mario-kart-7
Latest
Three new 2DS Mario Kart 7 bundles race toward retail
Following Nintendo's earlier announcement of a new 3DS model, the Japanese gaming giant has also unveiled three new bundles headed to North America, including the 2DS handheld and a copy of Mario Kart 7. According to Nintendo, at some point in "early October," retailers will begin to offer bundles including a download voucher for Mario Kart 7 and one of three new 2DS colors: Electric Blue, Crimson Red or Sea Green. Despite the inclusion of Mario Kart 7, these new 2DS bundles feature the same $130 price point as standalone 2DS handhelds. Edit: This post initially stated that a standalone 2DS is available at $100, when it is in fact priced at $130. [Image: Nintendo]
Mario Kart 8 drives us up a wall
Mario Kart 8 takes the series in a new direction, which is to say, "sideways." The Wii U's first entry in the franchise introduces the concept of relativistic gravity – an idea not entirely foreign to Mario himself – to the vehicular antics enjoyed by Nintendo's mascots. It also marks the console debut of Mario Kart 7's hang gliding mechanic and, by virtue of being on the Wii U, motion controls with the GamePad. Hang gliding is innocuous enough, but I had reservations about the implications of the GamePad's seemingly superior motion controls after a few test races in Nintendo's booth at E3.%Gallery-191096%
Amazon sale on 3DS games: Fire Emblem: Awakening, Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers and more
Whew! E3, huh? Right? Y'all remember when that guy said that stuff, and then all the things happened? What a crazy week! We don't know about you, but we're feeling like it might be time to unwind from this week's insanity by catching up on our gaming backlogs while we wait for all these sick-looking next-gen jams to drop. Fire Emblem: Awakening, Mario Kart 7, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, Super Mario 3D Land and a mess of other great 3DS games have all been dropped to around $30 on Amazon, which is convenient since we were just saying how we need to catch up on our backlog. Weird! Head past the break for the full list of games and their pertinent purchasing links.
3DS XL holiday bundle includes free Mario Kart 7
A new 3DS XL bundle offered in North America starting December 2 will include a pre-installed copy of Mario Kart 7. The new "limited-edition bundle" contains a stock blue/black system with a free copy of last year's online-enabled kart racer loaded onto the SD card.The set is priced at $199.99, the regular price for a 3DS XL, making the game effectively free. Also available at retail is Nintendo's Black Friday 3DS bundle, with a red (non-XL) 3DS and Super Mario 3D Land.
Pikachu 3DS XL in UK Dec. 7, headlines trio of holiday handhelds
Quite possibly the most huggable handheld ever, the Pikachu 3DS XL will leave its current Japanese prison for the lush, bountiful lands of the UK on December 7.A pair of white 3DS XLs bundled with games will go on sale in the UK later this month. A white 3DS XL with a pre-installed copy of Mario Kart 7 will be available on November 16, while a white 3DS XL with Super Mario 3D Land will go on sale on November 30.Also, have fun trying to un-see Pikachu's nipples.
Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Zelda: OoT 3D and Starfox 64 3D now available on EU 3DS eShop [Update: NA too!]
Four more 3DS games will now be available as digitally distributed titles, at least if you live in Europe. Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Starfox 64 3D should all be available on the European 3DS eShop momentarily, Nintendo announced during today's Nintendo Direct presentation.Update: All four of these games will also be available on the North American eShop on Thursday, October 18, which is two weeks from today. The convenience of not having to go to a store will run you a smooth $40.
New 3DS colors & bundles in Japan, eShop gets digital re-releases
Nintendo announced three new 3DS XL bundles for Japan, with two special case designs for New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Animal Crossing 3DS. The company also announced the upcoming arrival of eight previously released 3DS games on the Japanese eShop.In an initial Nintendo Direct broadcast, Nintendo showcased 3DS XL bundles for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, NSMB 2, and Animal Crossing 3DS. The Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate bundle comes with an all-black 3DS XL, and launches in Japan on November 1. The NSMB 2 bundle, pictured above, comes with a very flash red design, dotted with light red images from the Mario universe. The Animal Crossing 3DS design is similar, but with polka dot images against a white background, a bit 'Tutti Frutti' if you ask us. The Animal Crossing 3DS bundle arrives in Japan on November 8, with the NSMB 2 one a week after. All three bundles come with digital copies of the game.That brings us nicely onto the second Nintendo Direct broadcast, which announced eight digital versions of previously released 3DS games for the eShop. Those games don't include the three in the 3DS XL bundles above (cunning, Mr Nintendo), but they do include Ocarina of Time 3D, Pilotwings Resort, Star Fox 64 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Mario Tennis Open, Hana to Ikimorio Rittai Zukan (click if you're curious), and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The octet hit the Japanese eShop on November 1.%Gallery-167394%
3DS has sold over 5 million in US to date
The 3DS has surpassed five million units sold in the United States, Nintendo announced today. Contributing to that new milestone: over 155,000 3DS systems were sold in the US in the month of June, according to NPD data cited by Nintendo.In addition, Nintendo moved "more than 150,000 units of the Nintendo DS family and nearly 95,000 Wii consoles." In terms of 3DS software, Nintendo revealed new life-to-date totals for three million-sellers: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (over 1 million), Super Mario 3D Land (2.1 million), and Mario Kart 7 (1.75 million). If there's a conclusion that can be drawn from this, it's that not enough people bought Kid Icarus Uprising.
Club Nintendo coin rewards changing on July 1
You may want to redeem those coins you've accrued through Club Nintendo, because the reward values are changing as of July 1. Completing registration surveys for the Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL will yield only 100 coins, as opposed to the previously established 160 coins.Software rewards are also getting a shake-up, though only select titles will see a decrease. Completing registration surveys for some 3D Classics and other downloadable titles will grant fewer coins; however, a lot of first-party 3DS games like Mario Kart 7 and some third-party ones, such as Resident Evil Revelations, are seeing increases. Wii and DS/DSi games are sadly seeing a reduction pretty much across the board. Better put in your Animal Crossing: City Folk code before time runs out!
PSA: Mario Kart 7 patch fixes Maka Wuhu exploit
Along with a 3DS firmware update (which doesn't do anything interesting), a new patch sent to 3DSes yesterday closes up the Maka Wuhu shortcut, in Mario Kart 7. The patch is required for online play, so you will no longer see miraculous leaps forward on that particular course. The glitch still shows up in time trials.Now you have only your own driving skill to rely on in Mario Kart. Well, that and blue shells. Actually, mostly blue shells. Now, you have only the random chance that you'll get a blue shell and not be hit by a blue shell to rely on.
3DS firmware update on April 25 makes it easier to organize Home menu
During the Nintendo Direct conference livestream, Satoru Iwata revealed a new firmware update is inbound. Apparently folks have been complaining of clutter, so the new update is aimed at cleaning up your Home screen. Users will be able to create folders, name them and store up to 60 items within.Update: The Nintendo of America Twitter account pegs the update for April 25.
NPD's top 25 includes at least eight 3DS games
No 3DS games sold enough in the US to place in the top ten last month, according to NPD data. But 3DS sales were happening just under the surface, with many 3DS games making it into the (undisclosed) top 25 games of February.The NPD told Joystiq that "some examples" of the 3DS titles that made the list include Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, FIFA Soccer, Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, Resident Evil: Revelations, and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games -- the last two on that list being February releases.That's ... a significant portion of the top 25. It's also evidence of a reasonably engaged 3DS install base, and therefore stiff competition for the PS Vita, which came out in February. The Vita's Uncharted: Golden Abyss placed somewhere in the top 20 (at least in retail; Vita games also have digital sales not charted by NPD).
Iwata throws around the idea of paid Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart DLC
Nintendo head honcho Satoru Iwata hinted at the possibility of paid DLC for two of its 3DS titles, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, at a recent investor meeting. Speaking in terms of hardware and software lifespans, Iwata suggested (hypothetically) Nintendo could benefit from the addition of paid DLC to both Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7:"What if we could provide add-on content through the network?" Iwata asked, positing a solution to the problem of players growing tired of the games they've purchased. "As I referred to before, for example, this is the idea of supplying new stages to Super Mario users who want to play the game more but have completed the game and lost interest in the existing stages."This will not only give us new profits but will lengthen the life of a product, in that it will never be out of fashion and can keep attracting public attention as long as many people play it." DLC functionality was added to the 3DS with the last firmware update, and will first be used in a retail title in Japan with Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy.
Boingo offers free Wi-Fi to 3DS users at select UK airports
No longer will exotic StreetPasses be the sole reason for you to loiter around the airport. In between the acquisition of traveling Miis, you can now pass the time with some free Wi-Fi.Similar to its deal in North America, Boingo has set up free Wi-Fi hotspots that will allow 3DS users to automatically connect when in range at London Heathrow, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Gatwick and Stansted airports ... unless you plan on checking out some PDF files or watching a Flash cartoon online, that is. We don't know about you guys but that's, like, 90 percent of what we do on the internet over here in America.The other ten percent of the time? Google image searches of Atsushi Inaba, of course. Best hair in the biz!
Nintendo doesn't plan on fixing Maka Wahu track in Mario Kart 7
"Wuhu Island" may sound like an innocuous place, but it's apparently rife with dirty, dirty cheaters. And that cheating doesn't sound like it's stopping anytime soon, with Nintendo telling StickTwiddlers that the island's "Maka Wuhu" track in Mario Kart 7 won't be patched or updated to fix the glaring glitch found at the start. "We are aware that it is possible to navigate a certain part of the track in Wuhu Island in a way that allows a large part of the course to be bypassed," Nintendo rep Buddy Roemer (no, not that Buddy Roemer) told the site. And though Nintendo acknowledges the glitch, Roemer said there "are no plans to update the game to remove this shortcut." Not for the moment, at least. The logic behind not updating the game is perhaps even more bizarre than acknowledging the glitch and refusing to fix it. "Doing so would create an unfair advantage for the users of the original release of the game," Roemer said, though he did also say the request for a fix has "been added to our records for Mario Kart 7." We imagine a printout of the email is now sitting in an official three-ring binder somewhere, biding its time next to fan art of Yoshi with a glider.
3DS, Nintendo lead Japan's 30 best-selling games of 2011
The top two spots in Japan's 2011 list of best-selling games are taken by a pair of Nintendo 3DS games: Mario Kart 7, with more than 1.6 million sold, and Super Mario 3D Land with more than 1.08 million sold. In third is Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri-G for 3DS, followed by 27 more titles for 3DS, DS PSP, Wii and PS3. These include From Software's Dark Souls and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII-2. Check out the entire list, provided by Media Create of Japanese Hardware Sales fame, below!
Mole Kart is the iOS Mario Kart rip-off you never wanted
It's not the first blatant rip-off to appear on the App Store by any stretch, but it might be one of the most obnoxious. Mole Kart is the quintessential Mario Kart clone, copying key gameplay mechanics, power-ups and even track designs from Nintendo's classic rubber-band racer. To top it off, it has fewer memorable characters and, based on the video above, what looks to be some way janky steering. The game is currently available for $2.99 on the App Store and is compatible with both the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad, granted they're running iOS 4.1 or later. Also, you'll need a high tolerance for cartoon moles because this game is totally full of them.
Monster Hunter Tri-G tops 1 million sold in Japan
You'd think that Japan would be fresh out of monsters at this point, considering that they've been ruthlessly hunting them without rest since 2004, but that's not the case. In fact, it seems the monster birth rate is so high over there, that over a million blademasters and gunners have been recruited for the latest hunt. Monster Hunter Tri-G has sold 1.08 million copies as of January 8, according to Andriasang, making it the first third-party release (and third 3DS title overall) to break the million-sold milestone in Japan. It is distinct from some other million-selling 3DS titles (Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land) in that it does not feature an Italian plumber, but rather focuses on monsters and the hunting thereof. Wait, isn't Mario technically a monster hunter as well? Maybe there is a common thread here.
3DS past 4 million in US, Mario sells another 2 million
All things considered, 2011 was a pretty solid year for the 3DS. Despite an incredibly slow adoption rate at launch and the resultant corporate turmoil, buyers on the fence were eventually persuaded by a massive price drop and 3D remakes of yesteryear's classics. By the end of 2011, Nintendo had sold "more than 4 million" of its stereoscopic wunderkind to US consumers, as well as 1 million units each of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. Nintendo had only sold 830,000-ish 3DS units as of last July, a full 4 months into the life of the product. By the end of October, however, that number had inflated to around 1.08 million units thanks to August's price drop, with November pushing another 795,000 units into American pockets. For this to add up, the holiday shopping season would have needed to move at least 2.1 million more 3DSes, which doesn't seem like that much of a stretch considering the abundance of bundles at retailers.
3DS sales exceed 4M in Japan, Mario sells over 2M games
More 3DS sales figures coming right at you: According to data from publisher Enterbrain, the 3DS has now exceeded sales of four million units in Japan (as expected), wrapping up the week leading into Christmas with 510,629 systems sold. That's an increase of 39 percent over the last week, which also saw the 3DS outselling the newer and more expensive PlayStation Vita by about 13 percent. Mario achieved an accompanying milestone (according to Famitsu), hawking a million copies each of Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land. The portly plumber's latest adventures are reportedly the first 3DS games to sell over 1 million copies in Japan. The most recent third-party game to come close to that target is likely Monster Hunter Tri-G, which has already shipped a million copies.
