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In what must be one of the signs of the Apocalypse, it does truly appear that Mario Kart Wii is going to be released in the UK before it finds its way over to America. I would love to bitch and moan about it, crying about how Nintendo should hurry and release it in America first, but I really don’t have any reasons to think that. It is selfish, and seeing as the UK doesn’t even have a release date set for Super Smash Brothers: Brawl I can't complain.

Because of this, Nintendo of Europe has been releasing a steady stream of information on the upcoming go-kart simulator. Today they have updated their website with a large amount of information about how the online modes are going to work when the game launches in April of 2008. I will go down their list, paragraph by paragraph, and cut through their buzzwords and explain exactly what this will actually be.

“In Mario Kart Wii you can go online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection by yourself or together with a friend playing on the same Wii console, and let the games begin! You can directly jump into online races with random players Worldwide, or opt for Continental if you prefer a challenge closer to home.”

You can play with friends on the same console on the Internet, like Halo 2 and 3.

“Then you will be placed in a new group of people looking for a match, or you will join an existing group. When the latter happens you will become a spectator of that group’s race currently in progress, as you wait for your turn to hit the track. With up to 12 players being able to battle or race on the circuits of the Mushroom Kingdom simultaneously, Mario Kart Wii is set to provide the biggest challenge in the series to date!”

There are lobbies, like with every other online game. There is 12 player support, like we expect at this point.

“After swapping Friend Codes with other players, you will also be able to see how many of your mates are online, and choose to Create a Room or select Join Friend to gather in a room with your friends before you start your engines.”

Friend Codes, still. And they still suck, and you will still hate them.

“Once inside a room, the globe familiar from the Forecast Channel will highlight the location of all players present. This is where you can text chat with your friends by making a selection from dozens of predefined messages, letting you suggest exactly which kind of race you want to play: from Battle to Grand Prix, and from Team play to your circuit of choice. The Host then decides the race settings, but the track selection is based on the votes of all players combined.”

Instead of asking players where they are from, for fear that they may respond “shit,” Nintendo will show you on a map. Also, online play will work with racing and battles, which is cool.

“Mario Kart Wii also allows you to install the Mario Kart Channel on your Wii console. This Channel lets you check up on a host of options without the need of inserting the Mario Kart Wii disc into your system.”

Hey, remember the “Check Mii Out” channel? Me either.

“The Ranking option lets you see your statistics for each track and compare your results to those of your Friends and other players worldwide, represented by their Miis. You’ll have the option of racing against the Ghosts of the best players, or improving your results gradually by taking on the Ghosts of rivals whose times are only slightly better than yours. Players can choose whether they want to share their Time Trial Ghosts with the rest of the world, allowing you to match your skills against the cream of the crop whenever you want.”

You can race against the ghost of dead gamers, apparently. Actually, you can download ghost data and race against it.

“Another all-new feature of this Channel are the Competitions, where Nintendo will on a regular basis invite players to speedy challenges similar to the Missions of Mario Kart DS. The Channel also allows you to check your ranking in running Competitions as well as Time Trials. You can also go here to register Friends and see if any of them are currently online.”

They will hold contests and tournaments, which is kind of cool. Welcome to the last generation, Nintendo. You can also see which friends are online. Again, last generation, thanks.

“There’s much more Mario Kart Wii to come, so stay tuned to the site for further updates!”

 

The game will get delayed. Sorry. This news is kind of cool, and shows that Nintendo is moving, albeit at a snails pace, towards a real online plan.

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