Mario Kart
The beloved kart racing game will soon be playable even without a Nintendo console.
Read More
Anyone who has ever picked up a controller and squealed around the track in Nintendo’s Mario Kart has probably thought about how amazing it would be to get to do it in real life.
Warm up those throwing arms, because it’ll take more than a button tap to chuck those Koopa shells.
Nintendo is suing a go-kart and costume rental business for infringing on their Mario Kart copyright.
Intricate process creates characters that look as cool now as they did in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
A creative Dragon Quest Builders player has managed to build a Mario Kart-inspired in-game race course so impressive, he received praise from the game’s producer himself.
You mean there’s a video that takes the world of Star Wars and combines it with the ruthless fun of Mario Kart? YES, PLEASE!
Japanese taxis are pretty nice. They’ve got those cool doors that swing open and shut at the touch of a button, and the lace doilies they usually have across the rear parcel shelf add a nice touch of class.
Still, we’re finding ourselves feeling a little jealous of taxi patrons in Peru, where one company isn’t just providing swift transportation, but entertainment with a fleet of cabs equipped with Nintendo Wii U game consoles for passengers to play in the back seat during their ride.
The vibrant Grand Theft Auto mod scene is what keeps the game alive long after people have completed the campaign, making sure gameplay never grows stale and providing plenty of laughs for both the players involved and the viewers of the resulting videos. There are already hundreds of mods available for the latest entry in the franchise, Grand Theft Auto V, and a few creative Nintendo-based ones have been combined to create this surreal video of Nintendo’s Super Mario behaving badly in Los Santos.
This isn’t the Mario that Nintendo wants you to see.
Anyone who has spent a lengthy session playing Mario Kart will know what it’s like to start imagining elements of the game in their daily lives. Any time you’re controlling something with four wheels, you almost wish you had some in-game items to make the drive a little easier. Driving around and some jerk cuts you off? Red shell! Some idiot driving two feet from your rear end because he wants to go faster? Banana peel! Stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and about to be late for work? Boom, Starman!
For this longboarder, he might not need special items to clear his way, but he certainly imagines his cruising life like a Mario Kart game as he battles his brother for speed supremacy.
It’s been about a year since the release of Mario Kart 8, the latest installment of Nintendo’s popular all-star racing series. Well-received as the game has been, though, nearly 12 months on fickle gamers are no doubt starting to be tempted by newer titles from the Kyoto-based developer’s rivals.
That’s why Nintendo is getting ready to drop a new Mario Kart 8 DLC pack into the marketplace. Making a video game expansion doesn’t just involve a team of programmers and visual artists, but musicians too, as shown by this high-energy live performance of an awesome tune from Nintendo classic F-Zero.
Fan covers of video game music are nothing new by this point, but that doesn’t make them any less awesome. We’ve seen metal covers, beautiful acoustic covers, and NES cartridge harmonicas, but rarely have we seen someone so dedicated to conveying every sound in a game.
Using nothing more than two pianos, this niconico video user plays both the in-game audio and the sound effects. As one commenter put it, “This was so amazing, I almost forgot to comment!”
Mario Kart. We don’t know a single person who claims not to like it at least a little bit, and with its 22-year history and eight (11 if you count the arcade iterations) distinct outings to date, pretty much everyone has zipped around at least one of Nintendo’s crazy cartoony tracks at some point in their life.
News site MyNavi Woman recently polled gamers all over Japan about their most memorable Mario Kart experiences, 13 of which we’ve listed after the jump for your reading and reminiscing pleasure. Honestly, we don’t think there’s a single one here that didn’t have us nodding in agreement.
Car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz had previously collaborated with Nintendo on in-game car models for the company’s Mario Kart 8 video game. However, now Nintendo is helping out Mercedes-Benz by lending its characters and themes for the company’s latest commercial, “GO!GLA.” This week, the company posted the Peach and Luigi versions of the commercial:
It’s unlikely Nintendo knew what a hit they had on their hands when releasing the very first Mario Kart title back in 1992. Since then, the series has gone on to be one of the company’s most consistently popular and best-selling properties.
In the 22 years the series has been around, fans have played it on the Super NES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, DS, 3DS, Wii, and Wii U. And now, Mario Kart is serving as inspiration for a couple of inventors who’re making a similar game that you can play with robots on your living room floor, complete with weapons and power-ups.
When asked to think of addicting video games, a good chunk of people around the world are likely to recall Nintendo’s iconic Mario series, which is the best-selling game franchise of all time. But the task becomes much more difficult when faced with the dilemma of choosing the best Mario game series within the incredibly varied franchise. How could anyone possibly choose a favorite from the dozens of Mario games and spin-offs spanning all the way back to the NES?
Fortunately, Japanese portal site MyNavi Woman put out a survey in August to ask its readers to choose their favorite Mario games, so you don’t have to make the difficult decision yourself. But you can make a prediction–which five series do you think topped the list?
MOST POPULAR
Now
Tokyo Olympics organizers offer to pay volunteers 125 yen 【US$1.13】 an hour, critics unimpressed
Japanese teen offers to catch purse snatcher for elderly woman, but is actually helping rob her
Are Japan’s sexy anime illustration light novel covers going too far?
Awesome Tokyo restaurant caps diners’ dinner price, and after that anything you order is free!
You could be living in this Osaka house that’s legally named after anime’s greatest assassin
Furious itasha owner turns his anime car into a literally painful trap of spikes after trip to Daiso
Hello Kitty’s hilariously meta YouTube debut is a hit with netizens, earns likes and subscribers
Rising Pokémon star Eevee gets her own official dance for the Project Eevee theme song 【Video】
Japanese Twitter users shocked to learn how much The Simpsons voice actors get paid
Japanese bar pianist plays beautiful version of Pokémon background music without anyone noticing
Weekly
Naomi Osaka stirs up debate about what it means to be Japanese following U.S. Open victory
Japanese Twitter shares the funniest “mysterious Japanese” that they’ve heard from foreigners- Japanese Twitter users shocked to learn how much The Simpsons voice actors get paid
U.S. soldier’s failed attempt to give Japanese policemen some cool drinks melts Internet’s heart
Our Japanese reporter rewatches first episode of Dragon Ball, concludes Bulma’s a psychopath- Furious itasha owner turns his anime car into a literally painful trap of spikes after trip to Daiso
How much has changed in Japan one week after Naomi Osaka’s victory in the 2018 U.S. Open?- Awesome Tokyo restaurant caps diners’ dinner price, and after that anything you order is free!
My Hero Academia fan from America steps in to save woman from armed assailant at Starbucks
What happened when Conan O’Brien visited the Toto Japanese toilet showroom in Tokyo 【Video】
Monthly
Idol singer forgets to shut off streaming camera, giggles over how much she makes per video【Vid】
Reports suggest that some Japanese players are quite distressed over Pokémon GO’s newest event- Naomi Osaka stirs up debate about what it means to be Japanese following U.S. Open victory
- Japanese Twitter shares the funniest “mysterious Japanese” that they’ve heard from foreigners
Ridiculously buff cat has the bodybuilder physique of dreams, sparks jealousy in netizens’ hearts
Soulless titan’s face peeking out from the ground scares the living daylights out of people
Conan O’Brien arrives in Japan, dresses up as a Harajuku girl in Tokyo 【Pics & Videos】
Our Japanese language reporter tries out hair replacement surgery (viewer discretion is advised)- Japanese Twitter users shocked to learn how much The Simpsons voice actors get paid
Domino’s Pizza delivery driver battles Typhoon Jebi in Japan, video goes viral 【Video】
Yearly
Depressed Japanese gamer brightens his days by giving himself a log-in bonus for his real life- Idol singer forgets to shut off streaming camera, giggles over how much she makes per video【Vid】
Video of Japanese airport baggage handlers’ amazing service fills rest of the world with jealousy
What does “Konnichiwa” really mean? Understanding Japanese greetings
This is what a 10,000-yen (US$92) Tokyo bento boxed lunch looks like【Taste test】- Reports suggest that some Japanese players are quite distressed over Pokémon GO’s newest event
- Naomi Osaka stirs up debate about what it means to be Japanese following U.S. Open victory
- Japanese Twitter shares the funniest “mysterious Japanese” that they’ve heard from foreigners
Aspiring Canadian cosplayer living in Tokyo arrested for immigration fraud sham marriage
Japan’s record-setting heat wave is hot enough to melt anime figure ankles
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Furious itasha owner turns his anime car into a literally painful trap of spikes after trip to Daiso
Hello Kitty’s hilariously meta YouTube debut is a hit with netizens, earns likes and subscribers
Rising Pokémon star Eevee gets her own official dance for the Project Eevee theme song 【Video】
Japanese Twitter users shocked to learn how much The Simpsons voice actors get paid
Japanese bar pianist plays beautiful version of Pokémon background music without anyone noticing
McDonald’s Japan adds purple shakes to their menu, but they’re not grape-flavored
U.S. soldier’s failed attempt to give Japanese policemen some cool drinks melts Internet’s heart
We tried making edible jewels: One recipe gives you three delicious versions!
Sony announces PlayStation Classic retro mini console【Video, photos】
The Best of the Best of Manga: Shonen Jump’s 20 Best Sellers of All-Time
Internet survey sheds light on how Japanese women deal with the hair ‘down there’
-
