ONM: Mario Kart Wii supports 16 online, includes DS maps [Updated]

by Justin McElroy { Sep 6th 2007 at 8:35AM }

We haven't heard much about Mario Kart Wii since it was unveiled at E3. Thanks to one intrepid forum goer with just a scanner and a dream, we now have a little more info on the game from the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine.

Apparently MKW will support up to 16 players in a game (does that translate to 16 different characters?) and will be the first in the series to offer Battle Mode online. Oh, and you can now perform stunts in the air. We're not yet sure if we should be troubled by the fact that in addition to some Wii-exclusive maps, "classic DS tracks will be recreated with Wii graphics." We're going to hold off on getting worried until we see how many new tracks are being included. But let's hope for at least half-and-half, eh?

Update: According to CVG, Official Nintendo Magazine has released a statement saying, "The details printed in Official Nintendo Magazine 21 regarding Mario Kart Wii were healthy speculation on our part and are in no way an official announcement from Nintendo. We are sorry if we have mislead anyone. We do not set out to mislead our readers. ONM apologizes profusely for any misunderstandings that this has caused."

So, did ONM spill a few beans too early, or were they just making stuff up?

[Thanks, Ian]

Tags: e307, mariokart, mariokartwii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

HaleysComet @ Sep 6th 2007 8:38AM

God I love Nintendo!

Ombre @ Sep 6th 2007 8:40AM

ONM retracted their statement about it, and claimed that it was merely speculation.

http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=171506

MariosInferno @ Sep 6th 2007 8:43AM

Ehhh. That sux.

Still no reason to believe that it's not possible. I would assume the MP would be at least for 12 players simultaneously.

HaleysComet @ Sep 6th 2007 8:48AM

That SUCKS...

Maybe its cuz they revealed to early for Nintendo's likes...

But then again I'm a realist....so who are we kidding here? Wii Online is basically a joke when compared to Live. As much as I WANT to believe that this will happen theres a strong possiblity that it won't happen.

Theres an even bigger chance that Mario Kart Wii will be structured just like Mario Strikers Charged (which wasn't that great in all honesty). Yes there were ranked matches but there were STILL Friend Codes...

No lobbies. No being able to choose which games you want to enter....it just boring.

I know this is their first time with Online but you'd think they would have learned from MS over the last year.

AlanRickman @ Sep 6th 2007 9:23AM

5 minutes of research goes a long ways, huh?

mmarino @ Sep 6th 2007 9:45AM

Considering the E3 video showed Wario doing a stunt in midair and also showed some DS tracks, I hardly see how most of this (speculative) article is even relevant.

mr nimblewick @ Sep 6th 2007 10:22AM

"Wii Online is basically a joke when compared to Live."

So stop comparing it to Live. Problem solved.

waves @ Sep 6th 2007 11:41AM

Seeing as they already have Mario Kart online on the Wii, the online functionality will be at least that good. How much better, though, is the $64,000 question...

imandir @ Sep 6th 2007 8:51AM

I hope Baby Park becomes standard in every Mario Kart.

Lemmiwinks @ Sep 6th 2007 6:25PM

+2 red shells for you

Shiro @ Sep 7th 2007 3:58AM

God bless you, Baby Park.

May your oval curvature forever remain hindered by millions of banana peels.

Donald @ Sep 6th 2007 8:52AM

As long as it has banana peels...

Konny @ Sep 6th 2007 9:05AM

DANG.. thats a lot of Friend Codes to memorise!

Kazi @ Sep 6th 2007 10:33AM

Friend Codes are a one time add thing, you don't need to memorize. It's like a 12 digit phone number that you only have to use once.

BPM @ Sep 6th 2007 12:13PM

Kazi, Konny's a Nintendo hater. Ignore him.

samfish @ Sep 6th 2007 9:16AM

Oh well. That's ONM for you.

I hope they have Rainbow Road back.
...or Rainbow Road battle mode. That would be cool, too.

BPM @ Sep 6th 2007 12:01PM

There's been a unique Rainbow Road for every Mario Kart. Unlikely that'll change any time soon.

samfish @ Sep 6th 2007 2:17PM

Interesting. I had heard it wasn't in the DS version...which I've obviously n ever played.

Fatass of Kickassness @ Sep 6th 2007 2:56PM

Not only was there a Rainbow Road in MKDS, but it was IMO the best Rainbow Road yet.

Mr Khan @ Sep 6th 2007 4:26PM

Sillies

The best Rainbow Road was Double Dash's IMO

Super Mario Kart's Rainbow road was just madness, 64's was boring as hell, Super Circuit's was ok, and i was soured on DS's rainbow road because people kept choosing that track online to race on

1/2 the reason i quit playing that game online, the other being that everyone seemed to choose Luigi

shivr @ Sep 6th 2007 8:14PM

luigi is no good... dry bones!

I don't even remember double dash's rainbow road.. I liked the MKDS and 64 versions though. SMK though... I do remember the madness, and the abject fear I had for that race whenever I was on the verge of a high score for a GP =o

Zelos @ Sep 6th 2007 9:38AM

You could clearly see some of the DS tracks in the Mario Kart Wii demo movie Nintendo showed recently (at E3?).

Paul P. @ Sep 6th 2007 10:03AM

In the small video Nintendo showed at E3, you could see that indeed some of those tracks were from the DS game. It was quite obvious.

I'd love it if they did that here. That's part of what made the DS game so great. Aside from its own tracks, which it had plenty of, it had tons of the best tracks from all other Mario Kart games. Kind of like Smash Bros. Melee has tons of levels as well as some of the best levels from the original Smash.

A Wii Mario Kart with all the DS tracks(including the classic ones) and just as many new ones? That would rock.

OnimushaSoki @ Sep 6th 2007 10:05AM

MKW and Smash Bros Brawl are literally the only two games keeping me from selling off my console on eBay... because it has been literally sitting in a carrying case for months now. Though I'll definitely "kick it to the curb(er, eBay)" if either one gets online gameplay axed. :\

Paul P. @ Sep 6th 2007 10:09AM

Well get kickin. I'm fairly sure Smash Bros. won't have online play. This is mainly from Nintendo not including it in their online games talk at E3, when they were trying to say how serious they were about online. An odd exclusion, don't you think? Also the box art that is now popping up in places like amazon does not have a wi-fi icon. But that second part isn't reliable.

Have you not picked up Prime 3 though? Easily the best game on the system, it is really quite amazing. I've beaten it already but can't stop playing anywy on the higher difficulties.

Kazi @ Sep 6th 2007 10:37AM

Smash's online was confirmed the day Sakurai was coaxed into leading the project and at E3'06. Smash is currently on an info trickle on Smash Bros Dojo, an experimental way to keep the game hyped up. That's the reason Smash most likely won't have anything big revealed at conventions anymore.

OnimushaSoki @ Sep 6th 2007 10:43AM

Paul P. ---
Before I begin, MP3 is respectably well designed in gameplay and style. Not my "cup of tea", but I'm not about to put down anyone who likes it.
I'm not a big fan of a lot of Nintendo's first party titles/characters as I was when I first started playing videogames in the early 80s, but I do like a lot of their "crossover" themed games... such as Mario Kart and Smash Bros.

LoL... In case you're right about the lack of online gameplay; here's an early advertisement for my console:
» Used Nintendo Wii (purchased 12/06). Good condition(light/minor scratches atop Gamecube controller port flap), comes with Wii Sports, ExciteTruck, WarioWare, and many Virtual Console games: BomberMan'93, *Super C, Contra III: the Alien Wars, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Spinball, Toe Jam & Earl, Comix Zone, Gunstar Heroes, Streets of Rage, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Ice Hockey, Street Fighter II, Star Fox 64.

*Nix the earlier comment about it being in the carrying case. Apparently my friend downloaded it recently, but the system has been barely used.

BTW... I just read an opinion column that mentions the following: "Michael Vick gets in trouble for dog fighting, and rightfully so... Yet, at the core, Pokemon is the same thing! Collect an animal, raise it, fight with it. Maybe Vick should've bought a DS with Pokemon instead!"
...Amusing.

BPM @ Sep 6th 2007 12:16PM

@Paul P.:
The box we've been seeing (which has not been confirmed to be official or final) does not mean a thing. I've seen versions of final/near-final boxes for DS games known to have WFC support, but have lacked the WFC icon. Such as Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and MegaMan Star Force.

Paul P. @ Sep 6th 2007 10:07AM

Re: Friend codes

I'm pretty sure Nintendo is abandoning them. I believe Strikers will be the last game to use friend codes as they exist. I don't believe Madden uses Nintendo's friend codes, for instance. And take a look at Metroid Prime 3. No friend codes, instead you can just immediately contact anyone from your address book with game save data. I think that's the direction Nintendo is going to go, the ability to add anyone from your address book. I guess we'll have to wait til their next online game (BWii) to see.

BPM @ Sep 6th 2007 12:07PM

Metroid Prime 3 doesn't use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (which is an active connection), it uses WiiConnect24 (which is a passive connection). EA's games use their own service, and NOT Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

ThornedVenom @ Sep 6th 2007 1:11PM

@ BPM: At this rate, all third parties are going to have their own online systems. EVENTUALLY Nintendo will have to follow.

Xbox Live lives because of its great use of centralization (gamer profiles, etc)... Nintendo is just using the online gaming component just for connecting with others and playing the game. So EVENTUALLY, Nintendo has to live up with the standards or third-parties are gonna steal its spotlight.

WiNG @ Sep 6th 2007 10:10AM

Are there 16 distinct Mario Nintendo characters to use for the race?

Also just for the record, Mario Strikers online is awesome, but I suck at it.

Paul P. @ Sep 6th 2007 10:16AM

Mario, Wario, Luigi, Toad, Yoshi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Baby Mario, Baby Bowser, Baby Luigi, Petey Pirhana, Waluigi, Dry Bones, Diddy Kong, Hammer Brother, Koopa, Boo, Birdo, Shy Guy.

And these are just characters from Mario Sports games. Trust me, that well runs DEEP.

Slaziman @ Sep 6th 2007 10:49AM

Daisy, Toadette

Slaziman @ Sep 6th 2007 10:49AM

Daisy, Toadette

Sean @ Sep 6th 2007 10:25AM

The Mario Kart arcade game rules.

Rubang B @ Sep 6th 2007 11:03AM

What a horrible boner teaser.

HaleysComet @ Sep 6th 2007 11:52AM

Yeah this article is pointless now...

As for Smash Bros its not truly confirmed....from what I've heard.

Plus you'd think Nintendo would have said something OFFICIAL on the SmashBros website but so far theres NOTHING.

I truly want it to be Online and I feel like it will be. But even if it is online I have serious doubts as to HOW GOOD it will be.

Basically Smash will either make or break Wii Online. Surely Nintendo knows how much is riding on that one game and if they don't deliver a near flawless Online component I'm gonna be pretty disappointed in them. Besides being bad (which I'm sure a lot of others will be too).

That and the fact that the sony fanboys will scream and yell in delight once its confirmed to have horrible online.

BPM @ Sep 6th 2007 12:12PM

No, I don't think they'd say something about online by now. They're quite random with what information they reveal on the Dojo. They could make it official tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or even the day before the game is released.

Besides, they confirmed ever since the project was announced it'd be online. Since that was, after all, the point of making another Smash Bros.

Do I expect them to have a perfect online service for Smash Bros? I'd love it, but I'm not too optimistic. Online seems to be really tricky to pull off right for fighting games. So, we'll just have to wait and see how good Brawl online is.

Almack64 @ Sep 6th 2007 3:36PM

I have a feeling that if Brawl is online at all they won't announce it until very close to launch right around the day they announce other non-Nintendo characters within the game.

Whether or not we get sonic is still a question but I highly doubt that Snake is the ONLY non-Nintendo character in the game. With all the hype connected to the idea of other characters in the game I'm sure that have been able to get the license for at least one other character.

Mr Khan @ Sep 6th 2007 4:33PM

As for this game, i believe if you look at the videos shown at E3, you can see 12 characters on-screen, and i would bet that would be the standard. Remember also that the Wii has A LOT more bandwidth than the DS, so the kind of problems that match-searching had may not exist (Strikers Charged certainly ran fast enough, but that was 1 opponent)

As for Brawl, Nintendo dropped a bunch of hints in the kind of overbearing "wink-wink-nudge-nudge" kind of way that a Brawl-specific press event would be held at some point between now and December 3rd, that is when (if they include either) they would announce Sonic and Online play

Adv2k1 @ Sep 6th 2007 12:00PM

damn you people are negative nancys. You people disgust me, enjoy what you got not hate what you don't got.
OnimushaSoki why haven't you played Prime 3? What about Resident Evil 4? What about Scareface, Godfather? Plenty of quality games out for the system. If you don't have good taste its not Nintendos fault.
If that Medal of Honor can have 32 online than this can easily have half that. So just because "online for Nintendo has been week" that doesn't mean it will FOREVER SUCK? Are you guys retarded, stupid or what? Things improve with time, and if Nintendo thinks its profitable it will go to the extra mile. Nintendo knew single player for Metroid Prime Hunters was bad, so they invested allot into online, it has the best online mode on DS. Smash will have online, will have sonic and will be the best game of the year, you guys have little faith in Nintendo. Just because casuals are attracted to Wii doesn't mean they want to alienate Hardcore. The hardcore want to alienate and self hate. The hardcore will NEVER ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE HAPPY, its part of being HARDCORE. If your hardcore you can't be 100% happy, its just not possible, so Nintendo is frustrated in trying that so they are going after casuals as well. Look at Twilight Princess they took years to make it, why?
WHY DID THEY MAKE TWILIGHT PRINCESS?
WHY
WHY
WHY
WHY?

TO MAKE THE FANS HAPPY!!!! Metroid Prime games sell horribly in Japan, and they sell respectably elsewhere, other developers wouldn't make a 3 after how Echoes preformed, yet they did. WHY DID THEY MAKE METROID PRIME 3? Because they had fans for it.

And what did they get for that fan service? Less than awesome sales for Zelda, and many people still complaining how it wasn't great and people not buying Metroid Prime 3 but renting it. Well casuals don't rent games they buy them, all those idiots who use gamefly religiously are only hurting Nintendo.

Nintendo has no reason to support hardcore base. They constantly attack them, they constantly say nothing is good enough, and they buy product but not constantly.
As fans of the company most of you are ungrateful little jerks for what Nintendo has done, no wonder they are making casual games. Casual gamers can love Nintendo, not attack them for everything.

some of you guys make me sick, your just sad sad people and I'm ashamed to call you my brothern as Nintendo fanboy. /End Rant

NintendoFanbot @ Sep 6th 2007 2:04PM

"Hardcore" gamers like buying things to say that they regret buying them later. Being hardcore means having to know what gamers other than themselves should and shouldn't prefer.

A fool and his money are easily parted, as they say.

RomanticGamer @ Sep 6th 2007 12:13PM

How the fuck can people still be playing the same kiddie-racing game all these years later? What, did they add a new color of turtle shell to throw at other drivers this time?

But, hey, you get to use a Wii-mote this time, so it's like an all-new thing, right?

Fighting games fell out of style, FPS's have been tired for a while, why the fuck can Nintendo not start doing something than shoehorning Mario into lame games that have not evolved in 15 years.

Oh, that's right: Idiots keep buying it, and worse, they actually sound enthusiastic to actually be spoon-fed tired, 15-year old pablum.

Eat up, dipshits.

HaleysComet @ Sep 6th 2007 12:34PM

Aww look you guys...a sony troll.

Get a freaking life. And yes I hope it BURNS you just how much I enjoy Mario Kart and how I'm looking forward to both this and the next Mario Party!

ThornedVenom @ Sep 6th 2007 1:08PM

I object to the "fighting games out of style" statement! It's mainly due to the few good offers out there.

Because when a good fighting game comes out, I swear that it easily becomes the most played game for a loooong while. (In my experience, I'm talking about Tekken, Soul Calibur, Super Mario Smash Bros, KwonHo...)

samfish @ Sep 6th 2007 2:21PM

Damn – you must have HORRIBLE taste in games, man...

Oreo @ Sep 6th 2007 12:49PM

I hope they do it like Mario Kart for the GBA. It had 16 new maps, and the 16 maps from the SNES game.

Stunts sound bad, why change soemthing that isn't broken? Hasn't Nintendo learned that from Mario Sunshine and Mario Kart: DD!!?

I think they should copy some of the levels from the arcade versions (I think there are two now) because they looked good and few have played it anyways.