Following a successful launch at Bandai Namco's VR ZONE arcade in Shinjuku, Tokyo, the Mario Kart Arcade GP VR experience is headed to the UK this summer.
This is a multiplayer VR offering that allows four players at a time to hop into specially designed ‘Mario Karts’, before racing through the iconic Mushroom Kingdom as either Mario, Luigi, Peach, or Yoshi. Running from the HTC Vive VR system, the game is said to feature "industry-leading graphics" and will allow players to reach up and grab classic items like banana skins to launch at their opponents.
The experience will be launching this August at VR ZONE Portal London located within Hollywood Bowl at The O2, before eventually being rolled out to further VR ZONE Portal locations at Hollywood Bowl centres in Tunbridge Wells and Leeds. You'll be able to book your place in advance, with details expected to be shared at the official website.
If you want to see it in action, this video shared by Nintendeiros on YouTube should give you a pretty good idea of what it's all about. (Lots of excited screaming contained within).
If you live in the UK will you be giving this a go? Do you imagine we'll see a Mario Kart VR experience released commercially in the future? Let us know with a comment below.
Comments 49
Yessss. Sign me up. Leeds is close by too wooohoooo
I went here on my trip around Asia! Got to Shinjuku around three weeks ago. It was incredible!
That looks superb!
Definitely wanna go!
Those Piranha-plants are crazy more terrifying in VR!
Looks amazing...but sadly it doesn't mention that it's coming to Scotland
It's a shame that most of the time when something comes to the UK it's just England and nowhere else...
Coming soon to PSVR.
How much is for play the game ?
Will definetely try. Excited.
It's a nice game and a nice continuation of the Mario Kart Arcade GP series now in VR but it's too bad they got rid of the Pac-Man characters which are staple of the arcade series.
.... Looks really fun! Hopefully it comes to the states soon as well. Gotta try this out myself
This is gr8! Looks awesome. I'd get it on the Switch.
Meh...as someone who wears glasses I cannot get over that you are just looking at a screen. VR is just not for me I guess.
Haha this looks soo much fun
Hope this comes to the States. Looks fun
I recently tried WipeOut on PSVR and it was tons of fun. Racing games seem to be a good fit for the tech.
I wish there was some way to play this on my Oculus Rift.
You know, since Nintendo isn't bothering to do VR, and since it's already shown it is willing to release games on other platforms (smartphones/tablets), I actually think it should just go ahead and release some games on the VR headsets out there for now--at least until it eventually realises it needs to be doing VR propely and puts out its own headset. . . .
Seriously, after recently trying out some Virtual Boy games in VR on my Oculus Rift recently:
https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/playing-virtual-boy-on-oculus-rift/ (remember, Nintendo was doing this Virtual Boy stuff back in the '90s)
I have no doubt whatsoever that Nintendo could do some amazing stuff with/in proper/full VR.
@N8tiveT3ch I get the distinct impression you've never tried anything in a modern VR headset.
PS. I recently started wearing glasses and it has had little to no effect on my [great] enjoyment of games in VR. In fact, it sometimes helps me see things just a tiny bit better.
Here's another similarly fun video of the game in action:
@Savino Perhaps the next iteration of the Switch will have VR capabilities. I mean, the joy-con are perfect VR controllers, as evidenced by their use in ARMS. I hope it's where they head with the tech.
Mario Kart VR is the killer app VR needs to go mainstream.
Just as an idea, I would love it if they made a Labo VR kit and you got this game to play with it. The only problem would be is the Switch screen is 720p so it would be 720 between two eyes which would make it 360p per eye. Still would be pretty awesome!!
@RichyM Actually, it's the horizontal resolution that gets split, so it would be 640 x 720 per eye (the Switch screen is 1280 x 720 pixels), which is still very low resolution for VR but would actually be bearable (the Oculus DK1 was 640 x 800 per eye).
Even at that resolution, I'd love Nintendo to release something like this for Switch right now:
https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/these-fan-made-nintendo-switch-vr-mockups-are-brilliant/
And then it could just release a Switch 2.0 down the line with a much higher resolution screen that could even fit into the same VR headset shell so anyone who forked out for the headset could use it with the newer model Switch too.
Seriously, why the hell is this not a real thing as I type?
With luck, either Bandai Namco expand their VR ZONE locations to more places, or places that aren't the VR ZONEs will get a chance at these... I think my "local" is Leeds, but if their P'Boro location got the VR stuff, that'd be better to try and angle a trip over to...
@impurekind I don't know, I just can't get over the fact that there is something strapped to your head. My glasses don't help and you are correct that I have not tried a modern headset. Call me stupid if you want but I need everything to have a tight seal. Glasses just don't help. I also don't want contacts which could resolve this issue to. Also the sweat around the eyes. To bring this all around. I don't like change and VR is one of those things. I'll leave it to the youngins to enjoy.
@N8tiveT3ch At 41 years old, I'm hardly young myself. And I'm telling you that if you have any real love for gaming then you absolutely need to try VR. There's just so much cool stuff in VR that you really have to experience firsthand to understand how good it is. And I mean actual games rather than just some crappy [usually] low-res VR 3D images/videos that most people think of as modern VR by the way (usually because that's all they've been demoed).
And yes, it's a little bit of a hassle putting on an Oculus Rift or other VR headset over your glasses but it is entirely possible.
Seriously, find a way to give it a go--I'd recommend either the Rift or PSVR because they're the most user-friendly and polished experiences all-round imo--and try stuff like Lucky's Tale, Superhot VR, Google Earth VR, Jurassic World: Blue, Face Your Fears, The Blue, Beat Saber, Moss, and Dear Angelica (those are all on Rift, and a few are on PSVR).
You will not regret giving VR a try so long as you do it right.
Want so much
been playing some Drive Club VR lately, and its so great to race in VR. Mario Kart would be amazing
@impurekind I regret nothing for not trying VR and my wallet will thanks me for not investing in something that is still a gimmick. I am more of a Mix Reality type of dude anyways.
Yay, I hope it isn't in London!
**reads it is in London O2**
Oh come on!
Just waiting to hear that it's coming to NA.
Calm down...
@Justaguest Exactly my thought, jeez! Looks great anyway.
US next, please!
@N8tiveT3ch If you don't consider things like say the Wii, Wii U, DS, 3DS or Switch as gimmicks then it would be wrong of you to label VR as such--more than you obviously realise. And even if you do consider those consoles as gimmicks, VR is still in a whole other league: It is the birth of a brand new platform and gaming/entertainment paradigm.
Cmon Ninty make this on your next console with full vr support and super powerful console!
@impurekind yes they are gimmicks at heart. The Wii u was a gimmick that tried to bank on a name that people grew tired of. VR it still is a gimmick in my opinion because there really isn't a "ah-ha" moment that makes people want it. Mario is the only thing selling this. Take Mario out of the equation and you have a title that wouldn't make it out of Japan. Nintendo's other gimmicks made sense except the Wii u. That is why they sold millions. VR will always be a gimmick without something driving it until then it remains a novality item for phones. Also you have the youtuber/streamer that discovers a chat game that allows a racial meme to become big. That is what sells a gimmick, right?
I can see that they are using HTC Vive and I have a unit with me. Come on, release the game to SteamVR already.
VR is not a gimmick. Been playing VR game on SteamVR with HTC Vive since launched. The play stage is very real.
@N8tiveT3ch The Wii U's "gimmick" was actually pretty much being the DS in a console format (you have a touch screen in addition to the TV screen. It really wasn't anything too out there, and to be honest, it made complete sense). Sure they also hoped that the Wii name would help sell the console, but the name itself is not the gimmick. Asymmetrical gameplay was another gimmick, but it was underutilized.
Nintendo has utilized most of their gimmicks poorly over the years. Motion control was forced in so many unnecessary places on the Wii and it has been a really common complaint (along with the disappointing games). And the 3DS's 3D? It really didn't sell the system. By the time the 3DS was really getting big, the big name games like Pokemon X/Y were beginning to omit it in large portions or altogether.
I agree that VR is just another one of these gimmicks. It's very much like the 3DS's 3D. I never got a 3DS for the 3D, I got it for the games.
@Harmonie either case each on had a major company backing them. The VR format has too many companies making sets with nothing really to drive them. Hell, HTC is losing money because of their phones. Also, exclusive content to one brand like the rift does help because the market is still pretty small. Either case the VR format is not my cup of tea.
If ever there was a reason for me to want to live in or near London, this would be it. I would love to give this a try if it ever came state side. Still the tech looks great and the first person immersion seems to add a lot to the game.
There seems to be a lot going on around Mario Kart with this coming in the summer, a Mario Kart app promised sometime this year, and who knows (hopefully) a Nintendo Direct around November to announce plans for a Mario Kart 9 release next spring by E3 (or holiday 2019 at the latest). Mario Kart is probably my top all time favorite franchise so I just can't get enough. Time will tell I suppose.
I wanna play this so bad!
Do we finally get to play the canceled mario kart for virtual boy?
@N8tiveT3ch VR already has tonnes of "aha" moments and a load of great games too* (and it's only going to keep getting better). The only thing stopping VR selling tens of millions is price and ease of setup/use (for now), and that is all. And VR is a not a "gimmick" (like adding a dual screen to a portable for example, which will almost certainly die out in a generation or two more, even as fun and novel as it was/is at times); VR is literally a brand new platform and gaming/entertainment paradigm, and it's hear to stay for the long run and change the industry as we know it (just like consoles did, and the advent of 3D graphics did, and online gaming did, and smartphone/tablet gaming did, and digital platforms like Steam did). Anyone who's actually used it properly already knows this.
*Superhot VR, Dear Angelica, Big Screen, Rec Room, Edge of Nowhere, Google Earth VR, Titans of Space, Face Your Fears, Allumette, Chronos, Lucky's Tale, Beat Saber, Batman: Arkham VR, Dead and Burried, Vanishing Realms, Lone Echo/Echo Combat/Arena, Skyrim VR, Moss, WipEout VR, Elite Dangerous VR, Jurassic Park: Blue, Miyubi, Resident Evil 7 VR, Arizona Sunshine, Minecraft VR, Defector, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, Far Point . . .
@impurekind Since I don't like playing every one of my games in 1st person, VR is a gimmick. It has to make me want to enjoy them for me to say that it was the next best thing. The experience was cool at first but that's it, it impress but doesn't give me that feeling of wanting more. In fact the more I try them the more my interest for them dropped. Games like Batman and WipEout were best play outside of 1st person. Lucky's Tale itself shouldn't even be a VR game, it doesn't make me feel like a damn fox.
@retro_player_22 VR isn't just played in first person--only people who really don't have a clue about VR thinks it's all first person--and some of the best VR games and experiences are actually in third person*. I even just played Virtual Boy Wario Land in VR the other day too**, which was/is a really cool way to let people play old Virtual Boy games using this new tech, since Nintendo doesn't seem to care about either VR or VB, and it's also not in first person. You clearly don't understand what's so amazing about VR at all, but I'm confident that will change in time. . . .
*
And yes:
**
Oh, and just for fun, check this out:
This kind of stuff is just scratching the surface of what's possible in VR, and it's all being achieved with/in the first generation of [consumer-level] VR headsets (and controllers). I can only imagine how utterly mind boggling VR is going to be when it gets to around the same level of maturity that current-gen consoles (or even in just another generation or two), especially considering what games were like on the first generation of home consoles vs where they are at now. . . .
@impurekind I'm speaking from my point of view after trying various VR games and I still stand by my opinion that VR is nothing more than a gimmick. If they're not in the first person then they don't give me that feeling of virtual reality, Wario Land for Virtual Boy doesn't even feel like VR and would had been a much better game had it was just release for console.
Another example why I feel VR is a gimmick, in Lucky's Tale you control the fox but the camera is moving by itself. Since it's in the third perspective you feel more like a fly watching a fox doing platforming than you are actually the fox itself. It's like if I had a remote control and a toy car and all I do is control the toy car. That's how third person game feels like in VR to me. If I'm playing VR I want to be inside the vehicle not outside. If it's not in first person there's no point in playing it as it'll just feel like a normal game except with your head tracking as the camera.
Sorry man I don't see anything ground breaking about VR, like I said they are cool at first but after a few playthrough their experience bogs down. Also none of those Youtube video impress me either as they are stuff I already seen done countless times already.
I need this in my life. If i saw it in a arcade, I would put a pound or five in it no questions asked!.
@retro_player_22 By constantly going on about VR being something you personally have to experience in first person or it doesn't really count for you, you show me that you simply don't get VR. You're the kind of person that does VR a great injustice because you try to limit it to you own personal limitations in thinking. VR is bigger than your views and expectations of it--and it's not a gimmick.
It's ultimately irrelevant how you think and feel about VR. It is the next big paradigm in gaming and entertainment, whether you get that or not, and that's basically beyond debate or opinion at that this. Only people who can't see very far ahead or have very limited thinking will still be arguing otherwise at this point in time. In time you'll see just how small thinking you are being right now about VR and its huge potential to deliver games and entertainment unlike anything experienced before--much like those people who thought videogames were just a fad back in the day or that 3D would never be better than 2D or online gaming wasn't appealing or . . .
And those videos above were not to impress you; they were to show you that VR isn't just about being in first person. But, as you have demonstrated, it's simply beyond you to grasp this or see how that could and will be a major component of great VR going forward. There will be amazing first person VR games, but there will also be amazing third person VR games and experiences too--and the platform is more than up to the task of providing some truly awesome and magical experiences with either view point.
You simply cannot do/experience stuff quite like this in any other entertainment medium outside of VR (and again, this just gen 1):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEK-J3ZgCZA&t=0s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KirQtdsG5yE&t=353s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWVRXukjKUw&t=0s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx-esx_KbJE&t=0s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=71
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9qghITvZYE&t=290s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0b_wfVzpWI&t=0s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAqUos4MYmc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od5igBUkh7g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrRExrXhXd8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6X0RCUq_hM&t=0s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK8tMwlZLEM&t=0s&list=PLgzzAlT_CcFfyTE2R8dnHKns8-9IUzzO2&index=0
And that's why iVR is ultimately going to change everything.
@N8tiveT3ch
That's being extremely narrow minded. You said you've never tried modern VR before, then say it's a gimmick? And also compare it to having a screen in front of your eyes?
If you haven't tried VR, you definitely cannot say it's a gimmick without coming off as a really judgemental and biased person.
@Harmonie You've definitely never tried VR then. No one who has compares it to 3D. VR is the difference between a book and a movie, or a photo and a video. It's the biggest technological jump for media (gaming included) in the history of anything.
@retro_player_22 Lucky's Tale is a bad example (and a launch game)
Go try Moss, that game is universally loved. It proves that all of Nintendo's 3rd person games are objectively going to be better in VR.
Overall you don't have any proper experience with VR as you've only played some demos. It's the same as writing the Switch off because you only played 1-2 Switch.
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