Mario Kart 8 - Wii U

Released 30th May 2014

For the first time in HD, Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise comes to the Wii U console, introducing new racing circuit designs and antigravity karts that will have players driving upside down. Players will also enjoy a variety of series-favourite features, including the return of 12-player online competitive play, hang-gliders, underwater racing and motorbikes.

Brand new features
Experience a wealth of features that span the series, including 12-player online competitive play. Elements first introduced in Mario Kart 7, such as hang-gliders and underwater racing, along with elements introduced in Mario Kart Wii, such as motorbikes and performing tricks in midair, also make their return.

Brand new characters
This time around, take to the starting grid with Bowser’s minions, with all available as playable characters for the first time ever. Will Iggy, Larry, Ludwig, Morton, Roy, and Wendy pip Mario and co. to the podium? Fan-favourites Waluigi and Toadette rejoin the cast of familiar characters from the Mushroom Kingdom.

Ant-gravity feature
The anti-gravity feature allows for never-imagined racing circuit designs. Players will speed through courses and find themselves suddenly racing on walls in a haunted mansion, or upside-down over Princess Peach's Castle as their wheels automatically rotate and shift into anti-gravity gear.

New courses

Remixed classic courses make a return in Mario Kart 8, with favourites such as Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii, Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64, and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart, among others. The graphics and layout of these courses have been redesigned and reimagined – for example, Toad's Turnpike now allows players to drive up certain walls in anti-gravity mode. The game includes 16 new courses and 16 remixed classic courses.

New items

Two new items join the fray in Mario Kart 8. First, the Piranha Plant attaches to the front of the player's kart and chomps at other characters, banana peels on the course, and even shells thrown by other characters. Each time the Piranha Plant lunges forward to bite, the player receives a brief boost of speed. The second new item is the Boomerang Flower. After acquiring it, racers can throw a boomerang at opponents to stun them, and its arc allows players to strike multiple opponents with a single toss. The boomerang can be thrown three times, forward or backwards.

Variety of control methods
Mario Kart 8 supports a variety of control schemes, including the Wii U GamePad, the Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii Wheel, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The game can also be played in off-TV mode using just the Wii U GamePad.

Live recorded music
For the first time in the Mario Kart series, select courses in Mario Kart 8 feature music recorded by live performers.

Brand new 200cc mode
For the first time in the Mario Kart series, a 200cc racing class is coming to Mario Kart 8. Even faster than 150cc, the new high-speed class will be applied to all tracks in the game and makes braking an important consideration during a race! The new 200cc class will be offered as a free downloadable update to all Mario Kart 8 players on Thursday, 23 April 2015.