Mario Kart Wii is a 2008 kart racing game created and released by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the sixth game in the Mario Kart series and was released in April 2008. In Mario Kart Wii, players control one of 24 characters from the Mario series. These characters race on 32 different tracks and use special items to help themselves or stop opponents.
The game includes single-player and multiplayer modes, such as two- to four-player split-screen gameplay. Online multiplayer was available until Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was stopped in May 2014. A returning feature is Battle Mode, where players attack each other with power-ups to pop balloons around their karts. The Wii Remote’s motion controls let players steer intuitively. Each copy of the game came with the Wii Wheel accessory to help mimic a steering wheel.
Development of Mario Kart Wii started after the release of Mario Kart DS in 2005. Hideki Konno, who previously led two earlier Mario Kart games, returned as the producer. Ryō Nagamatsu, making his debut as a Nintendo composer, worked with Asuka Hayazaki, who composed Yoshi Touch & Go in 2005. Both used familiar music from earlier games and added new songs for the soundtrack.
Mario Kart Wii was praised by critics and players for its online mode, characters, gameplay, tracks, and karts. Some criticism focused on item balance and rubber-band difficulty adjustment. The game sold over five million copies in 2008, becoming the best-selling game that year. In total, it sold more than 37 million copies, making it the second best-selling Mario Kart game after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and one of the best-selling video games of all time.
Gameplay
Mario Kart Wii is a racing game that includes both single-player and multiplayer options. Players choose from many characters in the Mario series and race or battle using go-karts or motorbikes on tracks inspired by Mario game locations. During gameplay, players see the action from a third-person view behind their vehicle. The game supports four control methods: the Wii Remote, optionally used with a plastic wheel accessory that uses motion controls to steer; the Wii Remote with the Nunchuk attachment; the Classic Controller; and the GameCube controller. These last three use an analog stick for steering. While racing, players collect power-ups from item boxes on the track. These power-ups help players attack opponents, defend against attacks, or increase their speed.
Mario Kart Wii includes 24 playable characters from the Mario series, the most of any Mario Kart game until 2014. New characters added in this game include Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Rosalina, Funky Kong, and Dry Bowser. Unlike Mario Kart DS, where characters could use unique karts, each character in Mario Kart Wii belongs to one of three weight classes that determine which vehicles they can drive. The game features two vehicle types: Karts and Bikes, with Bikes divided into regular and sports bikes. Sports bikes use a special drifting technique called inside drifting. Mii characters saved on the console are also playable. There are 36 vehicles available, each with different handling traits. Half of the characters, vehicles, and tracks are locked at the start and must be unlocked by completing specific goals.
The game includes eight cups, each with four tracks, for a total of 32 unique tracks. Like Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii has 16 new tracks and 16 tracks from earlier Mario Kart games.
Mario Kart Wii offers multiple game modes: Grand Prix, Time Trials, Versus, and Battle. All modes support single-player play; Versus and Battle allow up to four players locally, with or without computer opponents. In Grand Prix, players race in four three-lap races from one of eight cups against 11 opponents. Points are earned based on race rankings, and total points determine the player’s final rank. Versus mode lets players customize tracks and items. In Time Trials, players race alone to complete tracks as quickly as possible, with only three Mushrooms given at the start. Players can race against a ghost version of their own previous performance.
Battle mode takes place in enclosed arenas where players attack each other using items. Players are split into red and blue teams, and teammates cannot harm each other. Two Battle variants are available: Balloon Battle and Coin Runners. In Balloon Battle, each player starts with three balloons. Players gain points by popping or stealing balloons from opponents and lose points if they lose all their balloons. In Coin Runners, players collect coins and attack opponents to make them drop coins. The team with the most points or coins at the end of three minutes wins. Ten arenas are available, including five new and five retro tracks.
Online play through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was available until May 20, 2014. Versus and Battle modes supported up to 12 players, with two players able to play from the same console. Players could race against others in their region, globally, or only against friends. After each race or match, players’ VR (versus rating) or BR (battle rating) changed based on their performance. The Mario Kart Channel provided online features, such as regional or global Time Trial rankings and monthly tournaments with special challenges.
Development
Mario Kart Wii is the sixth game in the Mario Kart series, following Mario Kart DS. Hideki Konno, who worked with Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) division and had previously worked on the first two Mario Kart games and Mario Kart DS, was the game's producer. Shigeru Miyamoto acted as "General Producer" and provided advice on different parts of the game.
Features removed from Mario Kart DS because of limited time were added to Mario Kart Wii, along with improvements to online play. Developers changed online matchmaking to let players join races after they finished, so races would not become empty. Mario Kart Wii was the first game in the series to include motocross bikes as drivable vehicles. This idea was suggested by Konno during the development of Double Dash but was not used before because it seemed unusual for Mario to ride a bike. The game was briefly called "Mario Kart X" before its final name was chosen, with "X" standing for "extreme."
Mario Kart Wii was officially announced at E3 2007. At the event, the online features and first footage of the game were shown. During a presentation by Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé, a trailer displayed new characters, tracks, and showed that the game would support up to 12 players racing at once. More details were shared later at the Nintendo Fall 2007 Conference in October 2007, where it was announced that the game would include bikes and the Wii Wheel. New gameplay footage was shown, and the release date was set for spring 2008.
To support the game's motion controls, some versions of the game included a plastic, wheel-shaped cover for the Wii Remote. Designers tested about 30 different prototypes of the wheel with various shapes, colors, and weights inspired by real go-karts. The final wheel was made as light as possible for long gameplay and was entirely white, even though two-colored designs were tested. A blue ring with the Wii logo was added to the back of the wheel to give spectators something to watch. This blue ring later appeared in the game's logo.
The game's music was composed by Asuka Hayazaki and Ryō Nagamatsu, who used familiar melodies from earlier games in new ways and created original music. The speaker on the Wii Remote is used during gameplay to play sound effects. During testing of the Wii Wheel prototypes, developers had voice actors play the game during recording sessions.
Reception
Mario Kart Wii received "generally favorable" reviews from Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. Reviewers said the gameplay was familiar and safer than Mario Kart: Double Dash. Tae K. Kim from GamePro liked the variety of characters, but Bryn Williams from GameSpy thought some unlockable characters were not interesting. Shane Bettenhausen from Electronic Gaming Monthly and Ryan Davis from Giant Bomb said some new tracks were creative, but they and Williams believed the track selection was less creative than in earlier games. Lark Anderson from GameSpot praised the game for being easy to play for all skill levels and said motorcycles were a good addition to go-karts. The inclusion of motorcycles and online multiplayer was welcomed by many. However, some reviewers criticized the unbalanced items and the AI, which made gameplay depend more on luck. They also noted that the battle mode from earlier games was not included.
Kim said the graphics were not as good as expected, especially in split-screen mode. Williams called the game a "480p widescreen treat" with clear and colorful visuals. Greg Nicksarlian from GameZone said the visuals were sharp and bright but simple. Mark Bozon from IGN described the visuals as basic but charming and polished. The music was considered average, and the voice acting was criticized as repetitive and annoying.
In 2010, Mario Kart Wii was included in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. Anthony John Agnello and David Roberts from GamesRadar+ ranked it #11 in their 2017 list of best Mario Kart games, calling it "a bloated, populist mess" that felt less like the best Mario Kart game. The IGN staff ranked it #18 in their 2019 list of "Top 25 Favourite Kart Racers," calling it a solid entry with expanded tracks and online/split-screen multiplayer. Luke Plunkett from Kotaku ranked it #7 among the best Mario Kart games, saying it had little reason to be played after improvements in later games and calling the motion controls poor. Tracks like Maple Treeway and Coconut Mall were ranked among the best, while Rainbow Road, Wario's Gold Mine, and Moonview Highway were ranked as some of the most difficult.
Mario Kart Wii sold 300,000 copies in Japan on its launch day, more than Mario Kart DS (160,000) and Mario Kart: Double Dash (180,000). By May 4, 2008, it sold over a million copies in Japan within a month of release. In the UK, it was the best-selling game in the week ending April 12, 2008, with the eighth-largest opening sales week in UK history. In the US, it was the second-best-selling game in April 2008, selling 1.12 million copies, behind Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and ahead of the PlayStation 3 version. It ranked fourth in December 2008, selling 979,000 copies. As of August 1, 2008, it sold 2.409 million copies in the US, 687,000 in the UK, and 1.601 million in Japan, totaling 4.697 million copies. By March 2009, it sold 15.4 million copies worldwide. In the third quarter of 2008, it sold 856,000 in the US, 394,000 in the UK, and 218,000 in Japan, totaling 1.468 million copies. It was the second-best-selling game in the US in 2008, selling over five million copies. In France, it sold 4.8 million copies, more than in Japan (3.7 million). As of March 31, 2021, it sold 37.38 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Mario game for the Wii, the second-best-selling racing game, and the second-best-selling game for the Wii after Wii Sports.
Mario Kart Wii won several Wii-specific awards from IGN in 2008, including Best Racing Game and Best Online Multiplayer Game. It was also nominated for Best Family Game for the Wii. It was nominated for "Racing Game of the Year" at the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. Guinness World Records recognized it as the best-selling racing game of all time, though it was later surpassed by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Legacy
Although official online play support stopped in 2014, fans created unofficial mods like Wiimmfi to allow online play again. CTGP Revolution is a modified version made by MrBean35000vr and Chadderz. It adds more courses and features, such as races with 24 players, a type of race from Mario Kart 8 (2014), and new game modes like Countdown and Item Rain.