Mario Kart 8
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Nintendo brings 'Mario Kart 8' and 'Splatoon' for Wii U back online August 3rd
'Mario Kart 8' and 'Splatoon' for Wii U are coming back online after Nintendo spent months fixing security flaws.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s second set of new tracks arrives on August 4th
The eight courses include DS classic Waluigi Pinball and a brand-new one from ‘Mario Kart Tour.’
'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' is getting 48 courses from older games as paid DLC
The Booster Course Pass costs $25, but it's included with a Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership.
Nintendo's Black Friday sale includes 'Mario Kart' when you buy a Switch
You can get a Nintendo Switch bundled with 'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' for only $300 in a special Black Friday sale.
Nintendo is holding an online 'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' tournament this Sunday
Top-tier Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players better limber up with some thumb exercises. Nintendo has announced a North American online tournament which will take place on Nintendo's Switch Online service from 1 PM to 11 PM ET on September 22nd. The top eight racers will take home prizes of 2,500 Gold Points ($25).
Mario Kart 8's super-fast 200cc class almost made me puke
It could've been the latent heatstroke setting in from the three days I spent tut-tutting millennials under my breath at Coachella, or the five coffees I'd drunk to sustain some form of consciousness. But when I finished playing a demo of the new 200cc level in Mario Kart 8 with some folks from Nintendo on Monday, my eyes felt looser in their sockets and a barely containable feeling of nausea lingered in my gut for about an hour. It was as if I'd come off a roller coaster -- like one of those daring, metallic serpents from Six Flags or Busch Gardens in the '80s that jolted you just a bit too much and gave the impression you'd nearly avoided whiplash. All of which is to say, 200cc is not for the weak. It is stupid fast and stupid good.
1.84M New 3DS units shipped in 2014, Wii U up to 9.2M
The New 3DS is off to a "good start" according to Nintendo, after the enhanced handheld shipped 1.84 million units by the end of 2014. The company launched the New 3DS and its XL variant in Japan back in October, before bringing them to Australia the following month. The New 3DS' arrival helped take the "3DS family" beyond the 50 million mark, and as of December 31, 2014, the 3DS total is 50.41 million units shipped worldwide. On the other hand, Nintendo says 3DS sales haven't grown sufficiently in North America and Europe this fiscal year; both regions are waiting for the New 3DS to launch there next month. Between April and December 2014, Nintendo shifted 7.08 million 3DS systems worldwide. While the Wii U has gathered steam in recent months, it's still tracking a long way behind its handheld sibling. Nintendo shifted 1.91 million consoles worldwide during the busy holiday quarter of October to December 2014, taking its nine-month figures to 3.39 million, As of the end of 2014, its two-year lifetime total is 9.2 mllion systems and 52.87 million software units.
Nintendo: Amiibo sales outpace Smash Bros. Wii U
Mario Kart 8 sold 1.7 million copies in 2014 both digitally and at retail in the United States according to the NPD Group, Nintendo revealed in a press release. The publisher also noted that Super Smash Bros. for Wii U sold 1.3 million copies during the year, though sales of the company's amiibo figurines were "nearly twice" that of Nintendo's Mario brawler on Wii U. Nintendo said that total hardware and software sales increased "by more than 29 percent and more than 75 percent, respectively, over sales in 2013." As of December, the publisher said that amiibo sales were "approximately equal" to that of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. On the handheld side of Nintendo's lineup, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS eclipsed 2 million copies sold since the game launched this past fall. Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby also combined to sell 2.6 million copies in the remastered games' first six weeks. Nintendo recently offered a worldwide launch date for the company's new 3DS system during this week's Nintendo Direct presentation; the C-Stick-sporting console will arrive on February 13 for $200. The improved console will be accompanied by The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate along with each game's respective special edition 3DS systems. [Image: Nintendo]
Nintendo's famous easter egg song discovered in Mario Kart 8
For nearly 25 years, Nintendo composer and sound designer Kazumi Totaka has been hiding a signature 19-note melody in games. While he's hardly the first to nefariously lay an easter egg, there's a bit of a legend to what the locals call "Totaka's Song."
Teens playing Mario Kart 64: 'Who designed this?'
Ready to feel old? The Fine Brothers' latest React Gaming video shows teens playing another classic game, 1996's Mario Kart 64. The ten-minute competition is entertaining through the final close race while taking older players back to simpler times. Among our favorite quotes is one of the test subject's confusion over the Nintendo 64 controller, turning it over while pondering, "Who designed this?" The React Gaming series pairs retro games and consoles with youthful players, putting their bewilderment on display for the benefit of all. Past videos showed teens failing at Mega Man, discussing the size of the Game Boy and the absurdness of the NES, the latter featuring Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams. Younger players may have a greater appreciation for the latest game in Nintendo's racing series, Mario Kart 8, which was one of Joystiq's best games of 2014. [Image: Nintendo]
Metareview: GOTY Edition
Over the weekend the Joystiq hive mind concluded its annual hive dance and deemed Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor the top dawg of 2014. Monolith's action-RPG may have hacked and slashed its way to the top of our list, but a glance at The Rest of the Internet makes one thing clear: When it comes to 2014's GOTY awards, there isn't One Game to rule them all. With that in mind, we've taken the Metareview format we use to collate other outlets' reviews and given it a GOTY paint job. As ever, it's just a sampling of all the publications out there and plenty of places have yet to dole out their awards. Nonetheless, here's a wee look at the best games of 2014 according to everyone else.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Mario Kart 8
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Mario Kart 8, much like its host console, made a poor first impression when it showed up in demo form back at E3 2013. In the same way that the Wii U met with equal parts confusion and indifference when it debuted – thanks to that odd controller– Mario Kart 8's anti-gravity racing felt like the most tiresome sort of tacked-on gimmick early on. "Oh, it's Mario Kart! But super pretty! And upside down!" Great. Super. Who cares? But also like the Wii U, Mario Kart 8 hides deep pleasures just beneath the surface. Beautiful, smart, overstuffed with rewards, and functional in ways the series has only toyed with in the past, Mario Kart 8 was a burning hot spot in Wii U's brightest year yet.
Joystiq Streams: Mario Kart 8 Too Link, Too Furious
Since summer ended, the Hells Shells have been resting, lying in wait for the triumphant return of Blue Collar Racing. The last Joystiq Grand Prix was five months ago, but with hot, fresh DLC invading Mario Kart 8 it's time to hit the track once more! Get ready as the drunken posse of Mike Suszek (@mikesuszek), Danny Cowan (@db_cowan), Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM), and Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello) dig into the new tracks and check out Link's speedy Master Cycle. We'll be streaming all that Mario Kart 8 DLC goodness at 4:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch. Like what we're laying down? Follow us on Twitch to catch every stream. [Images: Nintendo/Mercedes]
New Nintendo eShop releases: Mario Kart 8 DLC, Sonic Boom
Mario Kart 8's first major content pack is available now, and for $8 and 1GB of Wii U space you can fill your racing roster with the likes of Link, the Master Cycle, and a circuit based on F-Zero's Mute City. Or, to summarize for numerophiles, three characters, four karts and eight tracks. Don't forget, you can also get the DLC as part of the $12 package that bundles in a pre-order for the second pack, due in March 2015. The eShop's not just about Mario Kart 8 this week... 'cos Mario Kart: Super Circuit brings GBA racing to the Wii U Virtual Console. We josh, kartophobes, there's plenty of other stuff to download. There are the console and handheld editions of Sonic Boom, the Wii U port of pop-up beauty Tengami (check out our impressions of it on iOS), and the belated stateside arrival of Pokemon Trading Card Game on 3DS Virtual Console. Since it's November and another one of those content-packed weeks, our digestible list of new releases should prove handy. You'll find that below the break. and if you're after sales and permanent discounts, point your clicker here.
Walmart discounts Halo: The Master Chief Collection bundle for Black Friday
U.S. retailer Walmart has revealed its Black Friday sales lineup, giving holiday shoppers time to prepare for a series of deep discounts later this month. Starting on November 26 at 6 p.m., customers can pick up an Xbox One hardware bundle that includes a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and a $30 Walmart gift card for $329. The Xbox One Assassin's Creed Unity Bundle is also up for grabs at $329, matching a deal Target announced earlier this week. Walmart additionally offers Mario Kart 8, The Evil Within, and Destiny for $35 each, along with a $149.99 Nintendo 3DS XL bundle that includes a free copy of New Super Mario Bros. 2. Cheap Ass Gamer has a full breakdown of Walmart's featured gaming deals. [Image: Microsoft]
Nintendo: Pre-orders of Super Smash Bros. surpass Mario Kart 8
Super Smash Bros. pre-orders are at a record high for Wii U, eclipsing those of summer hit Mario Kart 8. In a Bloomberg interview, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said his company expects Smash to give the console a sales boost similar to the one provided by Mario Kart 8. In last month's financial results, Nintendo revealed the racer is at close to 3.5 million sales, with Wii U shipments up to 7.29 million worldwide. "The launch of Mario Kart 8 has essentially doubled our Wii U sales year-on-year," Fils-Aime said. "Our expectation is that the sell-through for Smash is going to be very strong, certainly on par with what we saw with Mario Kart 8. We think the impact on hardware will be similarly dramatic."
More Mercedes madness in new live-action Mario Kart ads
Remember that wonderfully oddball Mercedez-Benz Japan commercial that accompanied the OMG GLA DLC Mario Kart 8 revelation? You know, the one with the hard-as-nails, real-life Mario climbing out of the GLA all super-cool before walking into a Goomba? No no, you didn't dream that, it really happened. Well, ahead of Mario Kart 8's first major DLC pack later this week, Mercedes-Benz decided to double dash with another pair of live-action GLA commercials. This time, the insanity not only stars a muscly Mario, but similarly surreal versions of Luigi and Peach, too. Head below the break to watch a princess hop and a plumber brother bop.
Nintendo wants to sell you an NFC figurine subscription
Nintendo is evolving. Confronted with poor Wii U sales, it's slowly been embracing ideas introduced by other manufacturers years ago. Mario Kart's first major DLC (ignoring the Mercedes-Benz pack earlier this year) will arrive this Thursday; Super Smash Bros. will be the first Nintendo game to launch with digital pre-loads; it's said to be actively considering an end to region-locked hardware; and now it's teaming up with startup Loot Crate to try and market its amiibo NFC accessories in a new and fairly innovative way.
Mario Kart 8 update adds Amiibo support
A downloadable Mario Kart 8 update, meant to steady the game for the initial volley of DLC cars and tracks, will also enable simple support for Nintendo's Amiibo lineup. A select number of characters from Nintendo's new toy army will unlock corresponding outfits for your Mii racer. Tapping the Kirby statue on the Wii U gamepad, for instance, will unlock a pink puffball-themed outfit for your Mario Kart Mii, complete with a helmet designed to resemble Kirby looking back at you, smiling in the face of a blue shell coming up. Mario Kart 8 will also have unlocks for Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Captain Falcon, Samus, and Fox McCloud. The Amiibo update will happen alongside the November 13 release of Mario Kart 8's first DLC - a pack of 8 tracks, 4 vehicles and 3 new characters, including Link and Tanooki Mario. The Amiibo toys, meanwhile, are coming out alongside the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. on November 21. For more on the Amiibo and how they work in Smash, check out my impressions here.
Mario Kart 8 closing on 3.5 million copies sold
When Nintendo reported its net profit of 29.2 billion yen yesterday ($224 million), it also revealed that it sold 3.22 million copies of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS since the game's mid-September launch in Japan. The company's improved sales can also be credited to the continued success of another staple in its catalog: Mario Kart 8, which has now sold 3.49 million copies to date, Nintendo revealed. As for other sales figures the company reported in yesterday's earnings statements, Tomodachi Life crossed 3.12 million copies sold and Pokemon X and Y sold a whopping 13.29 million copies to date. Following its launch in May, Mario Kart 8 provided a boost to Nintendo's Wii U shipments, which have now reached 7.29 million consoles worldwide. The racing game may have a longer tail on store shelves than previous games in the series, as Nintendo will introduce its first downloadable content pack in November for $8. The first DLC pack will feature new race tracks such as the Excitebike Arena and Yoshi's Circuit, new racers like Link, Cat Peach and Tanooki Mario as well as new vehicles like the Zelda-inspired Master Cycle and Mario's returning B-Dasher kart. [Image: Nintendo]
