This is another game that as time creeps on...I wonder and wait...I need to see this game. I need to know when I can have my chubby little fingers on it.

i have mario kart but its on regular wii

The question is:

Do we want some sort of gimmick this time around,
or like a back-to-basics approach with the highlight being the HD aspect?

If it's like Mario Kart Wii with Miiverse and HD, I'll be a happy camper.

Of course, things like the swimming and flying things never bothered me. As long as they keep the games fun, the gimmick will never be a big deal to me.

I'd love to see a unique theme at play.

Double Dash is most memorable because it dared to be different.

Making it more like Double Dash wouldn't hurt. The online option could be increased and it would be different than the last three boring installments.

Also, HD shouldn't be the main focus. On anything. It's not only been around for half a decade but Nintendo can do so much more than that. Give us the huge roster from Wii, more tracks than ever before (48 instead of 32), more multiplayer modes, mission mode, Mario Kart Channel with something worthwhile this time, voice chat and downloadable content.

OH OH OH OH

I agree with you, @Chrono_Cross. I want a HUGE character roster, and voice chat. AND 24-32 PLAYER ONLINE MATCHES.
I get so excited about this. Mario Kart is one of my favorite series.

I'm not quite sure which direction I'd like for them to take with this one.

On one hand, I want to see an interesting twist on the usual Mario Kart gameplay. Something that makes it its own. A memorable experience. Unlike any other in the series so far.

But I'd also like to see them just make a really good Mario Kart. No gimmicks. No silly game mechanics. Just traditional and back to basics. HD wouldn't be the absolute focus, but it would just be lending to the overall experience. Give us a Mario Kart that shines, literally, in visuals.

Thing is, Mario Kart has pretty much always had some "gimmick" added, and by gimmick I mean something brought along that previous titles didn't have (some gimmicks were simple evolutions, like GBA being the first handheld MK or N64 bringing the series into 3D). Nintendo will want to evolve the series somehow instead of simply polishing all the old features and adding new tracks and characters.

Honestly, the best "gimmick" I think they can do is making it simply a much larger scale. 50+ characters, dozens of old courses as well as quite a few new ones, like 20 players per race (including for online, and tracks may have to be larger to accompany it). HD is not enough of an evolution for this series, and any gamepad features (off TV play, motion control, etc) are too predictable, we all know it will likely have these features. I think they need to show how much the system can handle. Dynamic courses with interactive environments. Nintendo should go big here. Maybe even cameo characters and courses from other Nintendo games.

I like your thinking.

instead of building a new Mario kart from scratch I would be happy with Double Dash game play with all the levels from past release's N64,GC,DS,Wii . Sort of a greatest "hits" package

I wouldn't, I like the new tracks in every Mario Kart game. Never got how many people seem obsessed with the concept of remakes.

Because it's awesome to see an old game you love get brought up to par with modern gaming standards. I never understood why people are so against remakes.

"I'd rather they spend their time working on a new game."

Nintendo doesn't have the main dev team make the remakes. Take grezzo for example. Nintendo had them remake OoT for the 3DS. This allowed these young developers to learn about making a Zelda game and we got a cool remake. Seems like a win-win situation to me.

It's even funnier when they want new games and Nintendo already confirmed a new game coming

That's something important in my point of view...I don't feel that in the middle of race (worst if online) you launch miiverse, post, make some yeah's, etc....the aproach to miiverse should be a little bit different than the games that we have see.

Maybe while you wait, writing while you wait to load or in the final results, when you unlock a secret or a special item. Well a lot of possibilities.

I'm just saying, Mario Kart Wii was a solid game. If it were like that with HD and (conventional use of) MiiVerse, it'd be just fine with me.

Again, big rosters and 24-32 racers would be cool too.

That is something I hope returns in MK U; the larger number of racers on the track. One of the biggest things I liked about Wii was the increased chaos twelve karts made.

Oh absolutely, and when you could find the right group (nobody that sucked/ was too good/ snakers, etc) it was an absolute blast.

Though when hackers got on it was a lot of fun too. Blue shells, bombs, stars, Bullet Bills, ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Sorry to double post, but Daisy's Circuit (Wii) better be on the retro list. That level was beautiful, even on Wii. And fun too.

It would actually be cool if it had Kirby, Pikachu, Olimar, etc (any character that wouldn't really clash with the Mario style)
And 7 had Metal Mario, so why not Paper this time? His signature kart could be made out of cardboard or something, and he could have his own track.