Although a firm date has not been released by Nintendo, the GameFly website has posted a believable release date for Mario Kart Wii - April 27th. This date falls in line with Nintendo's typical Sunday release dates for a majority of their games. Additionally, Mario Kart Wii would be coming out in North America after Europe, which was confirmed to be the case by Reggie Fils-Aime.
» Read More 

Twelve players might be a nice round number for straight-out races, but we've still been waiting patiently to see how many online opponents Nintendo will allow us in Mario Kart Wii's version of the classic battle modes.
» Read More 

Destructoid writes: "Alright, so remember how I said that Mario Kart for the Wii will support text chatting? Well I was completely wrong. Or rather, Nintendo has no idea what the hell texting means."
» Read More 

If you want an additional Nintendo-branded Mario Kart Wii steering wheels, you won't have to buy another copy of Mario Kart Wii. Nintendo plans on selling extra steering wheels on April 11, the same day Mario Kart Wii debuts in Japan. Each extra steering wheel runs for 1200 yen ($11). Of course, Nintendo's Wii Wheel isn't required to play Mario Kart Wii. Ubisoft's wheel should work fine and so should a standalone controller.

Original source: Famitsu - Japanese
» Read More 

Following Nintendo's less-than-thrilling announcement of text communications for Mario Kart Wii, the author asks if there might not be a more serious reason that the company has yet to integrate voice comms into any of its online titles.

From the article: "I can't help but wonder if there isn't a more insidious reason that we've yet to see meaningful voice chat from the Wii. What if the Wii CAN'T do it. What if it's such an underpowered system that they can't get it to work reliably? Remember when Sony left rumble out of their controllers, calling it "last-gen." Later we found out that the real reason was that they were getting their pants sued off for patent infringement.

I'm not buying what Nintendo is selling here (both figuratively and literally). I think they grossly underestimated the demand for voice comms when designing their mac-influenced PS2. But what the hell do I know? Why do you think Nintendo keeps screwing the proverbial pooch with their online experience?"
» Read More 

A screenshot of Mario Kart's battle mode has appeared online, amongst a bunch of stuff we've already seen. By counting the number of characters on the map, we reckon the mode can support up to eight players. That would be insane. The appearance of the red balloons confirms that the battle mode hasn't changed dramatically, and the shape of the map implies that the levels will be a little bit more complex than those featured in Double Dash. ... » Read More

Nintendo fans still hoping that the arrival of Mario Kart Wii will herald the beginning of voice chat support on the company's home console will have to put those hopes on hold for a while. The publisher's European subsidiary confirmed in an official Mario Kart Wii posting that players will only be able to communicate with each other via text chat, and not during matches.
» Read More 

Today, the Mario Kart Wii volcano has erupted, spewing forth screenshots and details like there's no tomorrow. With the game's European April 11 release date looming, we were getting worried, but no fear, it's looking ace. ... » Read More

Nintendo of Europe announced in a press release that Mario Kart Wii will have a chat feature in the Mario Kart Channel. For full details, click the news link.
» Read More 

Nintendo has confirmed that highly anticipated Mario Kart Wii will reach European shores on April 11. Check out these new screens. The game is bundled with the Wii Wheel, but provides five different control options for players: Wii Wheel, Wii Remote turned on its side, Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination, Classic Controller and Nintendo GameCube controller. Sixteen new tracks will be included, in addition to sixteen other tracks from previous Mario ... » Read More

Nintendo announced this morning that the next installment in the Mario Kart Series, Mario Kart Wii, is set to be released in Europe on April 11th 2008.
» Read More 

Despite being one of Nintendo's highest profile upcoming releases, we've actually heard relatively little about Mario Kart Wii so far, other than, that is, scraps of information plucked from a couple of screenshots and scans from magazines. Today, however, a brand new crop of screenshots have found their way onto the Interweb, again revealing new tidbits of the racer's gameplay details.
» Read More 

According to Play.com, Mario Kart Wii is to be released in the UK on April 25, 2008. This differs from the official Nintendo release date of Q2, 2008 - giving the game an April-June release window.

A Nintendo spokesperson has informed VideoGamer.com that the retailer is merely guessing, confirming that no release date for Mario Kart Wii has been announced. Still, retailers have been known to be on the money in the past.
» Read More 

Japan's Weekly Famitsu magazine has the scoop on the latest Mario Kart Wii info. It's been confirmed that you'll be able to bring your Miis to the circuit to race against Mario and company.
» Read More 

Qj: Rumors centering on Nintendo's upcoming Mario Kart Wii title have been rather numerous the past few days. In fact, we've got a new one already. Don't think this is the last rumor you'll hear about the game, though: according to a juicy tidbit posted on Yahoo! Japan, the game's release date has already been slated for April 10.
» Read More 

Core Gaming Group, Nintendo's representative company in South Africa, launched two popular Wii titles at a press event held this past Friday in Johannesburg. In addition, after roughly a year of the world's best selling handheld console being absent from the South African market, Core Group relaunched the Nintendo DS Lite.

The media briefing was presented by RJ van Spaandonk, the executive director of Core Group. RJ outlined the upcoming Wii releases, detailed the Nintendo DS Lite relaunch information and discussed the success that the Nintendo Wii has enjoyed in South Africa since its launch here in October 2007.

The Nintendo DS Lite was relaunched in South Africa and will soon be available in stores. It will retail at R1 799 and is available in four colours: black, white, silver and pink.
» Read More 

"Take a gander at the image above as what looks to be the final box art for Mario Kart Wii. As we can all plainly see, the box looks to be rather large to help accommodate the "Wii wheel" pack in that comes with the title. I must insist that this is purely a rumor for the final box art but I have to say that I don't mind it at all.

What do you guys think?"

See the box art after the jump!
» Read More 

Nintendo has told Eurogamer the latest rumours to emerge about Mario Kart Wii are nothing more than speculation.

As reported by Aussie-Nintendo, Nmag Gamepro magazine claims the game will feature 32 courses - half of which will be brand new, half old favourites.

The mag also claims Baby Peach and Boo will appear as drivers, snaking will make a comeback, Battle mode will be playable online and the controls will be similar to those in Excite Truck.
» Read More 

Nintendo's financial report reveals that Animal Crossing, Wii Music, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball, and a new Kirby title are all planned for Wii and 2008 in Japan. Mario Kart Wii is also scheduled for release in spring 2008.
» Read More 

Kotaku reports the next issue of German gaming pub NMag features a cover story on the upcoming Wii racer Mario Kart Wii as well as a few tiny tidbits on what we can expect from the waggle-enabled iteration. In addition to appearances from drivers like Mario, Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, Bowser, Peach, and Donkey Kong, the mag confirms that Boo and Baby Peach will also have driving duties. Not surprising, as we'd seen the former in at least one trailer, with the latter only making sense, given that Baby Mario and Baby Luigi will also star.

The mag, by way of GoNintendo, also mentions that at least 32 tracks are planned and that the dreaded "snaking" method of boosting will be included

Details:

-Sliding and snaking confirmed
-Baby Peach, Boo to be drivers
-online battle mode
-16 new + 16 old courses
-different vehicles for every driver
-controls can be compared to Excite Truck
» Read More