News Articles
Friday22nd Mar 2024
News Mario Kart Live Developer Warns Of Layoffs After "Major Project" Axed
46 of 121 staff members might be impacted
The Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit developer Velan Studios has announced it's going through a bit of a rough patch. Following a whole host of game companies making some serious job cuts over the past few months, the US-based studio behind not only this Mario Kart game but also Hot Wheels: Rift Rally and the...
Wednesday8th Feb 2023
News Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Dev Announces Hot Wheels Follow-Up
A Nintendo release would be cool
Velan Studios last week made a tough announcement - revealing it would be shutting down its free-to-play multiplayer title Knockout City on 6th of June this year. In the same update, it said it had other IPs and products it was "very excited about". If you were wondering what's next, it seems the American developer...
Thursday3rd Nov 2022
Brace for Black Friday
Update: Nintendo's Black Friday deals are now live, including the Mario Kart Switch bundle detailed below. <products id="21441"> Original Article: Nintendo has provided a sneak peek preview at some of the Black Friday offers that will be available this year from 20th November. There looks to be discounts on Switch...
Monday18th Jul 2022
Random Mario Kart 64 Nearly Had A 'No Item' Mode To Appeal To F-Zero Fans
Remember F-Zero?
If you look at the Mario Kart franchise and the F-Zero franchise, it's pretty easy to determine which of the two has been more successful. On the one hand, Mario Kart has seen major releases all the way up to 2020 with Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, and will see a whole bunch of DLC launched for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe all the way...
Tuesday12th Jul 2022
Poll What's The Best Mario Kart Game?
Rate them Rainbow Roads
Some of us here at Nintendo Life Towers are convinced that your favourite Mario Kart game is simply the one you played first with three other players in the same room — or just one other player if you were there at the very beginning with Super Mario Kart on Super NES. We tend to think this because while we can all agree...
Tuesday31st May 2022
Random The Power Glove Is An Inventive Way To Play Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Even more hands-on
The Power Glove wasn't great. We know it, you know it, everyone knows it. It's infamous for being one of the worst controllers ever. Yet that doesn't stop people from being fascinated with it and trying new things out with the peripheral. Further reading: Feature: Uncovering The Unlikely Story Of The World's Worst Controller In...
Thursday18th Nov 2021
Get racing!
If you've been looking for an excuse to revisit Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, here it is! Nintendo and Velan Studios have released a brand new update for the real-life kart racer - bumping the title up to Version 2.0.0. Once you've downloaded the Version 2.0 software update, you'll be able to race up to two karts on a single screen, in...
Friday23rd Jul 2021
Random Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Doubles Up As The Perfect DIY Companion
Mario's on a new mission
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit's already earned the titles of 'most unique take on a Mario Kart title' and 'game most likely to aggravate your cat', but now it's going for the honour of being the most likely game to help you out in a tight spot at home, too. As you may already know, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit's karts –...
Friday2nd Jul 2021
Download it today
Well, here's some surprising news, the latest update for Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit has added some brand new content to the game. It's entirely free and includes a new "Mario Cup", three new courses/environments, a "Gate" to use in course creation, and a new Yoshi kart. Here are the full patch notes for Version 1.1.0, courtesy...
Thursday1st Jul 2021
News Nintendo Bosses Reveal Their Favourite Games At The Latest Shareholder Q&A
Lots of Famicom Disk System love
When it comes to Nintendo shareholder Q&As you generally get a mixture of very dry queries about sales performance or exchange rates, the rare juicy question and an occasional left field, bat crap question which has you wondering how these people got in the building in the first place. The latest shareholder...
Tuesday18th May 2021
News 'Mario Kart Live' Not Real Enough For You? Then Check Out This Full-Size Rival
Chaos Karts "combines real-life racing with augmented reality"
Mario Kart Live was a bit of a revelation due to the way it took the core gameplay of the Mario Kart series and transplanted it in the real world using remote-control karts equipped with cameras – and the power of the Nintendo Switch, of course. However, if Mario Kart Live wasn't...
Deals Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Drops To Just £55 In The UK
Way cheaper than Nintendo's £99 asking price
Update: Did you grab one in time? It now looks like the Mario edition has sold out, and Luigi has returned to a higher price point. Hopefully they'll plummet in price again in the future. Original Article: If you haven't yet picked up Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit for Nintendo Switch, there's never...
Friday23rd Apr 2021
News Animal Crossing Crowned Family Game Of The Year At The 2021 D.I.C.E. Awards
Mario Kart Live wins best racing game category
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has already won a bunch of awards over the past year, and now to top it off, it's taken out the best family game at the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. The other games in this category included Astro's Playroom, Dreams, Fall Guys and Sack Boy. The only other first-party...
Tuesday2nd Mar 2021
News Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Is Now Available In The UK For £79.99
Be sure act fast!
If you haven't picked up Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit yet and happen to be located in the UK, now might be a perfect time. According to Eurogamer, it's the cheapest it's ever been available for in this region, reduced from £99.99 now £79.99. That's a great value when you consider everything that's included! This offer is...
Monday1st Feb 2021
News Mario Kart 8 Overtakes Mario Kart Wii As Best-Selling Series Entry
Combining Wii U and Switch sales, that is
Having published its latest quarterly financial results, it appears Nintendo is doing all right — if you define selling software by the truckload as Switch outperforms 3DS lifetime sales less than four years into its lifespan 'all right'. One of the secrets to Nintendo's success is the evergreen appeal of...
Tuesday26th Jan 2021
News DICE Awards Finalists Include Hades, Ori, Spiritfarer, Animal Crossing, And Mario Kart Live
Hades gets 8 noms, ACNH bags just three
The 24th annual DICE Awards is due to take place on April 8th, 2021, and ahead of the (virtual) event, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the finalists for their 23 categories, including "Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game", and "Adventure Game of the...
Friday15th Jan 2021
News Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Decorations Are Now Redeemable On My Nintendo (Europe)
Just pay shipping
My Nintendo has been offering a much-improved range of physical goods recently, like Pikmin 3 coasters, Mario posters, and even an adorable Animal Crossing tote bag, and now you can pick up something that should hopefully enhance your game time on
Tuesday5th Jan 2021
Random This Mario Kart And LEGO Mario Fusion Is A Work Of Genius
Augmented augmented reality
We're starting to get a bit scared of Mario. The behatted, bemoustached plumber has has been slowly leaking into real life, with Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit using AI to turn our messy living room into a go-kart course, and LEGO Super Mario letting us scan barcodes to create platforming levels made entirely out of...
Monday23rd Nov 2020
Random Super-Clever AR Hacks Make Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Really Shine
Wanna be inspired?
With the right setup, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit can be a real blast. If you've got the imagination – and perhaps more importantly, the space – it can offer a Mario Kart experience truly unlike any other. Of course, some creative folk are taking things well beyond the norm, including the annoyingly imaginative people...
Friday20th Nov 2020
Random 3D-Printed Rainbow Road Takes Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit To A Whole Other Level
We've all been doing it wrong
The fact that Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit allows you to design your own real-life tracks means that the creative freedom available is already through the roof, but some are now taking that to wonderful extremes. 3D printer manufacturer, BCN3D, has decided to take things into its own hands and create a surprisingly...
Thursday19th Nov 2020
News Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nominated For Game Awards 2020 GOTY
Will it be the game of the year?
The nominations for this year's Game Awards have been revealed and Animal Crossing: New Horizons is in the running to take out the game of the year. It's up against, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, the indie hit Hades, and The Last of Us Part II. An
Tuesday10th Nov 2020
Video Nintendo Shares Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Course Creation Tips
Feeling stuck?
Amazingly, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit has already been out in the wild for almost a month now, and we're sure plenty of you have been building all sorts of crazy courses around your homes – probably annoying your cats in the process. If you're feeling a little stuck and are in need of some inspiration, though, the video above...
Friday30th Oct 2020
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Claims The Entire Top 10 This Week
Top 11, actually
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 19th - 25th October 2020, showing that Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit has slipped down to number 5 as Animal Crossing: New Horizons regains the top spot in time for Halloween. Impressively, Switch games take every one of the top 10 entries, with Minecraft at number 7 and Pokémon Sword...
News New Pikmin Themed Goodies Are Now Available On My Nintendo (US)
Some Mario Kart items, too
This week sees the arrival of Pikmin 3 Deluxe on the Switch and to celebrate this particular release, Nintendo has added some new and appropriately themed rewards to My Nintendo in the US. Shipping fees apply. First up, we have a set of Pikmin 3 coasters (set of four) - available for a total of 400 Platinum Points. My...
Thursday29th Oct 2020
Random Sorry, Mario Kart Live - Sega Beat You To The Punch Over 30 Years Ago
You won't fit this track in your house, however
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is one of those "wow" concepts which can't help but raise a smile; being able to drive a tiny car around your living room and terrorise your pets is a good time, as you'll know if you've consulted our review. However, this isn't the first time a Japanese
Wednesday28th Oct 2020
News Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Receives Its Very First Update
Includes some camera improvements
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit might be a different type of video game experience, but it seems it will still be receiving the same level of support as Nintendo's standard first-party releases. A few weeks after it raced onto the Switch, this real-life kart racer has now received its very first update. This bumps...
Thursday22nd Oct 2020
Japanese Charts Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Speeds Into First Place
As Nintendo takes nine of top ten
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 12th - 18th October, revealing that Nintendo's Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit has debuted in first place. Combined sales of the Mario and Luigi bundles reached an estimated 73,918 units in its opening week, comfortably sitting ahead of the second-place game, Animal...
Wednesday21st Oct 2020
Random It Turns Out Some Cats Love Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Nintendo Life cats meet Mario
At the end of last week, we shared an article highlighting the struggles being faced by the world's cat population as a result of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. The extremely important and serious piece of journalism explored a variety of lovely kitties, finding that many appeared to be scared of the zooming Mario RC...
Monday19th Oct 2020
News If You're Feeling Creative, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Even Works With Ramps And Tunnels
The ceiling's the limit
Nintendo's shiny new toy, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, is now available to buy on Switch. It might be rubbing people's cats up the wrong way, but this clever, creative way to play one of the best multiplayer series of all time is certainly providing lots of enjoyment for new buyers. If you've
Sunday18th Oct 2020
Random Sakurai's Cat Is Also Curious About Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
The demon beast appears
Legendary game designer and director of the Super Smash Bros. series, Masahiro Sakurai, has been playing Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit this weekend, and like other cats, his own seems to be equally as intrigued by Nintendo's latest release. He shared the following image over on his Twitter account yesterday. This cat in the...
