Update News
Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle Announced
REDMOND, Wash.--(April 30,
in the year of our Lord 2014)-- One month from today,
Mario Kart 8 will be driving players wild with anti-gravity
racing action. To get people revved up for the Wii U game,
Nintendo released some additional news nuggets, including a
Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundle, a free downloadable game offer for
Wii U owners who buy Mario Kart 8, details about online
features, cool new characters and devastating new items.
“Everyone loves Mario Kart,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of
America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “It’s a
franchise that brings people together for fun at a family
gathering, a frenzied race against friends or just an afternoon
break at the office. The numerous new features of Mario Kart 8
make this the most ambitious version yet, and one that will have
players of all skill levels racing for the checkered flag.”
Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle: People who don’t yet own a Wii U
system will find it easy to get in on the action. On May 30
Nintendo is releasing the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Set bundle that
includes a Wii U Deluxe Set system, a Mario Kart 8 game, a red
Mario Wii Wheel accessory and a red Mario Wii Remote Plus
controller, all at a suggested retail price of $329.99.
Get a Free Digital Game: People who buy Mario Kart 8 and
register the game with Club Nintendo before July 31 will receive
a free Nintendo eShop download code for an additional Wii U
game. Players can grow their Wii U digital game collections by
choosing from one of these well-received Wii U games: New Super
Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
or Wii Party U. That’s a two-for-one deal featuring some of the
all-time great Wii U games. This offer also applies to people
who get the game in the Mario Kart 8 bundle or digitally in the
Nintendo eShop.
Online Multiplayer: Up to 12 players can race together online in
four different multiplayer modes, as long as everyone has a
broadband Internet connection. Like to trash-talk your friends
while you’re preparing for a race? You’re in luck! Mario Kart 8
lets players chat with one another in the lobby area using the
Wii U GamePad microphone or text phrases as they wait for their
friends to join. Players also can create public or private
tournaments for which they specify the day of the week, the time
and the rules. Per tradition, players will be able to race
against ghost data from friends or even the top 10 worldwide
racers. They can try to beat them or just pick up a few tips and
tricks from studying the best. If you beat the development
team’s ghosts, you’ll get cool stamps for use in Miiverse posts.
Mario Kart TV: As previously announced, players can watch their
highlight racing reels, rewind them, play them in slow motion or
upload them to Miiverse. They can watch the world’s most popular
highlight reels and comment on them. But players with Google
accounts can also upload their reels directly to their YouTube
channels.
New Items: Items are what make Mario Kart games so balanced. No
matter how skilled racers are, they’re just a blue Spiny Shell
away from disaster. A well-timed item can also turn defeat into
victory in an instant. The new Super Horn blows away all other
items – literally. Sounding the Super Horn issues forth a sonic
shock wave that blasts away everything in the vicinity,
including other drivers, Red Shells and even blue Spiny Shells.
It’s a potent asset, especially for drivers trying to maintain
their lead. Mario Kart 8 also introduces the Crazy Eight, a
swirl of eight different items that lucky players can use one by
one.
New Racers: Two new playable female characters make their debut
appearances in Mario Kart 8. New heavyweight driver Pink Gold
Peach glows with a golden light and makes a nice counterpart to
Metal Mario. Baby Rosalina shows up for a play date with other
Baby characters. As in past Mario Kart games, players can again
choose to play as their Mii characters, which rounds out the
field of racers to an even 30.