News Articles
Tuesday16th Apr 2024
Random 19 Years On, Mario Kart DS Speedrunners Are Still Finding New Shortcuts
Cutting corners
It has been 19 years since Mario Kart DS first hit the tracks. That's a pretty staggering length of time and one that we'll probably need a little sit down to fully recover from. But hey, while we freak out about the passing of the years, check this out: speedrunners have found a handful of new shortcuts on the DS' previously pretty...
Tuesday12th Jul 2022
Poll What's The Best Mario Kart Game?
Rate them Rainbow Roads
Some of us here at Nintendo Life Towers are convinced that your favourite Mario Kart game is simply the one you played first with three other players in the same room — or just one other player if you were there at the very beginning with Super Mario Kart on Super NES. We tend to think this because while we can all agree...
Friday27th May 2022
News Mario Kart Tour Is About To Get One Of The Franchise's Best Tracks
Yeah baby, yeah!
Mario Kart Tour is continuing to truck along nicely, adding new content and events at a pretty brisk pace. The latest update, due on May 31st at 11pm PT, will introduce the Cat Tour and will naturally feature the cat costumes from Super Mario 3D World. Better yet, the Cat Tour will bring one of Mario Kart's best tracks, one that...
Wednesday29th Sep 2021
News Modders Are Reimagining Mario Kart: Double Dash On DS
Chunky DS sprite nostalgia
A few notable gaming systems have a look; for the Game Boy - as one example - that look is pea green. We also think the DS has a look, those chunky character models that are sort of like the N64 but not quite, and the fact that it had such an extraordinarily varied library with these aesthetics. DS mods of well known...
Wednesday11th Nov 2020
Random Did You Know Mario Kart DS Loads Differently Depending On Your Chosen Console?
But why?
Well, here's an interesting little fact for you: Mario Kart DS actually behaves slightly differently depending on which Nintendo DS system you use to play it on. The DS classic, which has now been available for almost 15 years, features a different loading sequence if you play the game on an original Nintendo DS system, rather than any...
Friday8th May 2015
News Producer Of The Mario Kart Series Appointed As Head Of Nintendo’s Mobile Development Division
Likely to mean Hideki Konno
Following Nintendo's big announcement in March that it would partner with DeNA to bring popular Nintendo IP to new games on smart devices, there was much speculation about how exactly this enthralling venture would unfold. Now Japanese news outlet Sankei is reporting that Nintendo's latest financial results have shed...
Thursday23rd Apr 2015
Nintendo Download 23rd April (North America)
Mario Kart 8 DLC, DS karting, Mewtwo, 3D cube creation and more
Happy Mario Kart Day, Nintendo gamers! The usual download update details are out a little later than normal for North America and, unsurprisingly, the Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 has a prominent place in the listing. It's not the only fresh arrival, though, we also have more Mario Kart of...
Friday3rd Apr 2015
Video Mario Kart DS Skids Onto Wii U Virtual Console
We dig into DS settings for Wii U and classic racing
Nintendo DS games are finally getting their full chance to shine on the Wii U Virtual Console. The first of two games to be released at launch in Europe is Mario Kart DS, an excellent entry in the long-running racing series. All of your favourite Super Mario characters take to the roads once more...
Thursday2nd Apr 2015
News Buy Three Nintendo 64 and DS Virtual Console Games and Get the Fourth Free in Europe
Knocks the average price down a little...
During this week's Nintendo Direct we had the news that Nintendo 64 and DS games are coming to the Wii U Virtual Console in force. In the madness then and since we didn't notice a particular deal that's running in Europe as a result of the region having four games available right from the off. As was...
Wednesday22nd Oct 2014
Tanooki Buggy also revealed!
If you haven’t already pre-purchased the upcoming Mario Kart 8 downloadable content, due out this November and May 2015, then this latest reveal might just be enough reason to take the plunge. Nintendo has released a new trailer revealing Yoshi Circuit from the 2003 GameCube series entry, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!,...
Thursday21st Aug 2014
Video This Drake-Inspired Mario Kart Rap is For Champion Racers
"Got all these races looking like they're just time trials"
There are only a few Nintendo franchises that can bring on very real trash talk; no, that Nintendo E3 press conference attempt for Wii Sports Resort back in the day does not count. One of these franchises that'll have friends and family boasting red shell success is Mario Kart, to this day...
Tuesday8th Apr 2014
News Nintendo Releases An Awesome Mario Kart Infographic
Sorry arcade titles, you're out
With the release of Mario Kart 8 on Wii U preoccupying many minds ahead of 30th May, Nintendo is taking every opportunity to raise awareness and hype. Is there a better way to do this than with a fancy infographic? No, no there isn't. The infographic below shows the eight main series entries to date, spurning the...
Friday27th Sep 2013
News Awesome Mario Kart Trophies Added to Club Nintendo Europe
Four available for 5000 stars each
We suspect, based on our community game nights and events — they will return! — that Mario Kart 7 is pretty high on a number of favourite game lists. The franchise is also the classic multiplayer experience on Nintendo systems, successfully bringing out the most competitive instincts in players. Naturally, if...
Thursday10th Mar 2011
News Mario Kart Without Items Isn't Mario Kart, That Includes the Blue Shell
Hideki Konno explains the importance of its inclusion
We can't expect franchises to stay the same forever, but when the crowd-dividing Blue Shell was introduced to the Mario Kart series back in Mario Kart 64, maybe not all of us expected it to stay through to the modern day instalments. Hideki Konno is one of the main players behind the series,...
Tuesday19th Oct 2010
News Walmart Leaks Red DSi XL Package for America
Then sort-of rescinds it
Oh, the treacherous life of an Internet video games retailer. You need only put something online for mere seconds and it's already been documented, disseminated, dissected and discussed by the ever-hungry gaming audience. Such is the fate of Walmart this week, who advertised the limited edition red DSi XL ahead of any...
Saturday11th Sep 2010
News Nintendo Shows Who's Boss of the August Sales Chart
It's them, taking ten of the top U.S. spots
The month of July saw Nintendo dominating the U.S. sales charts, shifting more machines than its competition and moving over 192,000 happy homes for copies of Super Mario Galaxy 2. Additionally, nearly 142,000 copies of Lego Harry Potter: Years 1 to 4 were sold, making it the top-selling handheld title. So...
Sunday25th Dec 2005
It's that time of year again, only one post today and that's to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
We can imagine all of you having the same disappointment on your face this morning, not because it wasn't a white Christmas, but because Santa didn't leave you a Nintendo Revolution. Shame on you, Santa. Hopefully he brought you something else...
Thursday22nd Dec 2005
News Reggie's Mario Kart DS McChallenge
Hoards of Mario Kart DS fans huddle inside McDonalds to catch the chance of racing against the almighty Regginator.
The collection of Nintendo fans gathered yesterday at the Bellevue Square McDonald's in Bellevue, Washington, USA. This time the American junk food addicts weren't waiting for a 2 for 1 offer but infact for Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo's...