All Articles: Mario Kart 8

Jason Schreier over at Kotaku has done the Internet a great service by compiling a bunch of Luigi Death Stare videos (some of these are NSFW, because of cursing!). I dare you to watch these and keep a straight face. Make sure your volume is up – wayyyy up.

You can see Luigi’s Death Stare in the new Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U.

In the kart race that is the 8th Generation Console War, Nintendo picked up a Blue Shell over the weekend in the form of Mario Kart 8. The latest addition to Nintendo’s popular racing franchise bowled over the competition and sold 1.2 million copies in its first three days of availability across North America, Europe, and Japan. That makes it the fastest-selling Wii U game ever and the seventh Nintendo-published title to sell more than a million copies.

“The early response to Mario Kart 8 demonstrates that the best days for Wii U are still ahead,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “This year’s E3 is just days away, and it will be all about the future games for Nintendo platforms. This milestone is a great place to start!”

So I guess that ultra-creepy live-action commercial actually increased sales of Mario Kart 8. Mean Mario means business!

In an attempt to be cute, both Nintendo and Mercedes-Benz Japan have actually done more to haunt my dreams than It, True Detective, and that one episode of The X-Files with the inbred cannibal family combined. Well, that’s not totally true because each of those is pretty disturbing. But this is close.

Mercedes-Benz has bought the best product placement imaginable by brokering a deal with Nintendo to add its new car, the GLA, to Mario Kart 8 as free DLC within Japan later this Summer. It hasn’t been officially announced, but the GLA kart will most likely be available elsewhere, too.

In itself this isn’t the terrifying part. The stuff of nightmares is actually to be found in the commercial advertising the car’s placement in the game. At thirty seconds long, it starts out with Mario hopping into a GLA and inexplicably going through the first level of Super Mario Bros. (never mind that there are no cars in that game) and when he reaches the castle at the end, well, you kind of have to see it for yourself.

I apologize for making anyone else see this, but I think it’s kind of like the video in The Ring — if I don’t make someone else view it, I may die.

[Source: IGN]

Nintendo really wants to make it worth your while to purchase Mario Kart 8. If you already own a Wii U and you purchase the next kart racer starring Mario and all his friends, you’ll be entitled to a free download of one of four Wii U games: New Super Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD or Wii Party U.

However, if you don’t own a Wii U, starting May 30, you can purchase one as part of a Mario Kart 8 Bundle (priced at $329.99) that includes the console, the game, a Wii Wheel, and a Mario Red Wii Remote Plus. A free download of New Super Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD or Wii Party U is also included with the console bundle.

If you still need convincing, Nintendo hopes a closer look at the game will make you push that pre-order button. The publisher has posted video walkthroughs of all 32 tracks (and all eight Battle Arenas) on Mario Kart 8’s official website.

This is all on top of the news that the game will be adding two more characters (Pink Gold Peach and Baby Rosalina) and several new items. The Super Horn pushes away nearby drivers and any projectiles sent flying your way (including the dreaded Blue Shell) while the Crazy Eight is “a swirl of eight different items that lucky players can use one by one.”

You can check out the newly announced drivers and items in the trailer above. And don’t forget, Mario Kart 8 will be available exclusively for the Wii U on May 30.

Mario Kart 64‘s version of Rainbow Road is one of my all-time favorite tracks from any Mario Kart game. And it’s making a return in next month’s Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U as one of the game’s “remixed” tracks. In addition to Rainbow Road 64, Nintendo announced that Toad’s Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 will also be added to the sequel, alongside Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart.

Mario Kart 8 will be more than just old courses with a new coat of paint, as Nintendo also revealed two new items, three new characters, and the brand new “Spin Boost” special move. According to Nintendo, the Spin Boost gives players an advantage when racing upside down or on walls: “Players can bump into other racers or certain track obstacles to get a speed boost, fundamentally redefining the way that players compete.”

As they put the “Spin Boost” to work, players will also be able to use two new items. The Piranha Plant “attaches to the front of the player’s kart and chomps at other characters, banana peels on the track or even shells thrown by other characters.” And the Boomerang Flower “allows players to strike multiple opponents with a single toss” of the Boomerang. In another, totally unrelated, first for the series, Mario Kart 8 will feature music recorded by live performers on some courses.

Finally, Nintendo has confirmed that three more racers will join the fray: Metal Mario, Latiku (who’s going to wave the checkered flag when he’s racing?), and Shy Guy.

Mario Kart 8 will be available exclusively for the Wii U on May 30.