Nintendo To Market Mario Kart 8 Through The End Of The Year

If Nintendo seriously believe in the Wii U,
this is make or break time.

A proper marketing campaign could make this
the system seller that the Wii U desperately needs.

I'm in. Let's hope this is the pivotal moment we can
look back on, that resuscitated an ailing Wii U into a success story.

If Nintendo does actually market MK8 and the Wii U like they say they will, then I have faith that the Wii U's fortunes will be saved. One of the major problems that plagued the Wii U for a while was the marketing. Their marketing has been non-existant for a while, despite the fact that they have great first party games on there MKWii did wonders for the Wii, and I have no doubt that with good marketing, that MK8 will do wonders for Wii U. Then maybe this time next year, we can all be talking about how Wii U did turn into a 3DS scenario.

Well, they said this with other games and look how that turned out. I swear they did...

I really do hope that they fully advertise Mario kart 8 and the Wii U with awesome adverts that are always on TV. If they don't, then I can't see the Wii U doing any well in the future.

@retro72 This.

@Brickbuild101 There is way too much truth in what you just said.

Hopefully they clarify what the wii u is while they are at it, they should have marketed w101, pikmin, and 3d world before this.

I can't see MK8 doing well because alot of those people have moved on to Angry Birds Racing & Call of Duty Kart

All year for the UK? Whoa.
I wonder if NoA will do this... They probably will. /sarcasm

I don't get the people that say that NOA isn't advertising this game. I see it advertised in every Gamestop window that I see, and have for quite a while too.

@MAB Go back to under your bridge you failure of a troll. And take your negative thinking there as well.

@moomoo Commercial wise.

Agreed with every sensible comment on here so far.

@retro72 True that, my friend.

Makes sense since they won't have a game bigger than this coming out before 2015

@KennyPowers Orly? Smash Bros wants to object!

Nintendo doesn't have any other choice than marketing MK8 heavily to sell Wii U, until SSMB.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well.... considering how they have nothing else for this year until the very end it seems.

Hopefully NOA will follow suit.

Agreed @ all other comments to the tune of "Ninty doesn't have anything else to market this year"

@MAB shhhh don't give them ideas

@retro72 Exactly, this is one of those moments where you have to decide what you want... So, Nintendo, you have to go full power on this one. The 3DS had its moment, when they broke the price AND released Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. Plus it was Christmas.
Now, for the WiiU, this ain't Christmas, and the price is going to stay the same for a while (and I think it's fair, by the way). BUT they have to push the promotion of this title. I want to see commercials everywhere, on TV (especially the TV), on cinemas, on paper, on the web, everywhere.
And they will continue to sell it next Christmas. Plus, maybe... Smash Bros ? I'm still hoping it will be released for Christmas. I know that "Winter 2014" points out, factually, a 2015 release, but I'm still hoping. Call me naïve.
Oh, and I'm very curious of what will be going on at E3. Maybe this will helps, too.

So do they mean Wii U marketing or actual marketing (on TV, where the casuals that bought Wii will see it)?

NOA needs more money from Iwata to market this game properly,apparently.

@MAB Why do you troll here? Did IGN ban you?

@KennyPowers Or ever. Mario Kart is the biggest franchise if you look at Wii.

I preordered Mario Kart 8 yesterday and played Mario Kart 7 on my 2ds. I am ready!

unfortunately I have to agree with the majority....this reeks of everything else being pushed back until 2015. I would love to be wrong though

I think you are getting too much excited over this, can marketing MK8 sell Wii U's? of course it can, hell I bought a Wii U just for MK8, but does this mean that MK8 will turn Wii U into a success, Doubtful. the truth is when getting down to it the major problem with Wii U isn't the name or it's marketing (which are both 2 of the reasons why it's in this mess), the problem is the hardware, it just doesn't do what PS4 and XBOX One can do, and this is what it comes to in the long run, Nintendo titles are much stronger then Sony and Microsoft, but they aren't as strong as all the third party titles Wii U will be missing in the next couple of years. I just hope they put all the effort they can and get sales to a point where it can be compared to Game Cube, beyond that is just wishful thinking.

Even if MK8 sells a few million Wii U bundles this year (highly unlikely) it is still in big trouble... The PSVita is coming back into form this year with better games and 3rd party support while the 3DS has diddly squat

I really hope this MK8 marketing is good and that it will help sell the WiiU. Nintendo can either save their system or mess this up, only time will tell...

No it won't save WII U. LIke i said Nintendo has only 5 real top titles. Donkey Kong, Super Mario 3d, Legend of zelda HD, Mario bros U and an other title you can pick, but it's simply not enough. It's too much the same old thing. If Nintendo really want to be succesfull they need to release a lot more different games and it's time that they did spend money on 3rd party to make games for WII U exclusives. Like RPG. There is not really an old school RPG on WII U. You need to please a lot more fans to save WII U than just children "along side with the adults here". Sorry it's no bashing, but it's telling the truth. De demise is near of this console.

It's a good idea as it's probably the Wii U game with the most mass market appeal but I would like to see some real effort behind this!

@MAB so true! Lol

Hope they don't market it to the sorts of people who cheat online!

Why didin't they market every other major release which was "the most hotly anticipated Wii U title to date"?

It's never a good thing to put all your eggs in one basket. That being said mario kart could cement their standing as second second place in console sales but they need to keep the momentum going.

@princesseevee9 Do you not understand sarcasm? There isn't even a CoD kart for gods sake!

@retro72 he was just agreeing with you, he wasn't being rude.

@moomoo They haven't really kicked butt or anything but yeah, this game can not be missed at a GameStop store.

Why didn't they market DKCTF and SM3DW more then or Pikmin 3 and W101 longer then like 2 weeks it should have been the norm for all of their major releases.

What about US?

@meatbinbanquet

I would say its 98% certain that X and
Shin Megami X Fire Emblem will be 2015 release prob winter 2015 too with
Bayonetta 2 being an april 2015 release. the 2% off is it possible that one of these will see a release in Japan this year.

Obviously they don't have anything else. And SSB is NOT coming out before Christmas. Maybe Dec 28th so they can get it out before 2015. Maybe.

Here's one thing nobody else brought up. In the US there are still plenty of these red Wii Mini on the shelves w/ Mario Kart for $100.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B00F2ENJY8/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0

Probably more than a few aunts and grandmothers will pick up a $99 Wii Mini before a $299 Wii U to get Mario Kart. I know and you know that they are 2 different games, but older gift buyers might not. I really wish those Wii Mini would just go away.

On the bright side at least they will be advertising it. Better than nothing I guess.

only mario kart and smash bros for the entire 2014? good thing we all have the choice to own more than one console!

@MAB I can see it doing ok but it shouldn't because the bar has been raised by All Stars Racing Transformed / F-Zero GX but same as with Mario Golf Nintendo will ignore the massive improvements to the genres made by others. (Namco or Sega are better at making racing games they always have been as well).

@MAB LOL "a lot of people" xD

This may be interesting, this is make it or break it, Ninty!
Get your sh...crap...together, NoA!

@unrandomsam Another lol worthy post...

@Jazzer94 Marketing costs loads of money. (More than just making a boatload more games). I think they need less marketing and more games. (If they spend 80,000,000$ which is the last figure I heard cut it to 40,000,000$ and spend the other half on 40 games costing 1,000,000$ each - Dragons Crown cost that). Loads of good exclusives is bound to work better than just telling people about games they already know about but are not interested in.

Games sell consoles and ads sell games. Whether they are good or not, as Knack beating 3D World handily proved.

@rjejr

You sound so sure that SSB won't make it before Xmas. If the Smash Direct proved something it was that Smash is their Wii U holiday game, so it would be dumb to skip the holiday season. Unless again, they replace it with something bigger shown at E3, but that is unlikely.

Marketing all year means a slow trickle of DLC through the year, discounted bundles, discount promotions with the eshop, pre order bonuses physical and/or digital. There's a lot they will do. We'll see how it plays out.

Heh, UK may as be a pretty cool year for the wiiu. Mario kart wise.

This is where Nintendomination begins...

Sounds good, if only Ninty would put at least a fraction of the same effort into marketing some of the other stuff the WiiU has to offer...

Mario Kart is such a stale series by now... Regular people will see no reason to purchase a new console for a game they see readily available on much cheaper hardware (Wii, 3DS). Fanboys will, but they most likely own a WiiU already.

@jos lol
X forma winter 2015??
And Bayonetta 2 comes out summer 2014 un Japan...

At the risk of sounding like a broken record...THIS IS IT!...again....hopefully this is the last time I have to say it.

@unrandomsam
All Stars Racing? Really?
I'd say it's an objetive truth that MK is the most fun racer.

@Doma Ummm...That was unnecessary?
No people don't buy the Wii U just for MK, but its release is a good moment to buy it.
MK was stale until MK8. Also it's a racer lol. What do you expect?

@kuribo4
Plus, if it wasn't for Mario Kart, All Stars Racing wouldn't exist. Really, transforming vehicles? The stole that from Mario Kart 7 and Diddy Kong Racing. Then when it came out [All Stars Racing Transformed], people said Nintendo could learn from SEGA when SEGA was the one who learned from Nintendo.

I am so excited for Mario Kart. It will really help sell Wii U's if it is marketed correctly. I like the long-term emphasis on marketing.

Man here in Australia there has literally never been a wii u ad on the TV ever, nobody even knows the thing exists! Every person who visits my house says wtf is that thing when they see the gamepad. Nintendo of Australia is pretty much non existent, they have only just in the last few weeks gotten around to making themselves a Facebook page. The advertising I have ever seen or heard outside of an eb games or jb hifi store is a new yoshi island audio ad in a target store of all things. It's almost like they are intentionally trying to fail! I love the system, it could be great but not with this terrible mismanagement from all over.

At the same time, it's too early to air commercials in America. Commercials will be more cost-effective near the game's release

@kuribo4 The Steam version of All Stars Racing : Transformed is perfect. 1080p / 60fps - To succeed you need to get lots better. By the time you have all the Stars to use the best racer. (Ages's Console mod) you are pretty good and know all the tracks inside out (Which is totally necessary). Luck is not really a factor.

As I said before, a price cut, marketing and Mario Kart 8 will help, but not save, the Wii U.

@Doma you're writing like it's known facts in your statement. But it's simply just one man's opinion. Yours.
I think it comes down to how nintendo choose to market it.

I can see a sales spike for the Wii U hardware, and perhaps a small increase in average monthly sales for a while, due to MK8. But the Wii U's situation is more serious than what 1 AAA game can do to turn it around. SSB4 won't be out until year's end, and a similar sales performance will repeat itself. Even 2 first party AAA titles (that we know of) about 6-7 months apart isn't going to have the much needed effect on the Wii U's sales compared to PS4 and X1, they're pumping out enough AAA 3rd party games to keep the needed momentum in sales up.

Brilliant strategy. Now come autumn they can spin all the other delays as part of the top-secret master plan to focus on MK8.

Wii U's Best Chance Is Mario Kart 8, History Has Proven That Mario Kart Is One Of, If Not The Best Selling Game On A System, I Personally Can't Wait Because Mario Kary Wii Is My Favourite Wii Game, I Still Play It With My Brother And We Both Love It. I Hope That Mario Kart 8 Saves The Wii U, It's Not A Bad Console At All, It's Just That The Marketing Has Been Truly Shocking, At Least Here In The U.K...

This game will not sell consles.

If nintendo are thinking smash brothers and mariokart will turn their fortunes this year????

Oh dear

So pretty much they'll run the MK8 campaign up until Smash 4 releases, then do a campaign for that?

Might explain a bit about the delay until Winter (read: Christmas)

Advertise the game all you want, Nintendo. It's not going to help. You've dug your own grave since day 1 by naming the console Wii U and with desperate attempts to attract the casual crowd.

If a 3D Mario couldn't save it, nothing can.

@KennyPowers Smash Bros., Bayonetta 2, X and Hyrule Warriors say OBJECTION!!

I've seen a few TV spots on MK8 where I live. No where near what should be considered acceptable for such a high profile title.

Mr. Iwata's job is at stake here, quite frankly I would've thought he'd give the green light on increasing the advertising budget to capitalize on a weak gaming market in May.

@Yasume Zelda will sell some Wii U's (There is at least 5 or 6 people I know in their 30's good job but don't play any games except main Zelda games. RRP first day Zelda and whatever they need to play it. Don't think that situation is too uncommon). Problem is only way to get them keep spending is to make more Zelda games. (None handheld as well). Even if something was pretty much exactly like Zelda (And made by Nintendo) but wasn't called Zelda then I don't think they would get it.

@Yasume: Indeed. That 3D World had the broadest appeal of anything in their catalog. What hasn't happened already with SM 3D World simply is not going happen.

@Sceptic Just going on past numbers.

Mario Kart Wii
Wii Fit
NSMBW

All did much better than Galaxy or Galaxy 2. (Which I think were far better but that isn't the point).

''most hotly anticipated Wii U title to date''
Since when Mario Kart is more anticipated than Super Smash Bros.?

I speak as someone from Texas and I can comfortably say that NoA is not following suit with this marketing. The only thing I have seen for Wii U or Mario Kart 8 in terms of marketing is GameStop stores have a poster for the game in the window. No TV commercials, no cross advertising outside of video game outlets, and no pre-order/bundle offers.

I have my copy pinned for pre-order, but NoA's lack of support for what is arguably the last hope for Wii U (Other than SSB in Q4) is troubling.

sounds about right considering we are most likely looking at another drought following mk8's release for the wii u. advertise the poo out of the only game we have coming till "winter 2014" >_<

About time.
But yeah, Nintendo, we need more games, simple as that.

Casual Wii crowd knows Mario Kart. Gamers know and love the series. If this doesn't boost sales significantly then nothing will. But tbh I don't care. It's Nintendo buisness to worry about that stuff not mine. My Wii U purchase was justified long ago. And 2014-15 lineup looks very good. Wonder what will be announced at E3

@rjejr

What makes you so sure Smash will not release before Christmas? I say it's more likely that it does.

1 There is no other (known) smash hit Christmas game (no pun intended). Sure, X or Bayo is possible but Ninty likely wants one of it's own.

2 I think they would want the 3ds and Wii U versions to be fairly close, atleast the same year

Nintendo's gonna start an actual marketing campaign up?
That's awesome! Now they can finally get the word out about that Wii accessory they're selling. What's it called, the Wii U?
(kidding)

Given the recent trends of making crossover games, I'm sure this game would be equally hyped if it were called Mario Kart + F-Zero and included courses and characters from the F-Zero games.

I don't care how they market this game, I just hope they fix the online, sometimes on MK 7 it took ages to get a race, then more often than not you get booted after a couple of laps.

@DimetriWarrior Yep. xD

@unrandomsam I never thought luck was that big a factor in MK8 though. You learn to play, and you win more often. That's what I've observed.

I'm concerned that this means they won't have anything else on Wii U to advertise but Mario Kart 8, until Smash Bros., I guess. Sure hope I'm wrong.

@kuribo4 I have not played MK8 but luck is far too much of a factor in 7 / Wii. Especially when online I want to play something where the best player wins every time. (Without having to do it by cheating the mechanics). And it works both ways win or lose I still don't want it.

Local multiplayer is a bit different but that is no fun if I have played it tons and my opponents haven't.

Hyrule warriors better not suck!

Good news indeed but, lets see if Nintendo can keep its motto and market the Wii U the proper way.

Yeah I would hope they would market this well considering this is one of the Wii U's final life lines. Like let's be real. Their marketing team best take this seriously.

I won't be getting a Wii U for quite some time(broke college student and all that) but I do want to see it succeed. It's seems like a great console from the little I've experienced it.

I actually think Nintendo is going to pull a surprise card at E3 and say Zelda U is launching this holiday season. They have had 3 years to work on it, and no one is expecting it.

This sounds like a great way to sell consoles and should go to E3 with very positive momentum. Games sell consoles, a great marketing plan could sell even more games. Nintendo needs to run wild with this game because it will live up to it's hype and very soon word of mouth will spread. Store demos also seem critical-especially if they would make them available now so people will talk about it.

"A proper marketing campaign could make this
the system seller that the Wii U desperately needs"

Sure, but they shouldn't bank on this game alone! From the sound of it they put all their fate again on one title. We know how that turned out with Mario 3D world!

As some people said before: They should come with lots of games and see what sticks, like Sony and Microsoft are doing. But those have third-party's, while Nintendo hasn't!

A demo would be nice ...

Mario Kart might be their chance to turn things around, but a clearer look at the future will come a couple of weeks later at E3.
I'm interested to know how (or if) they plan to fight back with enough software to support the console on their own.

If they don't come out all guns blazing in June then it'll be clear they're letting the console fade out, which is understandable.

Wii U really needs a proper pokemon title in order to create more hype ..... maybe in E3 ....lets hope for some NFC pokemon/revolutionary game , a new metroid game with cool new features and excellent graphics would certainly help , they need to create a new game with a new mascot we already have pokemon,mario,zelda,kirby ,DK ....but that s not enough they need something new that will appeal a lot of new gamers.

@AshFoxX There's still a month before it releases. No game ever gets marketed that long before launch.

@Genesaur Bayo, Hyrule Warriors and X.

I think Super Mario 3D World did horrible because Mario 3D world brought nothing new so no shocker that it didnt sell well, We ALL knew that starting from it's boring and unhyped e3 trailer, people wanted the next big Mario game or a sequel to Galaxy not a boring uninspired sequel to a 3DS game, that was a rushed System Seller to the 3DS, with stuff like MK8 and SSB4 it's something most people are excited to see because new iterations always bring something new to the table PLUS they have a competitive community and a huge community in general so its stupid to compare something like 3D world to MK8/SSB

@Jmaster Maybe, maybe, and maybe. That's the problem. Until we get solid release dates (which I'm hoping we get by E3), those are all up in the air, as far as whether they will be released in a timely manner.

@Brickbuild101 LOLOL man if that ain't the truth too.... NOA marketing is borderline trolling Nintendo at this point. It's like the talking heads there are all like "how can we sabotage the brand further?".

One game cannot save this console, and right now, for the rest of the year, all they have is one game.

@Knuckles They need this to happen. Without it, I can't see the WiiU surviving long enough to release Zelda. It is teetering on the brink of failure as it is.

@siconlol Galaxy didn't do well either (NSMBW / Wii Fit / Mario Kart did miles better).

@Assassinated Again, HW, X and Bayo and smash. They could all be delayed (especially X) but as far as we know now they're coming out this year.

@Jmaster Yes, but nothing is officially on the calendar. They have one game coming in a month, and the rest is vague release windows, and "probably this year" games, that we still know next to nothing about.

@Assassinated But it's still more than ONE game.

@sinalefa - "Knack beating 3D World handily proved."

I don't think Knack beat SM3DW, I think it was included in the PS4 bundle in Europe. Or free w/ purchase. Something that keeps it from being a legitimate sale.

As for SSB "Winter 2014" release date. If they knew it was going to be out this holiday they would have said holiday. If they knew it would be out in Dec they would have said Dec. I honestly believe it isn't finished, they dont know when it will be finished, but they won't release it until it's finished, and they won't announce the date until >veryclose< to it being finished. SSBB being delayed not once but twice is still fresh in some peoples minds.

If it is done, and Nintendo knows when it will be out, they are just being sneaky and trying to drum up 3DS sales before announcing it, well if Nintendo really is that sneaky, as wrong as it is, more power to them.

Where's Bayonetta 2? SSB at least got a "Winter 2014" date. Even if I don't believe it (well technically I can't believe it b/c winter 2014 was Jan, Feb, Mar of 2014 that already passed) at least it got a window.

@smikey - I'ld be overjoyed if SSB came out before Dec 23. I'ld pinch myself to see if I were dreaming if it came out before Thanksgiving. Why would Nintendo say "Winter 2014" if they meant mid-November? Who refers to November as winter?

On second thought, I hope it doesn't come out until Feb if that means they have something else in line for Christmas. If they don't have any other big titles on Wii U for Christmas besides SSB, well thats just a depressing thought. SSB will sell any day of the year, it's not reliant on Santa putting it under the tree, some titles like Yarn Yoshie need a holiday release.

@LetsGoRetro - "What makes you so sure Smash will not release before Christmas?

See above.

@sinalefa The Direct said winter 2014... Winter starts Dec. 21th just saying, plus most of 2014's winter is over basically.

@Uberchu @rjejr

If Winter 2014 is December 2013, Jan 2014 and Feb 2014, then using "Winter 2014" as a future date makes no sense whatsoever. Or should it be Jan, Feb and Dec 2014?

In any case, from a business sense you don't release anything big in December after Christmas, or a couple of days before when all money has been spent. They would either rush a little to put it before or take their time and release it January onwards, in which case they would say 2015.

Although Smash technically could sell millions any day of the year, this time there will be another version releasing before, so its impact will not be as big, so they might as well use the holiday push.

@sinalefa - "Although Smash technically could sell millions any day of the year, this time there will be another version releasing before, so its impact will not be as big, so they might as well use the holiday push."

OK, you win this round, curses foiled again Maybe Nintendo feels SSB (on Wii U) does need the holiday push after the 3DS release this summer.

It's going to be really interesting to see how 1 affects the other. 43mil 3DS vs 6mil Wii U. (OK 8mil after MK8) It's either going to be great marketing - like Nintendo should be doing w/ mini smartphone games - and sell 5mil on Wii U, Or Nintendo is right, smartphone games would kill their core market, and it will sell <1mil on Wii U. Maybe release date will matter this gen.

Oh, and I have bought games that come out in Dec after Christmas, happened a few years ago on PS3 I think. It's not as absurd as i looks at first. In the US gift cards are given to everybody everywhere. If a kid gets a Wii U for Christmas he can buy SSB a few days later w/ cash and GC from his aunts and uncles. Nobody shops anymore. Even w/ the ease of Amazon my kids get more Amazon gift cards than actual gifts from Amazon.

Personally, I bought a Wii U for my birthday last Aug so Santa could bring us $200 worth of games for Christmas, but I know a game console is likely a Christmas gift than any other time of year. A Dec 27th release is almost perfect timing in the US. It's a Sat. and stores could open at midnight Friday Dec 26. Midnight Christmas night launch would be a bit too much.

Question - does SSB get a bundle so soon after the MK8 bundle? Could both bundles exist side by side? Wait, does the US even have the MK8 bundle yet? TW needs to get on the horn to Reggie.

@rjejr

Your Gift Card point is interesting, and something that slipped off my mind. Good point.

Answer - If November would be the soonest SSB gets released, it would be 6 months after MK8, so not that soon.
The bundles could coexist, as both of them mean Wii U sold. And the more choices, the better.
There is no MK8 bundle confirmed that I know of. As usual NOA is getting left behind. Only thing I saw is the Best Buy free gas deal.

@sinalefa - "There is no MK8 bundle confirmed that I know of. "

After seeing the NOA MK8 Wii U bundle box today - the one that looks surprisingly like the Wii Mini - I don't think there will be a Nov/Dec SSB Wii U bundle as they'll be pushing this hard this holiday, as they've already said.

If SSB gets released in Feb or March - technically winter just 2015, not 2014, also when SSBB released on Wii after 2 delays - then it will get a bundle to maybe replace this one. And if it did release Dec 27 then it wouldn't need a bundle, everybody would get the MK8 bundle for Christmas. I think a lot of people would buy a $60 game 2 days after Christmas w/ those GC, but not a $300 bundle.

Timing is everything.