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| 2013 = ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP DX]]''
| 2013 = ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP DX]]''
| 2014 = '''''[[Mario Kart 8]]'''''
| 2014 = '''''[[Mario Kart 8]]'''''
| 2017a = '''''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'''''
| 2017a = ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]''
| 2017b = ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP VR]]''
| 2017b = ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP VR]]''
| 2019 = '''''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'''''
| 2019 = '''''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'''''

Revision as of 14:35, 14 January 2023

For the first game in the series, see Super Mario Kart.
Mario Kart
Logo since Mario Kart DS
Genre(s)Racing
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Creator(s)
Platform(s)
First releaseSuper Mario Kart
August 27, 1992 (1992-08-27)
Latest releaseMario Kart Live: Home Circuit
October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16)
Spin-offsMario Kart Arcade GP

Mario Kart[a] is a series of racing games developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero and Splatoon.

The series was launched in 1992 with Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, to critical and commercial success.[1] The Mario Kart series totals fourteen games, with six on home consoles, three on handheld consoles, four arcade games co-developed with Namco, and one for mobile phones. The latest game in the main series, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, was released on the Nintendo Switch in October 2020. Over 164.43 million copies in the series have been sold worldwide.

History

The series logo until Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

The debut game in the Mario Kart series is Super Mario Kart for the SNES in 1992. Its development was overseen by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Japanese designer of many successful Nintendo games including Super Mario Bros. Darran Jones of NowGamer suggests that the success of Super Mario Kart resulted from the Super Mario characters, and being a new type of racing game.[2]

Gameplay

In the Mario Kart series, players compete in go-kart races, controlling one of a selection of characters, mainly from the Mario franchise. Up to twelve characters can compete in each race (the number depends between games).

Gameplay is enhanced by power-up items obtained by driving into item boxes laid out on the course. These power-ups include Mushrooms to give players a speed boost, red and green Shells to be thrown at opponents, Banana peels, and Fake Item Boxes as hazards. The game chooses an item based on the player's current position in the race. For example, players lagging far behind may receive more powerful items, such as Bullet Bills which give the player a bigger speed boost depending on the place of the player, while the leader may only receive small defensive items, such as Shells or Bananas and ocasionaly coins. Called rubber banding, this gameplay mechanism allows other racers a realistic chance to catch up to the leading racer. They can perform driving techniques during the race such as rocket starts, slipstreaming, drifting, and mini-turbos.

Each new game has introduced new gameplay elements, such as new circuits, items, modes, and playable characters.

Modes

Each game has a variety of modes. The following five modes recur most often in the series:

  • Grand Prix – Players compete in various "cups" of four courses each (five in Super Mario Kart) with difficulty levels based on the size of the engine, larger engines meaning faster speeds. Before Mario Kart 8 there were four difficulties: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and Mirror Mode (courses that see their tracks flipped horizontally; played on 100cc in Mario Kart 64, but 150cc in all other games with Mirror Mode). Mario Kart 8 added a fifth difficulty level: 200cc.[b] Players earn points according to their finishing position in each race and the placement order gets carried over to the next race as the new starting grid. At the end of the cup, the top three players with the most points overall will receive a trophy in bronze, silver, and gold.
  • Time Trials – The player races alone in order to finish any course in the fastest time possible. The best time is then saved as a ghost, which the player can race against in later trials. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! introduced Staff Ghosts, which are ghosts set by members of the Nintendo development team.
  • Match Race – Multiple human players race on any course with customized rules such as team racing and item frequency.
  • Battle – Multiple human players use in-game offensive items (shells, etc.) to battle each other in a closed arena. In the most used battle type, balloon battle, each player starts with three balloons and loses one per hit; the last player with at least one balloon wins. Various battle types have been added to the series, and single-player battles with CPU controlled players.
  • Online Multiplayer – Players compete in races and battles through online services, such as Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo Network, and Nintendo Switch Online. Players can share Time Trial ghosts, and participate in tournaments. In races and battles, players are matched by VR (VS Rating) and BR (Battle Rating) respectively, which is a number between 0 and 99,999 (9,999 in Mario Kart Wii). Players gain or lose points based on performance in a race or battle. The game attempts to match players with a similar rating.

Games

Release timeline
1992Super Mario Kart
1993
1994
1995VB Mario Kart (Cancelled)
1996Mario Kart 64
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001Mario Kart: Super Circuit
2002
2003Mario Kart: Double Dash
2004Mario Kart XXL (Cancelled)
2005Mario Kart Arcade GP
Mario Kart DS
2006
2007Mario Kart Arcade GP 2
2008Mario Kart Wii
2009
2010
2011Mario Kart 7
2012
2013Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
2014Mario Kart 8
2015
2016
2017Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR
2018
2019Mario Kart Tour
2020Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

Console

Year Game Platform Virtual Console/
Nintendo Switch Online re-release
Wii Wii U 3DS New 3DS Switch Android /iOS
1992 Super Mario Kart SNES Yes Yes Does not appear Yes Yes Does not appear
1996 Mario Kart 64 Nintendo 64 Yes Yes Does not appear Does not appear Yes Does not appear
2001 Mario Kart: Super Circuit Game Boy Advance Does not appear Yes [nb 1] [nb 1] Does not appear Does not appear
2003 Mario Kart: Double Dash Nintendo GameCube † Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear
2005 Mario Kart DS Nintendo DS Does not appear Yes † † Does not appear Does not appear
2008 Mario Kart Wii Wii ‡ † Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear
2011 Mario Kart 7 Nintendo 3DS Does not appear Does not appear ‡ ‡ Does not appear Does not appear
2014 Mario Kart 8 Wii U Does not appear ‡ Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear
2017 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Nintendo Switch Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear ‡ Does not appear
2019 Mario Kart Tour Android/iOS Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear ‡
2020 Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit Nintendo Switch Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear Does not appear ‡ Does not appear
 Available on Virtual Console or Nintendo Switch Online
† Available by using backwards compatibility
‡ Available natively on the console
  1. ^ a b Mario Kart: Super Circuit can be played on Nintendo 3DS systems with the Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors program.

Arcade

Mobile

Canceled games

  • VB Mario Kart was scheduled for the Virtual Boy in 1995. It was revealed in a 2000 issue of German gaming magazine The Big N, but was canceled early in development prior to its official announcement due to the Virtual Boy's commercial failure.[9][10]
  • Mario Kart XXL is a Game Boy Advance tech demo developed by Denaris Entertainment Software for Nintendo in 2004. It was originally created as a non-Mario demo known as R3D-Demo before being repurposed.[11]

Merchandise

The Mario Kart series has had a range of merchandise. This includes a slot car racer series based on Mario Kart DS, which comes with Mario and Donkey Kong figures and Wario and Luigi are separate. A line of radio-controlled karts are controlled by Game Boy Advance-shaped controllers, and feature Mario, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi. There are additional, larger karts which are radio-controlled by a GameCube-shape controller.

Many racer figurines have been made. Sound Drops were inspired by Mario Kart Wii with eight sounds including the Spiny Shell and the race start countdown. A land-line telephone features Mario holding a lightning bolt while seated in his kart.

K'Nex released Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart 8 sets.

LINE has released an animated sticker set with 24 stickers based on Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Nintendo's own customer rewards program Club Nintendo released a Mario Kart 8 soundtrack, a Mario Kart Wii-themed stopwatch, and three gold trophies modeled after those in Mario Kart 7. Before Club Nintendo, a Mario Kart 64 soundtrack was offered by mail.

In 2014, McDonald's released Mario Kart 8 toys with Happy Meals.

In 2018, Monopoly Gamer features a Mario Kart themed board game with courses from Mario Kart 8 serving as properties, ten playable characters as tokens (pingas) and a special die with power-ups.

In 2019, Hot Wheels released Mario Kart sets of cars and tracks. In commemoration of Mario Day celebrations for March 10, 2021, Hot Wheels also released a Mario Kart track set based on Rainbow Road on June 24, 2021.[12]

In 2020, for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary, Cold Stone Creamery released Mario themed desserts including a Rainbow Road themed ice cream cake, from September 30 to December 15.[13]

Reception

Sales and aggregate review scores
As of June 30, 2022.
Game Year Units sold
(in millions) 		GameRankings Metacritic
Super Mario Kart 1992 8.76[14] 94% 94/100
Mario Kart 64 1996 9.87[14] 87% 83/100
Mario Kart: Super Circuit 2001 5.90[14] 92% 93/100
Mario Kart: Double Dash 2003 6.96[14] 87% 87/100
Mario Kart DS 2005 23.60[15] 91% 91/100
Mario Kart Wii 2008 37.38[16] 82% 82/100
Mario Kart 7 2011 18.95[17] 85% 85/100
Mario Kart 8 2014 8.46[18] 88% 88/100
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 2017 48.41[19] 92% 92/100
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit 2020 1.27[20] 75/100

The Mario Kart series is critically acclaimed. Nintendo Power named it one of the greatest multiplayer experiences, citing the diversity in game modes and the entertainment value.[21]

Guinness World Records listed six records set by the Mario Kart series, including "First Console Kart Racing Game", "Best Selling Racing Game", and "Longest Running Kart Racing Franchise". Guinness World Records ranked Super Mario Kart number 1 of the top 50 console games of all time based on initial impact and lasting legacy.[22] Super Mario Kart was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2019.[23]

Sales

Like the Super Mario series, the Mario Kart series is a commercial success with 169.59 million copies sold in total.[24] It is currently the most successful racing game franchise of all time. Super Mario Kart is the fourth best-selling Super Nintendo Entertainment System game with 8.76 million copies sold.[14] Mario Kart 64 is the second best-selling game for the Nintendo 64 (behind Super Mario 64), at 9.87 million copies.[14] Mario Kart: Double Dash is the second best-selling GameCube game (next to Super Smash Bros. Melee) with 6.96 million copies sold.[14] Mario Kart Wii is the second best-selling in the series and is the second best-selling Wii game (next to Wii Sports) at 37.38 million copies.[16] Mario Kart 8 is the best-selling Wii U game at 8.46 million total copies sold.[18] It was the fastest-selling Wii U game with 1.2 million copies shipped in North America and Europe combined on its first few days since launch, until Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.[25][26] The enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, is the fastest-selling game in the series with 459,000 units sold in the United States in one day of its launch.[27] It is the highest-selling Nintendo Switch game[28] with a total of 48.41 million copies worldwide, outperforming the Wii U version. Both versions have a combined total of 56.87 million copies sold, making it the best-selling game in the series.

The handheld games are commercial successes. Mario Kart: Super Circuit is the fourth best-selling Game Boy Advance game at 5.9 million copies.[14] The second portable game, Mario Kart DS, is the third best-selling Nintendo DS game and the best-selling portable game in the series with a total of 23.6 million copies.[15] Mario Kart 7 is the best-selling Nintendo 3DS game as of September 2020 at 18.92 million copies.[17]

Rental go-kart dispute

Go-karters dressed as Nintendo characters in Harajuku, Tokyo

In September 2016, Nintendo filed an objection against the Japanese company MariCar, which rents go-karts modified for use on public roads in Tokyo along with costumes resembling Nintendo characters.[29] MariCar's English website warned customers not to throw "banana peels" or "red turtle shells".[30] The service is popular with tourists.[29]

Nintendo argued that the MariCar name was "intended to be mistaken for or confused with" Mario Kart, citing games commonly known by abbreviations in Japan, such as Pokémon (for Pocket Monsters) and Sumabura (Super Smash Bros.). In January 2017, the Japan Patent Office dismissed the objection, ruling that MariCar was not widely recognized as an abbreviation of Mario Kart.[29]

In February 2017, Nintendo sued MariCar over copyright infringement for renting unauthorized costumes of Nintendo characters and using their images to promote its business.[29] In September 2018, MariCar was ordered to stop using the characters and pay Nintendo ¥10 million in damages.[30]

Theme park attraction

Universal Parks & Resorts and Nintendo have a Mario Kart themed ride in Super Nintendo World at the Universal Studios Japan theme park called Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge. This is also to be installed as Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge at the Universal parks in Singapore and California, alongside Universal's Epic Universe in Orlando.[31][32]

Formula E attack mode

Starting with its 2018–19 season, electric open wheel racing series Formula E added a so-called "attack mode", which allows a driver to gain a temporary speed boost if they take an alternate lane (highlighted on television via augmented reality computer graphics). The concept has been described by members of the press and by series CEO Alejandro Agag as inspired by Mario Kart.[33][34]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: マリオカート, Hepburn: Mario Kāto
  2. ^ a b Released April 23rd, 2015

References

  1. ^ Crecente, Brian (February 26, 2009). "Super Mario Kart: Most Influential Video Game in History". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  2. ^ Jones, Darran (November 28, 2011). "Super Mario Kart: The Complete History of Nintendo's Kart Racer". NowGamer. Imagine Publishing Ltd. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  3. ^ "5 Ways Mario Kart 64 Is Timeless (& 5 It Hasn't Aged Well)". Game Rant. October 1, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Sato, Yoshi (February 6, 2008). "Mario Kart Wii Detailed". 1up.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  5. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (August 26, 2014). "Link, F-Zero and Animal Crossing are coming to Mario Kart 8 as DLC". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  6. ^ "Namco Formally Announces Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX – Arcade Heroes". February 5, 2013. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  7. ^ "MARIO KART ARCADE GP VR – VR ZONE SHINJUKU". Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "Mario Kart Arcade GP VR announced for Bandai Namco's virtual reality arcade, played with HTC Vive – Nintendo Everything". June 13, 2017. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  9. ^ "VB Mario Kart". Big N. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  10. ^ Jurkovich, Tristan (May 22, 2020). "10 Canceled Mario Games You Never Knew Existed". TheGamer. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  11. ^ "Mario Kart XXL (Tech Demo) (Apr 17th 2004)". Forest of Illusion. October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  12. ^ Doolan, Liam (March 17, 2021). "Hot Wheels Is Releasing A Mario Kart Rainbow Road Raceway Track". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 21, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Jordan Gerblick (October 1, 2020). "Mario gets an official Rainbow Road cake for his 35th birthday". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h O'Malley, James (September 11, 2015). "30 Best-Selling Super Mario Games of All Time on the Plumber's 30th Birthday". Gizmodo. Univision Communications. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  15. ^ a b "IR Information: Sales Data – Top Selling Software Sales Units – Nintendo DS Software". Nintendo. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  16. ^ a b "IR Information: Financial Data Wii". Nintendo. Nintendo, Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on December 19, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Top Selling Title Sales Units (Nintendo 3DS)". Nintendo. Nintendo, Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  18. ^ a b "IR Information: Financial Data – Top Selling Title Sales Units – Wii U Software". Nintendo. Nintendo, Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  19. ^ "IR Information : Sales Data – Top Selling Title Sales Units". nintendo.co.jp. Nintendo. September 30, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  20. ^ "Fiscal Year Ended March 2021 Financial Results Explanatory Material" (PDF). nintendo.co.jp. Nintendo. March 30, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  21. ^ Nintendo Power 250th issue!. South San Francisco, California: Future US. 2010. p. 47.
  22. ^ Ivan, Tom (February 28, 2009). "Guinness ranks top 50 games of all time". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  23. ^ Good, Owen (May 3, 2019). "Wait a minute, the Video Game Hall of Fame inducted ... Solitaire? Yes, and also Mortal Kombat and Super Mario Kart". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  24. ^ Futter, Mike (June 2, 2014). "Mario Kart 8 Speeds To Over 1.2 Million Sales In Opening Weekend". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  25. ^ "Mario Kart 8 ships 1.2 million, fastest selling Wii U title to date". Nintendo Today. Nintendo Today. June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  26. ^ Minotti, Mike (November 25, 2014). "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the system's fastest-selling game". VentureBeat. VentureBeat. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  27. ^ Cowley, Ric (May 2, 2017). "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe becomes fastest-selling game of the franchise with 459,000 units sold in the US". Pocket Gamer.biz. Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  28. ^ "IR Information: Sales Data – Top Selling Title Sales Unit (Switch)". Nintendo. Nintendo, Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  29. ^ a b c d Otake, Tomoko (March 9, 2017). "Patent authority rules against Nintendo, lets go-kart firm keep MariCar trademark". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  30. ^ a b "Nintendo wins lawsuit against Tokyo's 'Mario Kart' tour company". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  31. ^ Frank, Allegra (June 8, 2017). "Super Nintendo World looks like a dream come true in first teaser". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  32. ^ "Super Nintendo World – overview and history". Orlando Informer. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  33. ^ Kalinauckas, Alex (April 28, 2018). "Formula E evaluating "Mario Bros"-style race format". motorsport.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  34. ^ McKenna, Laurence (January 11, 2019). "Formula E's Attack Mode is like real-life Mario Kart – and it's a racing revolution". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
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