Topic: Nintendo Aiming for Eight-Player Online in Mario Kart 3DS

[NWR_MattB]

Mario Kart 3DS producer wants the game to run smoothly in both 2D and 3D, online and offline.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/26751

Mario Kart 3DS producer Hideki Konno was questioned as to whether or not the game would feature online play. His response was "Of course."

Though the current online configuration is not quite set, he said that "our goal right now is to have the same number of players for both local wireless and multiplayer over wi-fi." The most important rule at the moment is ensuring that the game can run smoothly in 2D and 3D at 60FPS, both online and offline.

Mario Kart 3DS is scheduled to be released this holiday season.

[Caterkiller]

Makes me happy, chances are the console version will be at least 12. 8 is 10 times better than 4 or in most cases 2 like Mario Kart DS.

[GK]

Twelve racers? Just thinking about all of those blue shells & lightning bolts the lead racers will have to deal with is giving me a headache...

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

As long as you can race on all the tracks online, and as long as you can still hold items behind your kart, this is great news. Now that the Friends List is much more manageable on 3DS, we might be able to organise regular meet-ups.

[leroypantweather]

Hopefully there will be a way to invite friends to battle through the system by then, as in stands the online interface is broken

[leahsdad]

Twelve racers? Just thinking about all of those blue shells & lightning bolts the lead racers will have to deal with is giving me a headache...

I agree.  I think with racing games in general, and Mario Kart in particular, more is not better.   I see 8 as a maximum without degrading the enjoyability of the gameplay. 

Racing games are not FPS's, where more may be better (though tell that to MAG).