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Mario Kart 8 Announced For Wii U

I will be honest and say that I barely touched MK7. I think I beat all of the cups once and stopped.

There's a lot about that game to love, but I feel like consoles are always where my best MK experiences are. 2-4 player split screen, local (primarily) but also online.

In comparison to MKDD and MKWii, my playtimes with MKDS and MK7 were minimal, as stellar as those games are.

Mario Kart 8 looks incredible. While I admit that Mario Kart is basically Nintendo's bread and butter, I can't help but look forward to the next console iteration, especially since it seems way more dynamic in terms of gameplay ideas (hover modes and anti-gravity parts) and especially visuals.

The real kicker would be if a 5th player could join on the Gamepad. That'd be amazing.

I could see that happening.

They mentioned they are tweaking it to get 60 fps for two players. So 30fps for four players, plus gamepad resolution is lower.
 
I am astonished by how good and fun this looks. I had sort of written off Mario Kart as a series (though I'm not sure why). I loved it and got massively addicted to it on the SNES, but I haven't even bought any of the 3D games.

This, however, has really got my attention. I'm loving the crazy things they're doing with the course design. 12 player online multi is also pretty exciting, and it looks really nice visually.
 
Bikes were OP. Game was not Mario Kart Wii, it was Mario Bike Wii. Removing wheelies was the smartest thing to do.

Why not just make karts faster? I don't get why you think it's better to remove a feature than to build up another feature. It's like saying "no, let's not fix Smash's roster, let's just get rid of Metaknight, Pit, Fox, and Falco entirely."

It's not a good solution. Bikes don't have to be the best, and I'd rather bikes and karts were equally competitive, but I like games where there are a variety of playstyles. To remove a playstyle when you could just make small tweaks is stupid.
 
There's a lot about that game to love, but I feel like consoles are always where my best MK experiences are. 2-4 player split screen, local (primarily) but also online.

Definitely agree. Mario Kart is always great, but the console titles will always be massively better, just for that human element. It's basically impossible to get 4 people together to play on a handheld, though I've managed a few times. Handheld MK games are just a way of tiding me over until the real deal comes out.
 
Just played it. No wheelies, and no clue how to do tricks. Ran really smooth, was pretty immersed, but the lack of AA kinda got to me, playing so close to the demo station.
 
Yep, I'm not worried on that front either. What kills me is the lack of a mic jack for the pro controller. That really fucking sucks for me and my friends who got used to chatting it up while playing online. Eventually we just resorted to using our phones or xbox consoles to chat while racing. :(

You'll likely have to use the Gamepad.

gameXplains video mentioned that you can possibly upgrade/costumize vehicle parts to fit your play style.

Has this been discussed?

Likely since it was a feature of MK7.
 
Visually, Kart is the best thing Nintendo showed. Even gameplay-wise, the anti-gravity stuff could add some nice divergence of paths. They could do some stuff like if Lightning strikes when you're upside down, it's an automatic "fall out of bounds" unless there's an alternate path beneath you.

I'm concerned about bikes because they were so overpowered in MK:Wii. And I hope to see a lot of effort put into the weapons. Not just the balance, but there's no reason why the game can't introduce a bunch of new weapons, maybe even phasing out some of the stalwarts.
 
This needed to be out this Fall. Nintendo's delays are getting ridiculous.

In a commercial sense, Wii U absolutely needed a Mario Kart this Christmas. In terms of development delays, the game looks like much more than a bare HD Mario Kart, so the extra time is probably justified.

E3 and the games schedule has given me the impression that Nintendo's entire Wii U development pipeline is about six to eight months behind schedule across the board. In other words this would have seemed more logical, had there been no delays:

November 2012 (Launch): Nintendoland, NSMB U, Lego City Undercover
Spring 2013: Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101
Summer 2013: Donkey Kong Country TF, The Wind Waker HD
Fall/Winter 2013: Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8
Spring 2014: Smash Bros 4
 
My mistake. I thought it was mentioned more info at an event saturday.

Im probably wrong, but ill double-check.

Not to suggest it's actually happening, but weren't there some people earlier who suggested that Nintendo would have a direct on Saturday? If that's true they could try to coincide it with a journalism event like they did when they announced A Link Between Worlds.
 
Not to suggest it's actually happening, but weren't there some people earlier who suggested that Nintendo would have a direct on Saturday? If that's true they could try to coincide it with a journalism event like they did when they announced A Link Between Worlds.

Thats what immediately hit my mind when i heard it.


The w101 is next on ign!
 
Dat IGN's Mario Kart 8 direct feed is beautiful... Hnnngggggg
I'm still surprised how good this game looks D:
 
Game looks amazing. BTW, does anyone have any experience with a wheel that has a stand? The official MKWii Wheel floats in the air and is kind of awkward to use.
 
Watching that direct feed of MK 8 and paying attention to the world around the course really makes you wonder why the new Mario isn't set in a SM64 like world with shittons of crazy upside down stuff and amazing looking levels... goddamn nintendo get your shit together.
 
Watching that direct feed of MK 8 and paying attention to the world around the course really makes you wonder why the new Mario isn't set in a SM64 like world with shittons of crazy upside down stuff and amazing looking levels... goddamn nintendo get your shit together.

Yeah, when I see MK8 I definitely imagine a 3D Mario game with those visuals and big expansive 64 playing fields. One day..
 
k I'm gonna have a crack at some course names:

1. Mario Circuit (I think this is definite because of the sign at the beginning of the track, but otherwise I would call it Figure-8 Falls or something)

WiiU_MarioKart8_scrn08_E3.png

WiiU_MarioKart8_scrn02_E3.png

WiiU_MarioKart8_scrn19_E3.png

WiiU_MarioKart8_scrn01_E3.png

2. Luigi's Mansion 2 (possibly something alternate for USA like Dark Moon Mansion or Boo House or something)


3. Toad Town (or perhaps New Toad City)


4. Forest Ruins (maybe Rock Rock Ruins or something, either way thesauri suggest there is no other word for ancient city ruins :/)


5. Sweet Street

 
Watching those screenshoots, I don't know why Nintendo is so stubborn to use AA.
It's pretty much the only thing that keeps holding back all of their titles because the animation, texture work, lighting and gameplay are spot on.
 
Actual footage of MK8 reminds me of the fake CG trailer for Motorstorm 1 from all those years ago.

It genuinely looks like CG, like a Pixar race scene.
 
I have to say the game looks fantastic, even more so because it's the first I've seen of Nintendo's classic franchises with next-gen glossiness, it's almost unbelievable and I can't imagine what the next 3D Mario and Zelda will look like.

My biggest issue is probably how similar the gameplay looks to Mario Kart 7 and Wii. With the previous games (SMK, MK64, DD, DS, SC) I felt each one had a fundamentally different feel and identity when it came to core gameplay (and visuals even), but lately it seems Nintendo is just iterating on the same formula which feels less exciting to me.

Regardless I'm getting a Wii U tomorrow because of this.
 
one thing for sure; they NEED to put all those fantastic graphics in the next Zelda. I can just imagine how glorious Hyrule would look with such amazing lighting
 
one thing for sure; they NEED to put all those fantastic graphics in the next Zelda. I can just imagine how glorious Hyrule would look with such amazing lighting

I think the lighting in Luigi's Ghost Mansion in NintendoLand was a sign that Nintendo might have problems moving into the HD realm but it's not with art and it's definitely not with lighting.
 
In a commercial sense, Wii U absolutely needed a Mario Kart this Christmas. In terms of development delays, the game looks like much more than a bare HD Mario Kart, so the extra time is probably justified.

E3 and the games schedule has given me the impression that Nintendo's entire Wii U development pipeline is about six to eight months behind schedule across the board. In other words this would have seemed more logical, had there been no delays:

November 2012 (Launch): Nintendoland, NSMB U, Lego City Undercover
Spring 2013: Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101
Summer 2013: Donkey Kong Country TF, The Wind Waker HD
Fall/Winter 2013: Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8
Spring 2014: Smash Bros 4

looks like we are on the same page on this but i don't mind waiting as i know it will be worth it but i still feel the delay shouldn't have happened.
 
This game is fun, could see it being a multiplayer mainstay for years. The powerups seemed kind of nerfed in the demo though, didn't see a single instance of lightning or blue shells.
 
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