It was also technical limitations that led to it being Mario Kart and not F-Zero. To do two players simultaneously they had to greatly reduce the track size and

It was also technical limitations that led to it being Mario Kart and not F-Zero. To do two players simultaneously they had to greatly reduce the track size and cut the framerate in half. This led to something that really didn't feel like F-zero so they eventually shifted it to go-karts and then from there they got the idea to use Mario characters and add items. Wrestling with gaming has a fantastic video on the making of Super Mario Kart. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MspqDuq5OZY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MspqDuq5OZY