210°

Mario Kart 8 Premium Pack – Special Edition Wii U

Today Nintendo announces a new bundle that will be coming to coincide with the release of Mario Kart 8. The Mario Kart 8 Premium Pack – Special Edition Wii U

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paranerds.com
R00bot3648d ago

So the rumours were true.
Well, this looks like the perfect bundle to jump on board of for those yet to buy a Wii U.

Immorals3648d ago

If I didn't have 2 holidays and a Ps4 to pay for, I'd be all over this.

Sincere01213648d ago

Unlucky, might aswell sell your Ps4 untill it gets some decent games then buy it back when you get the chance.

randomass1713648d ago

@Immorals

I feel ya man, but maybe we can get a Black Friday deal this year. I wish you luck on your purchase. :)

Immorals3648d ago

Not bought it yet, waiting for some decent games!

And we don't have black Friday here in the UK (it's alright, we make better beer, so I can just get drunk and impulse buy)

DryBoneKoopa853648d ago

So is this only for the UK? If so what the hell Nintendo! What's with the no love for the states with Mario Kart 8.

Theparanerds3648d ago

Not that I'm aware of as of now. Until I get a press release from Nintendo of America

BigDuo3648d ago

It is probably because Nintendo is particularly desperate to revitalize Wii U sales in UK where it has performed the worst compared to the US and Japan. They need to give UK gamers a bigger incentive to buy Wii U than just to release Mario Kart 8 as a regular stand alone release. Nintendo likely wants to limit their losses with this bundle so they won't sell it globally. In Nintendo's mind, Mario Kart 8's stand alone release should be enough fo an incentive to boost hardware sales in Japan and North America.

Nintendo is still selling Wii U at a loss, so any game they bundle with the console is also being sold at a loss. If they do another price cut, then they'll naturally be selling Wii U at an even greater loss. According to Iwata's January speech, Nintendo has no plans to do another price cut this year. While that may not guarantee Nintendo won't resort to one later on this year, Nintendo desperately wants to try to get this console to stop bleeding money, so they can begin to recover and stabilize their financial situation with the Wii U since Wii U software sales have been fairly soft and the 3DS has not been enough to help compensate for it either.

iplay1up23648d ago

It will come to the US. Any sales generated that includes a Wii U console, is going to put a Wii U in a new home, and people are going to buy software at some point in time. Software is where the money is at. That is why PS3 was sold at a loss for years, because Sony knew that once a PS3 was in the home they would make the loss of selling the system at a loos up, by software sales.

randomass1713648d ago

Nintendo's UK marketing for this game has been much stronger than in any other region, so I guess they wanted to announce this pack for this region in particular. If the game sells well enough (which I think it honestly will) they'll probably do bundles for North America and Japan.

BlackWolf3648d ago

Awesome!! Expecting this bundle also makes it to US! (It better do)

Neonridr3648d ago

they would have to be stupid not to.

Activemessiah3648d ago

I think it's worldwide... jus not announced yet.

Neonridr3648d ago

Shame Nintendo didn't go all out and do a custom Mario Kart gamepad (like the Wind Waker bundle)

randomass1713648d ago

Dang, I never even thought of that. Too bad the Wii U pack doesn't come with the Blue Shell trophy either. I'd love to get my hands on that package. :D

Neonridr3648d ago

agreed, but at least my preordered copy comes with a blue shell poster (since I ordered it from EB Games in Canada).

RadeonXRay3648d ago

They should just have called it "Mario Kart 8 Premium Pack".
I understand that the 'special edition' may indicate they will only be making these for a limited periode, but there is nothing fancy about the bundle. It's a standard Premium Wii U Conosole and a copy of Mario Kart 8, no special art on either the gamepad or console.
Disappointing, but hopeefully they will sell like hotcakes! I wonder what the pricepoint is going to be.

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80°

Looking Ahead: The Lingering Questions About the Next Mario Kart

VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "10 years. It’s been almost 10 years since the last mainline release in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart 8 came out for the Wii U in 2014 and became the best-selling game for the system by a sizeable margin, and later pulled the same magic trick on the Nintendo Switch under the stage name Deluxe. All in all, it's sold nearly 70 million copies over the last decade and is still selling like hot cakes to this day, so it’s no wonder Nintendo has been in no rush to replace it. However, with rumors of a new system being just around the corner, and reports a few years back that a new Mario Kart is indeed under way, it seems the era of 8 might very well be drawing to a close. It’s an exciting prospect to be sure, but after two Nintendo systems with Mario Kart 8 at their heart, a lot of questions remain about how Nintendo will choose to follow it up."

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vgchartz.com
Yi-Long7d ago

I hope they just keep building on Mario Kart 8; Add a track-creation tool, and probably open it up to more Nintendo IPs with new tracks and characters, so Metroid, Punch Out, Starfox, Animal Crossing, etc etc.

gold_drake7d ago

there wont be a new one until the switch 2 comes out.

nintendo needs their bangers early on

80°

Wii U Versions of Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon's Online Play is Back

Nintendo has recently restored Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon online after five months of being offline.

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sirusgaming.com
100°

The Next Mario Kart Desperately Needs A Good Gimmick

Mario Kart 8 has been out for nine years now if you include the Wii U version. Despite the Switch port continuing to sell insane numbers since it came out in 2017, many people believed that a new installment was way past due. When the Booster Course Pass was announced instead, it was a bit controversial, with one side of people stating that it was time for a new game, and the other side believing that this was the best course of action and that there's nothing else Nintendo can do to innovate the franchise.

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dualshockers.com
Number1TailzFan305d ago

There's nothing wrong with the games, but after most of them being very samey, I got a bit bored. I liked MKDS because it added a mission mode, yeah it didn't have maybe as many as I'd like but it was decent for variety.

I really prefer the new Mario Party for the different types of games in it.

Mario Kart doesn't really feel fresh because you know what to expect for every new game pretty much. The single player mode of DKR was far more in depth a game vs Mario Kart IMO, MK is probably better for multiplayer though.

-Foxtrot305d ago

It needs a campaign mode like Crash Team Racing with open hubs, driving around the Mushroom Kingdom, selecting your races and the like. Have a system like the CTR tokens within the races that then unlock secret racing cups later on or the time relics to unlock other things.

There's nothing wrong with the games but when you've had the same set up for so many games it just gets a bit samey after a while.

They could even have something like a track creator like Modnation Racers or something.

Neonridr305d ago

I always enjoyed the single player aspect of Diddy Kong Racing myself.

Knushwood Butt305d ago

After starting with the first game on SNES, I think the last one I bought was on the DS.

Phlacky304d ago (Edited 304d ago )

I think the next gimmick should be interactive tracks with obstacles and traps such as maybe throwing a shell ahead to make something fall on another player Also have water and mud parts that effect handling more also fire parts that can cause you to over heat if you stay in it to long etc...

Yi-Long304d ago (Edited 304d ago )

I don’t think it needs ‘a gimmick’ so much, because gameplay is pretty much perfect right now, but I would like the next Mario Kart to do either a ‘track-builder’ thing, so you just get access to the tools and make your own tracks (think Modnation Racers or LBP Karting), and/or expand upon ‘Mario’ Kart and open it up to the rest of Nintendo IPs, and just do a ‘Nintendo Kart’, so we’d see more of Zelda, but also Starfox, Kirby, Metroid, Valkyria Chronicles*, etc.

* I know, technically not ‘Nintendo’.

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