That's good. I was hoping for launch, but didn't expect it since they have not even confirmed the name (they are still just referring to it as "Mario Kart"). I will be getting it on day 1.

I'd love to see an adventure-style mode for playing solo or co-op, like the one in Donkey Kong Racing.

Sadly, we'll probably never see that since Nintendo has seen continual profits off of just remaking the original Mario Kart formula, just with the addition of online play.  I don't think there's the creative imperative at Nintendo to improve upon the formula with such features.

I think you mean Diddy Kong Racing (Donkey Kong Racing was the GameCube sequel that was never officially canceled, but they stopped mentioning it). But yeah, it would be interesting for a single player mode other than just Grand Prix (or the Mission mode in the DS game).

Do you mean having an open area to drive around in outside of races? It seemed that a lot of the 5th generation kart racers did that (Diddy Kong Racing, Crash Team Racing, Lego Racers), so it could work. Probably not what Nintendo wants to do with Mario Kart though.

At the top of my wish list for Mario Kart 3DS is for the branching track design to be expanded upon. There were some small moves in that direction with Mario Kart Wii, like the track in the mall or the volcano, but I think they can go a lot further with it.

Another thing DKR did was that it wasn't just karts.  You also had boats and planes.  Some tracks allowed for all three vehicle types and you could race a plane from your boat.  That plus the overworld really made DKR stand out compared to Mario Kart 64 because realistically what do you need two kart racers on the same system for?  There needed to be some additional justification for having another game like that from the same company (though I think technically Rare self-published it).

In comparison Nintendo had kind of degraded with Mario Kart since then.  Aside from online play and a double kart setup and that didn't go over so well what has Nintendo done with Mario Kart since MK64?  DKR introduced all these great ideas and Nintendo has ignored them.  Why do I only get road based vehicles in Mario Kart?  The bar was raised to offer boats and planes over ten years ago!  Why do we still only have Grand Prix, Time Trial and Battle mode?  Couldn't they offer new gameplay modes?  MKDS had the mission mode but the later game has less?!  What about a create-a-track function?  If you let your mind wander there is so much that could be added and yet an N64 game comes across as more ambitious than their current efforts.

With the Super Mario Galaxy games Nintendo is ahead of the curve in 3D platformer design and just raising the bar and going for broke.  Why can't we see that same drive and ambition in Mario Kart?  Why can't we see that same drive and ambition in every Nintendo game?  It sure seems like we used to.

I predict that the game will be available for demo play at E3, and during the press conference a new full trailer for it as well, revealing characters, locales and even new wi-fi features.

I wonder if the answer is quite simply "Because the Galaxy games don't sell like Mario Kart Wii did."  Nintendo seems less inclined to change games that sell astonishingly well, especially if they sold like that in Japan.  Neither Mario Galaxy game perenially lit up the charts, so Nintendo felt the creative imperative to change the games up and try to keep the experience fresh.  Mario Kart DS sold (and still does sell) ludicrously well, so Mario Kart Wii is just a minor iteration on the same formula Nintendo has used for years.  New Super Mario Bros. sold (and still does sell) ludicrously well, so New Super Mario Bros. Wii is just a minor iteration on the same 2D Mario formula Nintendo has used for years.  Metroid does not sell particularly well in Japan (even if it does everywhere else), so Nintendo felt the need to radically change up the formula for Other M.  Zelda's a bit of an oddity in that it has received only minor iterations (gameplay-wise.  Graphically, it's had radical departures) despite not selling anywhere near the New Super Mario Bros. Wii's or Mario Kart Wii's in Japan.

I hope and pray this is true.  But I believe the wording in the press release is not quite confirmation.  It reads, "Other Nintendo 3DS games in the works for 2011 from Nintendo are..."  So it could be in the oven with good intentions, but it's not necessarily coming out.  What's more interesting is this: "...and new installments in the Mario Kart series."  Installments?  Plural?  Is this just pertaining to the numerous games they've just listed off, or might we get a Mario Kart 64 remake AND a fresh new sequel?  That circle pad would work might fine sliding around the curves of Choco Mountain...

Because every Nintendo game is made by completely different studio's that are run by completly different people.

Super Mario Galaxy - Tokyo EAD - lead by Yoshiaki Koizumi

Mario Kart - EAD 1 - lead by Hideki Konno


This is why people have to stop treating Nintendo like it's one big studio where Iwata and Miyamoto make everything.  Nintendo is made up of many studio's that are run by completely different people who have different views on how they want to develop their own games.

I'm afraid to pick this up because I'm almost 99% sure that MK DS is the reason why the R button on all 4 of my DS's are not working.... :'(

Happened to mine actually. Sent it in for repairs & it's been fine since.

I think they should at least bring back the option for double dash. Theres no reason they couldnt balance the game to work with a mix of both single and double karts.

I know.  But there was a time where virtually every Nintendo team whether it was EAD, Intelligent Systems, R&D1, HAL, or second party devs like Rare were going for broke with virtually every game.  As a result it was like Nintendo as a whole was a company that pushed the envelope and didn't rest on their laurels.  Now Nintendo is more like a company that SOMETIMES goes for broke but many times is content to go through the motions.  So Nintendo should get on the ass of the underachieving teams and be more selective with the devs they aquire or having working agreements with.

Nintendo is obviously content with EAD's Mario Kart work because it made them oodles of money despite the most recent title being incredibly derivative.  The company as a whole is content to coast as long as the money is there.

N/A

I think the Wii entry missed out on some cool additions all because they had to go with the wheel. It would have been cool to be able to use the pointer for shooting the shells, or maybe lobbing a bomb at someone etc. I also want them to bring back the red shell mines that were featured in super circuit!

I think Diddy Kong Racing holds up a lot better than Mario Kart 64, but that may be because Mario Kart as a series has gotten so much better since then and DKR hasn't seen a sequel (though Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts on the 360 felt to me like Rare attempting an evolution of DKR's mechanics).

Personally, I had a ton of fun with MK Wii.  I actually felt the steering mechanic worked really well, immersive and fun in that old "lean with your NES controller" way.  And the tricks and wheelies were a significant addition to the boost mechanic, imo.  Combined with all the new tracks and retro favorites and well-implemented online play...  I have no problem at all with how they made MK Wii. 
I think those who believe Nintendo used to go all out/all the time are looking at the past with a severe tint of rose to their glasses.  And I also think people don't give them enough credit for the innovating they've done in the last 4 years, instead focusing on a few remakes or re-hashes they didn't enjoy.  For whatever reason, I'm enjoying the present spate of games way more than I was the past two generations.  But maybe that's more to do with my life circumstances than with actual game quality.