Mario Kart 8 Direct - April 30, 2014

Nintendo surprised us all this morning with a new Nintendo Direct dedicated specifically to Mario Kart 8. With release date of May 30 of this year, it is a good move by Nintendo to get already excited fans even more pumped for the next game in the series.

Starting up with a rather humorous infomercial skit, the broadcast jumps straight into the presentation. But rather than doing the traditional presentation, they made this into a compilation of "TV channels" ranging from infomercials, commercials,  news, and documentaries all providing their own information on the game as well as plenty of clips.

Recap of Details

Spin Boosting - Bumping into other karts/objects during zero-gravity mode will give you a spin boost. Collisions will allow for risky speed boosts.

Mario Kart Customization

*Customize Kart body, Tires, Glides etc...

Allows for customization of karts which will effect stats of karts and bikes.

New Challengers

*The 7 Koopalings

*Baby Rosalina

*Metal Mario

*Pink Gold Peach

30 different racers total including Miis

New Items

*Boomerang Flower - Throws fowards up to 3 times. Can hit going forward or back.

*Piranha Plant - Bites at nearby racers and items on the ground.

*Crazy Eight - Give you 8 times at once!!

*Super Horn - Sound shockwave that affects all racers around you. Breaks items EVEN BLUE SHELLS

Karts Vs Bikes

*Bikes were faster than Karts in Mario Kart Wii

*In Mario Kart 8, Karts are faster on straightaways while bikes are faster on corners. Depends on the course.

  

Online Racing Details

*4 Online modes

*Race up to 12 players

*Worldwide, Regional, friends, tournaments

*Text and voice chat available in lobby

*Players can hold their own tournaments - specific rules

*Tournament specific ranking

*Ghosts data from around the world.

*Receive stamps for beating developer ghosts

*Mario Kart TV - Lets you watch your own racing highlight reels.

*Upload best ones and download others

*See most popular

*Highlight reels from Mario Kart 8 directly to YouTube!!

Music

*Sound tracks were recorded by live instruments

Offer

*If you buy it between May 30th and June 21st, you can get a free download code for a free Wii U game.

*Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle - Black Wii U Deluxe, Game, Wii Remote Plus, Wii Wheel, $329.99

New Trailer

For more Mario Kart 8 information, keep an eye out for my Mario Kart 8 Preview!