Mario Kart 8 may not have much of a grounding in reality, but the game will be getting some welcome real-world exposure at this weekend's History 300 At Charlotte Motor Speedway event.
US retailer GameStop has taken over the livery of double Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racer Matt Kenseth's Toyota Camry in order to promote Nintendo's forthcoming Wii U racer, which means that plenty of eyeballs will be gazing at Mario in anti-gravity action. The Wii U logo also features very prominently on the back of the car, which should hopefully give Nintendo's system a big boost.
Will you be checking out the race, either at the event or live on television? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Thanks to Ryan Millar for the tip.
[source mattkenseth.com]
Comments (25)
Whoa cool. I want a model of that car! (just take off the GameStop decal and perfect)
I am finding it difficult to see past the GameStop logo.
Awesome! I love Nascar!
At least this once Wii U will be going fast.
Oh hey, promotion. I forgot what that looked like.
MK8 is nice, but I'm impressed it actually says Wii U on the back.
I would love to add that car model to my JGR car model collection. Of course I will watch the race. Usually I DVR NASCAR. its easier to watch.
Well, I wouldn't entirely rule out the possibility of upside down racing. Certainly makes it more interesting XD I'm glad to see Nintendo giving MK8 the promotion it deserves though.
That is pretty awesome! I wouldn't mind being able to play as that car in MK8, although it would be pretty weird. That is cool - I may watch part of the race just to see that!
Nascar is pretty big in the states, especially the southern states. It seems gimmicky, but this is actually a pretty smart move.
Anyone know when the Coca Cola 600 will start tonight?
EDIT: I'm in Huntersville, NC.
"Not upside down, sadly"
Depends how the race goes, really.
Not really into nascar, but it´s nice to see nintendo doing more publicity.
I haven´t seen a single spot on tv yet
I really love the fact that they're doing this, but I wish it would have been on Matt's Sprint Cup car instead. That naturally is where most of the viewers for NASCAR, including myself, watch since that's where the big guns like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. race. But I'll have to check out the Nationwide race just to see this car in action.
Sigh... Gamestop..
@RedYoshi999 @Raylax You, of course, want Clint Bowyer behind the wheel of your car if you're interested in going upside-down.
Looks like Nintendo's finally getting the advertising down!
Nintendo marketing going all out lmao
Hey! thats only 20 mins from me! Coooooooool!
That is awesome good job. There was even a full spread in entertainment weekly about MK8. I honestly think that Mario kart 8 could be a game changer. It is a System Seller I know 2 of my friends are going to buy a Wii U when this comes out in a bundle. They already got their PS4s they were waiting for this game.
Stop the GameStop hate! Sponsorship between GameStop and Nintendo made this possible! We've been asking for more marketing and advertising efforts, now the Wii U and MK8 brand is out there for NASCAR fans to see. Here's hoping Matt Kenseth leads the most laps and goes on to win, so there's longer exposure.
Nintendo is going all in in their marketing efforts. I've seen multiple TV commercials on MK8. They are also showing commercials in select movie theaters (in Godzilla movie). That's on top of the publication prints on various magazines, posters, standees, at Target, BestBuy, GameStop and Walmart.
In the end, most of us wants the Wii U to succeed and hating on GameStop will not help that cause since they play a major role in the game industry.
@WiiULoveGBA lol I thought the same thing
@babyguess Saw godzilla movie today, no MK8 ad here sorry.
BTW I almost never see PS4/Xboner ads, yet seen at least a few Wii U ones... lol gf?
@PS4 Posted from another site:
"Mario Kart 8 trailer airing before Godzilla
Looks like Nintendo is showcasing Mario Kart 8 prior to Godzilla in various movie theaters. If you happen to get to the theater early and catch the commercials prior to trailers, you might just see a Mario Kart 8 spot! Keep in mind, these spots may only be shown at certain theater chains."
Operative words, "select and certain theater chains".
"Can confirm it played before X-Men (an AMC Veterans). Amazing Spider Man 2 also (a cheaper local theater under the Touchstar cinemas branding). Looks wonderful in that big theater resolution. I was very happy to see actual ADVERTISING too."
I was just watching the NasCar 600 Charlotte race, and #20 Matt Kenseth's car was NOT Mario Kart themed. What a let down...
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