News Articles
Friday1st Aug 2014
Play & Win Here Are The Mario Kart 8 UK Tournament Rematch Results
Thanks for playing!
Thanks to our friends at the Official Nintendo UK Online Store we held another Mario Kart 8 tournament yesterday; we changed things slightly by increasing the number of races from 12 to 16 and reducing the number of hours from 6 to 4. There was a total of £120 eShop credit up for grabs to our top three racers — competition was...
News Sainsbury's Reduces Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle by £40 in UK, Down to £209.99
Who needs a free game?
Throughout the last couple of months Nintendo ran the excellent free game with Mario Kart 8 promotion, with Europeans choosing between 10 games and four being available in North America. It was a great deal for those either buying the game or the Mario Kart 8 hardware bundle. That offer expired on 31st July, however, an...
Wednesday30th Jul 2014
Video If You Like Mario Kart 8, Princess Peach and Alternative Rock Music, You'll Love This
Mario Kart TV, a saviour of YouTube
Mario Kart TV, a relatively simple idea of allowing stylish highlight reels with super slow-mo, has become a goldmine of memes and better advertising for Mario Kart 8 than money can buy. The Luigi death stare is so cool that Nintendo even adopted the viral hit for its own advertising in Japan. We had a go at...
News Mario Kart 8 Sold 2.82 Million Copies In A Single Month
And that doesn't include copies sold after June, either
Nintendo has revealed that its Wii U racer Mario Kart 8 sold 2.82 million copies worldwide during its first month of release. The title launched at the end of May, and by the close of June it had shifted almost three million units all over the globe — an impressive achievement when you...
Monday28th Jul 2014
News Tomodachi Life Sneaks Past Watch Dogs in Single-Format UK Charts, Just Behind Minecraft
3DS title and MK8 outside all-format top 10
With a quiet release schedule and long spell of hot weather, the UK games market endured its second lowest week of unit sales in 2014, and the worst in revenue. Not a great time for retailers, then, and Nintendo has a mix of good and bad news to consider. The positive news comes in the single-format...
Saturday26th Jul 2014
Live Nintendo Life Plays Mario Kart 8 on Twitch
Aiming for the podium
It's that time again, dear readers, for us to be humiliated by far faster racers by playing Mario Kart 8 live on Twitch. Anthony Dickens and Tom Whitehead will be joining in (12 races) for a tournament we're currently running — with prizes courtesy of Official Nintendo UK Online Store — in the UK. Once we've completed a run...
Wednesday23rd Jul 2014
News Nintendo Confirms Comic-Con Mario Kart 8 Tournament and Smash Bros. Live Broadcast Details
Nintendo Live on Twitch starts on 25th July
Update: For those in attendance at Comic-Con, there'll also be an opportunity to have Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS brought to you for surprise game time, details in the tweet below. [tweet Original Article: Nintendo has big plans for San Diego Comic-Con this week, with a broad selection of demos...
Video This Cool Slow-Mo Mario Kart 8 Japanese TV Advert Even Features Luigi's Death Stare
Embracing the meme
Nintendo clearly knew it had produced a terrific feature — with Mario Kart TV in Mario Kart 8 — right from the off, strongly featuring slow-mo replays in its pre-release Nintendo Direct broadcast; to humorous effect. That said, Ninty may have been surprised when the Luigi 'Death Stare' went viral in a YouTube video, getting...
Tuesday22nd Jul 2014
News Mario Kart 8 Hackers Show More Mods and an Unused 'Track'
Still no plans, as yet, to make methods public
In early July we reported on YouTube channel MrBean35000vr demonstrating that it had hacked a Wii U and Mario Kart 8, showing changes to text within the game, the console's menu and WaraWara Plaza. The hackers made a point in expressing their opposition to 'cheaters' and stated it was working towards...
Monday21st Jul 2014
News Mario Kart 8 Sales Increase By Nearly a Third in UK, Moves Back Up the Charts
Pokémon Black and White make surprise return
With the Summer well underway — and with the UK currently enduring a heat wave — it's been a quieter week of game sales in the country, with a drop of 14% in revenue for game sales last week. Nintendo has bucked the trend however, with Mario Kart 8 and discounted DS games enjoying terrific weeks in...
Friday18th Jul 2014
News Mario Kart 8 Still Competing in Nordic Region Charts, Tomodachi Life Never Has
What's gone wrong for the Mii-sim in the region?
In recent weeks we've been covering the UK charts with, thankfully, some positive results to share. Mario Kart 8 has done reasonably well for Wii U, while Tomodachi Life on 3DS has progressed from a modest start to show impressive momentum, gradually moving up in position. With the recent
News Mario Kart 8 Secures Place as Top-Selling SKU in NPD June Sales, With Hardware Boost for Wii U
Tomodachi Life joins MK8 in overall Top 10
The latest NPD results — which provide data on physical retail sales in the US — have been released, and Nintendo has been confident enough about the outcome to break recent trends and provide a press release update on its position. There are strong numbers for both the Wii U and 3DS. To begin with...
Wednesday16th Jul 2014
News Mario Kart 8 Is £29.99 Again At GAME, Today Only in the UK
Don't stall
Not so long ago we pointed you to an enticing one day deal for UK gamers to grab Mario Kart 8 for just £29.99. That was through the GAME online store, and it seems the deal is back for another flash-sale today (16th July), again for one day only. Once again it's the disc version of Mario Kart 8 — which you can grab
Tuesday15th Jul 2014
Video Mario Kart 8 Final Reveals The Top UK Family Racer
Speed demons
After weeks of heats and numerous family competitors, Family Gamer TV whittled the field down to the final four racers in their Mario Kart 8 competition. In a head-to-head final race the families each cheered on their children to complete Toad Harbour ahead of the field. Ben (racing as Mario, top left), Jarvis (racing as Larry, bottom...
News Mercedes Reports a Boost in Interest Since Announcing Mario Kart 8 Ad and DLC Deal
Marketing Experts 1 - 0 Jaded Cynics
There were some raised eyebrows when free Mercedes DLC — along with a marketing campaign — was announced for Mario Kart 8 in Japan, and more excitable chatter when that same content was confirmed for the West. Some are indifferent to the whole thing, others are pleased, while there's certainly a contingent...
Monday14th Jul 2014
News These Lucky Kids Got McDonald's Happy Meal Mario Kart Toys Direct From The Brothers Themselves
Envy is a terrible thing
McDonald's has a long tradition of hawking lumps of Nintendo-themed plastic with its Happy Meal range — we still have fond memories of the Super Mario Bros. 3 toys which launched more than twenty years ago. Similar playthings were recently given away in the UK, and in Sou
News Tomodachi Life Climbs UK Charts Yet Again as Mario Kart 8 Stays in the Race
Animal Crossing: New Leaf creeps back into the top 40, too
While gameplay comparisons between Tomodachi Life and Animal Crossing: New Leaf were often made and always a bit wrong, similarities could certainly be identified in their target audience and potential success. As a humorous, rather quirky Mii life-sim, Nintendo no-doubt hopes that it'll be...
Friday11th Jul 2014
Play Time for Another Nintendo Life Community GP - 12th July
Get ready!
A while ago we had our first NLife Community GP, which allowed us to take each other on in the terrific Mario Kart 8. There's been a lot going on since that last tournament but now there's no excuse; it's time to do it again. So, let's do this. It's a code-based tournament — this is for the community after all — with all the details...
Monday7th Jul 2014
News Four Students Set New Mario Kart Marathon World Record
"As a matter of fact this was an incredibly difficult thing to achieve"
Many of us have had some excessively long gaming sessions, after which we may look back and think "what was I doing?!". They can be fun, though, and there are often teams of people that use gaming marathons to raise money for charity, among other things, taking what is an...
News Retail Promotions Prompt Tomodachi Life to Continue Climb in UK Charts
Life in the old Mii yet
Tomodachi Life made a modest UK chart début when it launched in early June, not exactly shaming itself but struggling to make a significant impact. Since then, however, Nintendo of America has been making positive noises about its performance in its region and, in the UK charts at least, the Mii-sim has not only seen a...
Sunday6th Jul 2014
News Hacker Claims to Demonstrate an Exploit to Mod a Wii U System and Mario Kart 8
Utilises a browser-based workaround
The Wii and DS systems suffered from extensive hacking and unauthorised mods, which allowed people to create their own apps and, alternatively, download and use ROMS of games for free. The homebrew scene was one aspect, though accompanying piracy was a substantial problem that impacted software sales and has been...
Friday4th Jul 2014
News Those Mario Kart 8 McDonald's Happy Meal Toys Are Now Available in the US
Clap along...
Not too long ago we brought you the news that Mario Kart 8 toys were coming to McDonald's Happy Meals in the US, predicting an early July arrival. Well, they're now available, and looking rather charming. As reported before and as the image above shows, there are seven toys to collect in addition to a Mario visor, and they'll be...
News GAME's One Day Mario Kart 8 Deal, for £29.99, is a Must Buy for UK Racers
Don't delay
Are you a Wii U owner in the UK that still hasn't picked up Mario Kart 8? Perhaps you've seen cheap Wii U system deals and aren't sure whether to take the plunge? This one day deal on the fantastic racer may push you over the edge in either direction. GAME has reduced the disc version of Mario Kart 8 to £29.99 — which you can grab on...
Friday27th Jun 2014
News Mario Kart 8 Speeds Past The Two Million Copies Sold Barrier In Less Than A Month
Wii U hardware sales are up, too
During Nintendo's 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders it has been revealed that Mario Kart 8 has shifted an impressive two million copies in the month it has been on sale. In addition to this welcome news, it has also been stated that Wii U hardware sales are on the rise too — although this presumably...
Monday23rd Jun 2014
News Mario Kart 8 and Tomodachi Life Show Decent Momentum in UK Charts
Staying power
A worrying trend in the weekly charts we've seen in the UK throughout 2014 has been for Nintendo releases or system exclusives to make an initial appearance before rapidly tumbling out of the top 40, with the exception of Pokémon X & Y clinging on in the lower reaches. As we head towards July the latest major releases on Wii U and...
Friday20th Jun 2014
News Mercedes DLC Confirmed for Mario Kart 8 in the West
High-end wheels
In late May we brought you the surprise news that free Mercedes-themed DLC is coming to Mario Kart 8 in Japan, the latest title to follow that path through a licensing agreement — we saw Nintendo do this with the Callaway brand in Mario Golf: World Tour. At the time Nintendo wouldn't comment on a potential Western arrival, yet it's...
Wednesday18th Jun 2014
News Mario Kart 8 Claims Top Spot in Japanese Charts, Wii U Remains as Number One Home Console
3DS top overall, Yo-kai Watch keeps on going
Nintendo's enjoying a run of pleasing sales-related headlines right now, with the recent NPD results for May showing strong performance for Mario Kart 8 and a related bump in Wii U sales, in particular. The latest weekly Media Create charts for Japan are out, and they continue the positive trend, albeit...
News Nintendo Needs To Cut Wii U Cost To Capitalise On Mario Kart 8 Success, Says Ubisoft CEO
"Nintendo has to perform this year, otherwise they will have less games"
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has passed judgement on the Wii U's future in an interview with CVG, stating that the Japanese firm needs to get more machines into homes if it wants to remain a key player in the market. Guillemot — whose company has supported the Wii U perhaps...
Monday16th Jun 2014
News Mario Kart 8 Speeds Into Second Place In NPD May Sales, Kirby Powers Up In Ninth
Impressive results in software, Wii U hardware sales improved over May 2013
We already know that Mario Kart 8 enjoyed a terrific launch, confirmed to have sold 1.2 million copies in its opening weekend and to have boosted hardware sales in UK. It's a vital first step in driving Wii U
News Mario Kart 8 and Tomodachi Life Hold Firm in UK Charts
There's this thing called the World Cup, it apparently affects sales
The latest UK chart results are in, and they bring reasonable news for Nintendo's two main entries in the top 40, reflecting a quiet spell for game sales but also early signs of hope for the company's current plucky, yet bizarre, 3DS title. To start at the top end, Mario Kart 8,...
