Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 (stylized as MARIOKART8) is a racing video game released on May 30, 2014 in North America and Europe It was released a day earlier in Japan on May 29, 2014, and a day later in Australia on May 31, 2014 for the Wii U game console. It is part of the Mario Kart series.

The game is like the other Mario Kart games, where characters from the Mario series race each other in go-karts. Players are able to use items from item boxes to keep their opponents from winning. Along with go-karts, the game also has motorcycles. There are 12 players in a race. Like in Mario Kart 7, karts have hang-gliding attachments, and players are able to drive underwater. For the first time in the series, players are able to drive on walls and ceilings. There is one new type of vehicle: four-wheel buggies. There is local and online multiplayer for up to 12 players. Players include Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, etc. The first DLC track pack was revealed in February 2013.

On April 8th, 2024, online services for the Wii U were discontinued. This includes Mario Kart 8.

An improved port titled Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2017, having all the original DLC come with the game and changed some in-game mechanics such as the battle mode. All characters are unlocked from the start except Gold Mario. The port received widespread critical acclaim due to big improvements over the original game.

In 2022, a new wave of DLC called "Booster Course Pass" was announced and released.

Mario Kart 8 sold 8.45 million copies and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 33.41 million copies.

References

Category:2014 video games
Category:2017 video games
Category:Mario Kart games
Category:Nintendo Network games
Category:Nintendo Switch games
Category:Pack-in video games
Category:Wii U games