Mario Kart News
July2013
News Mario Kart Arcade GP DX Racing to Arcades
Like Mario Kart 7 on steroids, and probably not as good
While talking about the Mario Kart franchise, we think the majority of people focus on those games published by Nintendo for its systems, but any discussion will have at least one person say "ah, but what about the arcades?" Typically they're not counted as part of the series, as they're...
Video This Is What Happens When You Fuse Mario Kart With Fast And Furious
The standard of acting is vastly improved, for one thing
We're not movie critics here at Nintendo Life, but we think it's safe to say that the Fast and Furious series is coming dangerously close to outstaying its welcome. But just how do you reinvent such an established franchise? You add Mario, of course. Created by Taiwanese firm NMA TV — which...
News Mario Kart 8 Team Talk GamePad Features, Track Design And F-Zero
Hideki Konno and Kosuke Yobuki spill some beans
French site Gamekult sat down with Mario Kart 8 producer Hideki Konno and director Kosuke Yobuki at E3 to talk about the inspirations and intentions around the latest, gravity-tumbling installment of the series. According to a translation of the interview, the reverse gravity idea showcased in Mario...
June2013
First Impressions Mario Kart 8
Turning things upside down
Imagine the Mario Kart series as an enormous living being made out of adorable cars, happy drivers, delightful loops passing through volcanoes and haunted houses and vicious blue shells. Envision this being, this body of Kartdom, and now answer this simple question: where is its heart? What is the thumping engine within...
News Mario Kart TV Will Allow You To Share Your Racing Skills On Miiverse
Nintendo announces new feature for Mario Kart 8
Nintendo has just confirmed that Mario Kart 8 will allow players to share their best races using a service called Mario Kart TV. According to IGN, players will be able to record and upload their performances to Miiverse, where other players can pass comments on their skills. This is similar to the...
May2013
News Did Sumo Digital Just Tease A Sonic Racing And Mario Kart Crossover?
"I'm thinking we could finally settle some arguments"
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is one of our favourite Wii U titles here at Nintendo Life, and still gets rolled out for regular multiplayer sessions. Ant always cries when he can't be Amy. UK-based Sumo Digital did an amazing job of creating a real rival for Nintendo's Mario Kart...
April2013
News Rejoice, Mario Kart Wii U Is Coming This Year
Pole position
We already know that Nintendo is working on a fresh Mario Kart entry for the Wii U and that it will make its debut at this year's E3. However, in a PR email pertaining to its 2013 financial results, Nintendo has let slip that the game will be rolled out onto the starting grid this year, which should give the struggling console a...
March2013
News Sami Cetin Regains PAL Super Mario Kart Time Trial World Title
Niece Leyla Hasso bags the women's world title, too
UK Super Mario Kart champ Sami Cetin has regained the PAL version Time Trial World Title for the second time. Sami previously held the title from September 1998 until April 2004, and beat one of the World Records set by former title holder Karel van Duijvenboden of the Netherlands on Sunday, March...
February2013
News Here's What The Next Mario Kart Looks Like
Just one catch - it's the arcade version
Screenshots of the next entry in the popular Mario Kart series have hit the web - but before you get too excited about laying your eyes on the recently-announced Wii U sequel, we should point out that we're talking about Mario Kart: Arcade GP DX, developed by Namco Bandai. It's the third game in the coin-op...
December2012
News Sumo Digital: Mario Kart Should Incorporate Other Nintendo Franchises
Smash Bros. in a kart
Steve Lycett, executive producer of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, is quite proud of his game on Wii U - and rightly so. Recently he made comments about how he feels the game pushes the genre forwards and said that Nintendo's Mario Kart series could learn a lot from it. Speaking to Mario's Hat, Lycett said he has a...
November2012
News Wii U Wasn't The Only Nintendo Hardware Launch In Europe This Month
We go hands-on with the gorgeous white 3DS XL
Nintendo doesn't do things by halves. November may mark the release month of the Wii U console in Europe, but that hasn't stopped the company from pushing out another piece of tech in the same time period. Today marks the release of the white 3DS XL Super Mario 3D Land bundle in Europe, which follows...
October2012
News Meet Leyla Hasso, The Fastest Female SNES Super Mario Kart Player
She also bagged the PAL Women's World title at just 13 years old
The original Super Mario Kart may be two decades old now, but it's still actively played on the competitive circuit, with yearly tournaments to establish who is the fastest SNES fan on four wheels. One of the world's most famous Mario Kart players is Sami Cetin, who is referred to by...
August2012
Feature 20 Years of Mario Kart
How the time, and kart, flies
Today is yet another Nintendo anniversary, in this case the 20th anniversary of Super Mario Kart's release in Japan. That's 20 years of powering around tracks and making other mascot's driving lives miserable, while infuriating their masters in multiplayer. It's a series with enduring appeal that has evolved into one...
February2012
News Sami Cetin Sets New Super Mario Kart World Record
Yes, another one
Super Mario Kart player extraordinaire Sami Cetin has just set another world record on the classic 1992 16-bit racer. At GEEK 2012 and using the PAL version, Cetin completed a time trial on Rainbow Road in just 1:26.64, only milliseconds quicker than the previous best of 1:26.68, set by Guillaume Leviach less than five days ago...
March2011
News Mario Kart Without Items Isn't Mario Kart, That Includes the Blue Shell
Hideki Konno explains the importance of its inclusion
We can't expect franchises to stay the same forever, but when the crowd-dividing Blue Shell was introduced to the Mario Kart series back in Mario Kart 64, maybe not all of us expected it to stay through to the modern day instalments. Hideki Konno is one of the main players behind the series,...
November2010
News Miniature Mario Kart Course Will Bring a Smile to Your Face
The course we've all dreamt of
If you're separated from your beloved Super NES and Super Mario Kart, there may be another way for you to get your fix of its speedy charms by following the example of anime association Motsukora. The Spanish group built a real-life Mario Kart circuit for its remote controlled cars to boost around, displaying it at a...
June2010
E3 2010 Mario Kart Speeding to 3DS
Shells in your face whoooaaaaa
You know Mario Kart. You (might) love Mario Kart. Nintendo is working on a new Mario Kart. In 3D! Not shown during the company's E3 keynote but in development all the same is this new outing for the 3DS. Not much is currently known other than it will feature Mario, Luigi, some karts and, according to Nintendo,...
May2010
News Chicago Blackhawks Prepare for Stanley Cup with a Little Mario Kart
Blue shells part of team's mental readiness
Competitive team sports are all about bonding as a unit: maximising each other's unique abilities, communicating well and working together towards a common goal. Pretty much the opposite of Mario Kart Wii then, but tell that to the Chicago Blackhawks who like to chill out with the game as part of their...
News Kick Back and Relax with Some Super Mario Kart Jazz
The OneUps take guitars, organs, flute to classic soundtrack
Since Super Mario Kart launched on the European Virtual Console just a few weeks ago we've had those catchy ditties stuck in our heads all over again. Imagine our joy, then, when we stumbled upon a fully re-recorded and rather lovely-sounding soundtrack from The OneUps. Taking ten classic...
March2010
News Super Mario Kart Races to Europe on Friday
Virtual Console owners, start your Points cards!
It's been a long wait for European gamers to race around those classic 16-bit courses in the original Super Mario Kart: out in North America since November last year, and Japan since June, there's been barely a sniff of it outside those territories. The wait is nearly over though, as Nintendo has...
November2009
News Nintendo Blocking Third Party Releases On Virtual Console?
If your title is in direct competition with a Nintendo one, you may be screwed
If you like to moan about the apparent lack of quality titles coming to the Virtual Console then you may wish to direct your anger at Nintendo itself rather than third party publishers, if this recent piece of news is anything to go by. A poster on NTSC-UK forum has...
April2008
News Mario Kart Wii Available In Europe Now!
The morning has been a good one for most of us Europeans as we all (hopefully) got to grips with the latest in the Mario Kart series and Nintendo's new "Wii-Wheel" controller extension.
With (what I deem to be) the first major Nintendo Wii title to feature online gaming (and let me tell you now - it works very well) I thought it was prime time for...
News German Stores Selling Mario Kart Wii Early?
Our humourless European friends get to play it first
A poster on respected forum NeoGAF has claimed that some German stores are selling copies of Mario Kart Wii early, and has posted a photo to prove it. It would appear that the game comes packaged in an oversized cardboard box in order to accommodate the Wii Wheel, so you'd best make some extra...
