Nintendo dishes nitty gritty on Mario Kart Wii
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 3:11pm by Press Release
Mario Kart Wii Fact Sheet (Nintendo)
The worldwide race is on with a whole new set of tricks, tracks and ways to play.
- The Wii Wheel transforms the Wii Remote™ controller into a steering wheel that feels natural in anyone’s hands, while the Wii Remote and Nunchuk™ controller offer a classic control style for the Mario Kart veteran. In either configuration, players can perform speed-boosting tricks with a shake of the Wii Remote.
- Players can race as their favorite Nintendo character, or even as themselves! Mario Kart Wii lets players race with their personalized Mii™ characters. And racers will see other Mii characters they have created cheering from the sidelines on some race courses.
- Players can compete with up to three friends in their living room. Or challenge up to 11 opponents via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in the biggest Mario Kart race yet. All tracks and modes of play are available via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and players can visit the Mario Kart Channel to compete in tournaments, check rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data.
- Cruise new tracks and arenas or tour classic courses from Super Mario Kart™, Mario Kart® 64, Mario Kart®: Super Circuit™, Mario Kart®: Double Dash!!™ and Mario Kart® DS. Tired of riding on four wheels? Bust out one of the new motorbikes for special tricks and techniques.
Game storyline: Drawing on courses and battle arenas from every game in the series – not to mention tons of new ones – the true king of the Mushroom Kingdom racing circuits will finally be crowned.
How to progress through the game: Place first in Grand Prix circuits or clear skill-based missions to open up increasingly difficult and thrilling circuits. Players can have multiplayer races on any open courses or battle in arenas.
Characters: Nintendo favorites Mario™, Luigi™, Peach™, Yoshi®, Donkey Kong®, Wario™, Bowser™ and Toad™, plus a host of new faces-including your own! Get into the game and put your Mii™ character behind the wheel.
Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Whether racing around an obstacle-filled track or battling in an arena, drifting and tossing items are the keys to Mario Kart success. Players can shake the Wii Remote while launching off a ramp to pull off a trick that will temporarily boost their speed. When riding a bike, players can gain additional speed by flicking the Wii Remote up and popping a wheelie.
Control: Mario Kart Wii is compatible with four different control schemes, so players can customize how they want to play:
- Wii Remote Controller (with or without Wii Wheel): Steer by tilting the Wii Remote left and right. Or snap the Wii Remote into the Wii Wheel to transform it into a steering wheel for an intuitive, motion-based control scheme.
- Nunchuk Controller: Steer with the Control Stick on the Nunchuk and use the Wii Remote to accelerate, perform tricks and drift.
- Classic Controller: Mario Kart veterans can let their thumbs do the driving with the Classic Controller. However, players cannot perform certain moves with this control scheme.
- Nintendo GameCube™ Controller: Experienced Mario Kart fans may also enjoy this familiar scheme, although some maneuvers cannot be performed.
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection: There are two options for races and battles over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection: up to 12 people via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or up to 10 people via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection with two people playing locally.





April 1st, 2008 at 3:22 pm
What’s the difference between playing it with Wiiwheel and without it?
It’s just a piece of… plastic
April 1st, 2008 at 3:33 pm
You forgot to mention that there will be unlockable third party characters. Most notably Snake and Sonic.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Not being able to do certain moves is sure going to piss off all those those people that are already bitching nonstop about this game.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Actually, bOB, you should be able to download some characters with Wii Want More once Nintendo officially announces that.
Link to April Fools joke that other sites are reporting to be true: http://press-nintendo.110mb.com/article-jsp-id-14788.htm
April 1st, 2008 at 4:47 pm
April Fools!!
April 1st, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Allowing 2 players locally with 10 others online is key. They should have had that with Brawl.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:54 am
@ Rushilion:
actually brawl has that!
When ur hosting a game, a second player can join locally.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 am
Ahh here we go, the whinefest is going in full force
http://kotaku.com/374920/classic-gamecube-controllers-gimped-for-mario-kart
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:59 am
I want to know what moves cant be performed? Will it just be tricks off ramps do you think?
I’m thinking that I might just stick with the Wii remote and steering wheel. I really enjoyed Excite Truck controls. It’d be nice to have more realistic input on the steering. Hell it’d be more fun!
And I was having a look at the kotaku comments. Took about over reacting. I hate it when gamers do that. I always want to register with whicheverwebsite and just tell them all to “stop their damn whining.”
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:56 am
[...] 1. April ist abgezogen und lässt wieder Raum für Seriosität. Oder doch nicht? Nintendo hat der amerikanischen Presse einige Fakten zum kommenden Mario Kart Wii zukommen lassen, die einen aufhorchen [...]
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:19 am
@ droop4
I found that out yesterday night actually while playing against a friend… But can 2 people (locally) join someone elses hosted game? Also, I’m almost positive this doesn’t work while connecting to random people.
According to the post, you can have 2 local players, and 10 random. That’s awesome. If I have it right, 2 local only works on Brawl if you are in a Friend’s match and you are hosting.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Boo hoo. Gimped GC controllers. Newsflash: You also cannot use NES, SNES or N64 controllers with a Wii console either!
See also: Telephones no longer connect to the wall with a wire!