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[Lucumo]

I think it is meant to be an 8 and a mobius strip instead of an infinity symbol because of the whole anti gravity mechanic they added in.

If the latter is true, that would be pretty cool.

My post was more of a mockery, concerning the number of entries in the series (though, other franchises would deserve that way more) and the fact that it's tilted (without any seemingly obvious reason).

 

[orioto]

Greatest:

For real though, the 8 one is nice. Fits the direction of the game and the contemporary era of visuals well.

Back in the snes time mario kart had a fantasy, childish, cute art direction. It's been more and more a competitive game approach based on speed etc since. Even the music, the sounds etc...

 

[Stopdoor]

Honestly, I think every Mario Kart logo has been bland and boring. I've said before I'll always choose the Super Mario World font over the generic and devoid of personality fonts they've been using in recent years.

I'm not sure generic and devoid of personality is the best description here. I can't think of a logo that looks like the Mario Kart logo, and it brings to mind sleekness, speed, and professional quality, so it's not exactly devoid of personality. It's lacking the 'fun' part in that personality, but then that's upheld by Mario standing literally underneath it on all the boxarts.

 

[Stopdoor]

Back in the snes time mario kart had a fantasy, childish, cute art direction. It's been more and more a competitive game approach based on speed etc since. Even the music, the sounds etc...

Uh, the logo does give a more professional feel, but it's not like courses like Sweet Sweet Canyon, where you're still throwing banana peels and turtle shells at each other while this plays, is much different at all from that SMK aesthetic.

 

[Kowashitai]

Back in the snes time mario kart had a fantasy, childish, cute art direction. It's been more and more a competitive game approach based on speed etc since. Even the music, the sounds etc...

I honestly don't see the problem with that. The game is still super accessible and still has a bright and vibrant art style that looks better than ever. There are a lot of track themes so stuff like Sweet Sweet Canyon keeps the cute in Mario Kart and the music is so diverse I don't really understand what you mean by now focusing more on speed.

 

[CO_Andy]

 

[Green Mamba]

I think Nintendo wants Mario Kart to be a recognizable brand in its own right, not just tied to the mainline Mario, so the logo helps that I think.

Like, it's the "other side" of the Mario series.

 

[Benzychenz]

Mario Kart 8 is far from the most well-regarded installment. It might be agreed to be the best one by many of the people who have played it, but the number of people who have played it pales in comparison to Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. When you say "Mario Kart" to most people, one or both of those will be what they immediately think of.

If you're talking about old people, sure.

 

[collige]

I think Nintendo wants Mario Kart to be a recognizable brand in its own right, not just tied to the mainline Mario, so the logo helps that I think.

Like, it's the "other side" of the Mario series.

This, plus MKDS and MK Wii came out around the time when Nintendo was switching to their clean/white aesthetic. Since they've now gone back to using red as their primary color, I can imagine the design for MK9 might look quite different.

 

[TriAceJP]

I HATED the Mario Kart Double Dash logo. So obnoxious and unkempt.
LOVED the Mario Kart Wii logo.

Very representative of the quality of their games now that I think about it.

I think this is the first time I've ever agreed with you about anything.

 

[SilentRob]

I think we can actually take that argument a step further into the game's general design astethic and menus after they changed to logo.

Mario Kart Wii presented you the colorful wonders of Mushroom Kingdom with this corporate business presentation:

And, boy oh boy, get ready to choose your cart with all the style of a random south korean free2play Mario Kart copy! Look at that Font! Look at those piss-yellow bars! Look at the background that manages to be both incredibly ugly and devoid of any and all character. Seriously. Just imagine Mario wouldn't sit in that car - this could be the menu of every Wii shovelware game ever.

It got better with Mario Kart 8 but it still seemed so serious at times. Look at that Mario. He will fuck your shit up. Do you think this is a game? This is a real racing game with real consequences you scrub. Let's go with white and light blue. Clinical. But still kiiiinda fun! But not really. This is serious. Mario will destroy you.

Now, this is real important! You guys know we wanna start big in the mobile sector in the next few years, yeah? Ever heard of Crash of Clans or something like that? My kids love that stuff!

Do you know how all their game icons look in the app store? Like, every single game these days? Make it like that. Just, no movement please! And only heads! Again, this is serious! We don't want too much joy in these menus!

Perfect. Ok, i dunno, just but some flaggs or signs and light blue in the background, it's probably fine, nobody cares.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Mario Kart 8 is far from the most well-regarded installment. It might be agreed to be the best one by many of the people who have played it, but the number of people who have played it pales in comparison to Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. When you say "Mario Kart" to most people, one or both of those will be what they immediately think of.

Someone bring out that Polygon pie-chart.

 

[DonMigs85]

The more metallic look of Wii's and 8's logos make them looks more like racing game logos so maybe that is what they were going for. I personally prefer them to stuff like Double Dash's logo. Even Super Mario Kart's logo was metallic looking and that is where it all started.

True, but SMK still had the "Mario font" we've had since Super Mario World

 

[blame space]

Mario kart 8 has the best UI design. you guys are crazy.

 

[TriAceJP]

Mario kart has the best UI design. you guys are crazy.

Something that is honestly rare in Nintendo games nowadays. MK knows whats up.

 

[Terrell]

It worked with DS's cover, whose 'serious-faced Mario hopping into a sleek concept car on a white cover under a minimalist logo' was clearly meant to be a parody of more serious racers.

But then they kept the logo after dropping the parody it was meant to be part of. I agree, it's strange. Lazy, dare I say.

Wow, any excuse to call Nintendo "lazy" nowadays, I suppose.

I think Nintendo wants Mario Kart to be a recognizable brand in its own right, not just tied to the mainline Mario, so the logo helps that I think.

Well hot dog, we have a wiener.

Mario kart 8 has the best UI design. you guys are crazy.

Yeah, goofy fonts do not a Mario game make.

 

[orioto]

I honestly don't see the problem with that. The game is still super accessible and still has a bright and vibrant art style that looks better than ever. There are a lot of track themes so stuff like Sweet Sweet Canyon keeps the cute in Mario Kart and the music is so diverse I don't really understand what you mean by now focusing more on speed.

MK title screen

First MK was really abstract, then it became more real life size, focus on motion blur, dynamism, use of the flag in the logo. It's more in your face and more about the racing aspect, when it was kinda surreal before.

I'm not saying it's bad by the way i'm just stating a fact. Most games from that era had the same evolution.

 

[Bgamer90]

Mario kart 8 has the best UI design. you guys are crazy.

100% agree. Very clean. Don't need "goofy" fonts and a ton of colors just because it's Mario Kart.

 

[Veritigo_X]

Nothing says fun family racing

Who has ever said Mario Kart is a fun family racing game?

 

[Davey Cakes]

I'm fine with the newest iteration. The prominence of the numbering is more important, and this is why Mario Kart 8 works pretty well. Not only is it a nice big, blue eight, but it's a mobius strip which represents some of the game's track design philosophy.

 

[BD1]

I think Nintendo wants Mario Kart to be a recognizable brand in its own right, not just tied to the mainline Mario, so the logo helps that I think.

Like, it's the "other side" of the Mario series.

This. Agree 100%. Dropping subtitles and moving to the numbered titles also distinguishes it.

 

[Dangansona]

Like with everything else, Snowboard Kids did gradients better.

 

[TheMoon]

Maybe they thought the "k" in "kart" would suffice

someone needs to look at a dictionary

 

[beril]

Mario Kart 8 is far from the most well-regarded installment. It might be agreed to be the best one by many of the people who have played it, but the number of people who have played it pales in comparison to Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. When you say "Mario Kart" to most people, one or both of those will be what they immediately think of.

Mario Kart 8 is at 7.5 million now (which is absolutely ridiculous considering the install base); only about a million behind the original and 2 million behind 64.

It pales compared to Wii and DS of course

 

[Ansatz]

I think the font came as a reflection of Nintendo positioning Mario as a dude who will shut your shit down when he doesn't have time to play.

Look at the box art for MKDS:


As serious as they could make Mario without going totally against his happy-go-lucky personality.

I think the first sign of Nintendo's new direction for Mario is Sunshine. Prior to this, I don't think he ever had a serious demeanor on any box art, let alone in a game.



Just look at Smash Bros Melee compared to Smash Bros Brawl; he's full of woohoos and smiles in Melee, whereas in Brawl, almost all his joyous sounds are replaced with angry grunts and his brow is firmly in a fixed determined position, except when being hit. He pretty much never smiles in Brawl and Smash 4.

This. It's hard to compare logos without having the box art as context, which is itself a reflection of the game's tone.

 

[GamerJM]

64/Super Circuit is clearly the best IMO.

I think Wii's is painfully generic. I think 7/8's is also generic but in a more "classy," and less phoned-in way, though they'll look boring if they use the same one again and again since 8's is basically the same as 7's. MKDS's is the best of the less wacky logos, since it's still sort of stylized.

That being said this is a complete non-issue to me.

 

[A Link to the Past]

I think the font came as a reflection of Nintendo positioning Mario as a dude who will shut your shit down when he doesn't have time to play.

Look at the box art for MKDS:


As serious as they could make Mario without going totally against his happy-go-lucky personality.

I think the first sign of Nintendo's new direction for Mario is Sunshine. Prior to this, I don't think he ever had a serious demeanor on any box art, let alone in a game.



Just look at Smash Bros Melee compared to Smash Bros Brawl; he's full of woohoos and smiles in Melee, whereas in Brawl, almost all his joyous sounds are replaced with angry grunts and his brow is firmly in a fixed determined position, except when being hit. He pretty much never smiles in Brawl and Smash 4.

...Jeez, that video really emphasizes just how much they're screwing up Samus' design. I miss bulky Samus :S

 

[Jonneh3003]

...Jeez, that video really emphasizes just how much they're screwing up Samus' design. I miss bulky Samus :S

Other M's Samus design is actually my favourite although it does make her look a little too feminine.

 

[snoopeasystreet]

Mario Kart 8 is probably Nintendo's most strong game aesthetically since the first Mario Galaxy.