the game compared to regular Mario Kart.
But, and you can quote me on this, I find it impossible to even begin to care. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is magic, pure and simple.
Im not sure what other companies can take from this apart from, I dunno, try harder? But I know what we as consumers should do: sit back and enjoy the show.
Long may Nintendos batshit decisions continue especially when theyre this good.
If you liked this column, make sure you head over here and sign-up to Plugged In (as well as our other great newsletters).
For more gear, gadget, and hardware news and reviews, follow Plugged on
Twitter and
Flipboard.
Published November 3, 2020 — 14:31 UTC