Who says people wouldn't be fine with two Mario Karts per generation?
2 Marios and 2 Zeldas and like 3 Pokemon etc. etc. seem to be no problem.
Mario Kart 64 and Diddy Kong Racing both put up huge sales on the N64 and they were in North America basically even released in the same year (Feb 1997 for Mario Kart 64, November 1997 for Diddy Kong Racing).
Right now Nintendo does make two Mario Karts per generation, you're just forced to pay $500 (give or take) in hardware cost to play both.