Nintendo has made a number of announcements concerning the hotly anticipated Wii U racer, Mario Kart 8.
First off, and most importantly, they’ve given the release date for the title: May 30th. This is sooner than many people thought - we were expecting a summer release - so, clearly, not only is Nintendo confident in their latest Mario Kart title, but they also want to get it out there as soon as possible.
In this latest update, Nintendo has also given more information on the in-depth item customization options in Mario Kart 8, that could finally see the end of the dreaded blue shell of death.
The system is an expansion of the item customization featured in Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS and will allow you to choose not to race with items at all if you don’t want them – thereby ensuring a blue shell-free game if that’s what you’re after (although the blue shell of death really is synonymous with Mario Kart at this point, is it not?).
Mario Kart 8 will also allow players to be more specific in their item preferences, and race with only banna power-ups or other types of power-ups, although Nintendo did not mention whether this feature would included removing only the blue shells (although we wouldn’t want that, would we?).
The retro tracks that have been announced at this point are as follows: Rainbow Road, Royal Raceway, and Toad’s Turnpike from Mario Kart 64, Moo Moo Meadows (a remake of Moo Moo Farm on the N64) from Mario Kart Wii, Donut Plains 3 from the original Super Mario Kart on the SNES, and Cheep Cheep Beach from Mario Kart DS.
Lastly, Nintendo has revealed several new items, including the Piranha Plant from Super Mario 3D World, a boomerang, and a coin-doubling power-up. There are also newly confirmed returning characters in Metal Mario, Lakitu, and Shy Guy.
Nintendo has also stated that the game will run at 1080p and 60 frames per second in single-player mode, but only 30 frames per second in multiplayer, although that is not clear whether it is referring to split-screen (a staple of the franchise) or online multiplayer.
Take a look at the new trailer below, and check back for the latest news regarding Mario Kart 8 and other Nintendo titles.
Daniel Horowitz
@horowitzcentral
Latest posts by Daniel Horowitz (see all)
- According to Activison, Pre-order Numbers are Down - 6 August 2024
- The Great King of Evil is Playable in Hyrule Warriors - 5 August 2024
- Legend of Zelda Goes Multiplatform with Zelda Monopoly - 4 August 2024
