Editing List of Mario Kart 8 pre-release and unused content

{{italic title|List of ''Mario Kart 8'' pre-release and unused content}}

This is a list of pre-release and unused content for the game ''[[Mario Kart 8]]''.
==Early ideas==
One of the ideas suggested early in development was having a drill that attached to the players' karts to allow them to tunnel through the ground, but the idea was scrapped since the team did not think it was interesting enough.<ref>King, Ashley (June 18, 2013). [http://nintendotoday.com/mario-kart-8-anti-gravity-feature/ Scrapped ideas led to the anti-gravity idea in Mario Kart 8]. Nintendo Today. Retrieved May 13, 2015.</ref>

==Early builds==
===E3 2013===
[[Twisted Mansion]] was originally called Boo House. Kart noises in the E3 build are recycled from ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'' while in the final version they are replaced by new engine noises. The course intro music in the E3 build was from ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'', while the results and menu music was from ''Mario Kart Wii'', much like the E3 2011 demo for ''Mario Kart 7''. Character voices are recycled from previous games in the E3 build and newer builds provide newer voices. Players are unable to slipstream in the E3 demo. Characters did not hold items in their hands in the E3 demo. [[Donkey Kong]]'s [[Standard Bike]] color was brown, but is yellow in the final version. The [[Galaxy Air]] advertisement in [[Toad Harbor]] at the starting line was replaced by a Flower Cup logo and the cloth used a different texture while music had a different banjo. In early builds, the buttons "a" and "b" were replaced by upper case versions. Thwomp Ruins in the E3 trailer lacked flowers, the start/finish line where it was in the final version, the [[anti-gravity]] section before it was a normal section and the section with four torches was replaced with a trick section (ramps). The [[Goomba Tower]]s found in [[Mario Circuit (Mario Kart 8)|Mario Circuit]] were both taller and harder to avoid unlike the final build of the game. In the trailer from E3 2013, multiple Piranha Plants can be seen at the same time. The artwork of the items in the roulette were recycled from ''Mario Kart 7'' and ''Mario Kart Wii'' unlike the new upgraded ones in the final build. There were also no [[Pokey]]s in {{classic-link|GCN|Dry Dry Desert}}.

Triple Bananas originally were in a line of three and obtainable in 1st place like in ''Mario Kart Wii'' and ''Mario Kart 7'' instead of circling around the kart and obtainable in either 2nd to 4th place. The same applies to Triple Mushrooms in that they also didn't circle the kart. If the players played as a character with facial hair in the E3 demo, their mustaches would not blow in the wind, unlike the final game. Players were also able to grab a second item while dragging one behind the kart in the demo, which cannot be done in the final game. The sound the item roulette makes is different in the E3 demo whenever it's going through the items.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc3g3OztVV0&t=1m</ref> The sound when the player collects a coin is also different in the demo and also the gravity sound when a player goes through the anti-gravity pad to switch to anti-gravity mode is different.

In the E3 demo, some (if not, most) of the items were missing or either unobtainable due to it being only a demo and added to the final game; some notable examples of the missing/unobtainable items were the [[Bullet Bill]], the [[Spiny Shell (blue)|Spiny Shell]], the [[Super Star]], and [[Lightning]]. The HUD also looked different in the demo, having solid numbers instead of the digital ones in the final game; the same also applies to the countdown timer. The kart customization was also absent from the demo; players would instead choose a character and race with a kart or bike pre-made for that character. Also, the players make two laps per race instead of the three in most courses, likely done for time. 

The vast majority of the courses shown before release were left mostly unchanged between their initial unveiling and the final version, and most of the differences are only subtle details that generally do not affect the gameplay, one example of these changes can be seen with the design of the [[List of sponsors in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe#Toad Toy Store|Toad Toy Store]], in the E3 build the windows were much larger and had a checkerboard design in their layout, in the final build they are much smaller and aligned in rows, and the wall surrounding them is painted green rather than pink or cyan like the rest of the building.

Lots of music was changed between the trailers and final release. This is likely because the music had not yet been orchestrated at the point in time when the trailers were released. All of the music in the E3 build had slightly different instrumentation, and the trailers released at the time, in December 2013 and February 2014, are all different from the final game in a similar manner, though the changes are more subtle when comparing the final game to the more recent trailers. The earlier music used for [[Mario Circuit (Mario Kart 8)|Mario Circuit]] can be heard in the E3 trailer. <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA6CAgv6p6g</ref>

Originally, the minimaps on the {{button|wiiu|gamepad}} were very similar to ''Mario Kart 7'' ones; dark checkered gray background with a white colored course. In the final release, the minimaps have a checkered white background with a light blue colored course (rainbow colored for all three [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 8)|Rainbow]] [[N64 Rainbow Road|Road]] [[SNES Rainbow Road|courses]] that appear in this game).<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc3g3OztVV0&t=57s</ref> Incidentally, white colored maps would be used for all tracks (including the Rainbow Roads) in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''.
<gallery widths=155px>
Logo EN - Mario Kart 8.png|The original logo, which bears similarities to the final version.
MK8 Prerelease Toad Toy Store Screenshot.png|The earlier design of the Toad Toy Store, note the much larger windows and its checkerboard design.
WiiU MarioKart8 scrn15 E3.png|Another screenshot showing the early design of the Toad Toy Store.
WiiU MarioKart8 scrn13 E3.png|The E3 2013 press screenshot version of [[Thwomp Ruins]], note the finish line and flowers are absent in this version.
WiiU MarioKart8 scrn17 E3.png|E3 2013 press screenshot version of {{classic-link|3DS|Piranha Plant Slide}}.
E32013 MK8 Character Select.png|The character selection screen of E3 2013, note that it has twelve characters instead of thirty-six in the final version.
MK8 Prerelease Countdown.jpg|The HUD in E3 2013, note the lap counter shows two laps instead of three and the numbers on the countdown timer is solid instead of the ''Super Mario 3D World'' design in the final version.
</gallery>

===December 2013 trailer===
The start/finish line for Thwomp Ruins was originally at the first tunnel entrance.

===Downloadable content===
[[File:MK8 Prerelease Animal Crossing Intro.jpg|thumb|The original appearance of [[Animal Crossing]].]]
The second downloadable content pack was originally named "''Animal Crossing: New Leaf × Mario Kart 8''" before being changed to the more general [[Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8|''Animal Crossing'' × ''Mario Kart 8'']]; this was also reflected in the [[Animal Crossing]] course, which featured the ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'' logo in the original screenshot before being changed to the more general ''Animal Crossing'' series logo. The [[nookipedia:Able Sisters|Able Sisters]] store appears on the released track, but in the original version the sisters themselves are not outside. In addition, the store is not barred off.

Track-wise, what seems to be [[3DS Shy Guy Bazaar|Shy Guy Bazaar]] was originally supposed to appear as a DLC track, but was replaced with either [[GBA Ribbon Road|Ribbon Road]], [[GBA Cheese Land|Cheese Land]] or [[3DS Neo Bowser City|Neo Bowser City]], as shown by its code name in the files.<ref>[https://tcrf.net/Mario_Kart_8#Shy_Guy_Bazaar The Cutting Room Floor]. Retrieved February 17th, 2023.</ref>

[[Wild Woods]] lacked the Item Boxes at the beginning of the course that are present in its final build.
{{br}}

==Unused data==
===Speedometer===
Among the layout images of the game an unused speedometer was found, its layout indicates that it was meant to be a digital and analog speedometer at once, with a decimal separator in the digital part. Another layout file in the same archive, ''cm_L_LoadIcon_00'', is apparently meant to show said speedometer, as its elements named ''P_LoadIconMeterL_00'' and ''P_LoadIconMeterR_00'' match the size of the speedometer, while ''P_LoadIconMeterNum_00'', ''P_LoadIconMeterNum_01'' and ''P_LoadIconMeterNum_02'' match the size of the digits, further confirming that it should display three digits as the layout image shows, however its name might indicate that it was intended as a loading screen indicator to show how much of the game was loaded. ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' effectively uses an animated analog speedometer to indicate that the game is loading data.
<gallery widths=100px heights=100px>
MK8 Speedometer.png|The unused speedometer.
</gallery>

===Unused tracks===
Five unused racetracks have been found within the game:
*'''Gu_Menu''': This track loads when requesting a course with an ID value of "0". It is used in the main menu, in particular the character select screen and the vehicle customization screen. The track does not clean the screen in between render frames; meaning that anything that is on the screen persists until it is overwritten. As a track, it is just a square of solidity in midair. The player can fall off, and they are respawned instantly, without [[Lakitu (Mario Kart referee)|Lakitu]]. There are no checkpoints, item boxes, or route data, and there is no minimap. There is also no music, and its preview icon is only a white square. If the player does a VS Race with this track, the CPUs will do nothing, the player cannot see anything but the time, their position, the number of coins they have collected, and the number of laps and occasionally they will see random bits of the CPUs or their character. MKTV highlights of this track are possible, and they work fine, though everytime the highlight is viewed, the background will change, usually broken parts of characters and a gray mess. The only way to complete it to get a highlight, though, is to wait until the timer reaches 9:59.999, in which the race will automatically end.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170122/www.youtube.com/watch?v=unfIqcsGd2M</ref>
*'''Test''': This unused track is found above Gu_Menu. It is a copy of Mario Circuit from the Flower Cup, but without music. Additionally, the orange arrow signs are not animated. According to interviews, Mario Circuit was the first track designed for this game, so this is very likely intended for testing. It works the same in Battle Mode as well.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOe1si7Cq4w</ref>
*'''ReservedXX''': Unused tracks that are found above Test and below the regular tracks, where "XX" is a number, starting at "01", going upwards. They crash the game when loaded.
*'''UnderConstructionXX''': Tracks that feature ID values above those of the regular tracks. It is similar to ReservedXX, where the "XX" is a number, starting at "01". They also crash when loaded.
*'''test_WifiTest1''': An unused track that has a very simplistic design, and as its name implies, was most likely used for testing the WiFi capabilities of the game. This track can be found only in the kiosk demo version of the game.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o4UelTS_uQ</ref>
**The track is also 2 laps long and is the only track in the game to have that function. As a result, an unused 2/2 Lakitu sign is used when having reached the final lap.

===Unused graphics===
Pink and green colored Toads can be found in the game's files. These were meant to be seen with the others in Rainbow Road. Various unused objects can be also found, which include a tree and a fruit basket that is not referenced anywhere.

Four unused cup icons have also be found within the game, which show a [[Yoshi Egg]], [[Shine Sprite]], [[Boo]], and [[Spiny Shell (blue)|Spiny Shell]]. These icons use the same borders as the in-game icons, but sit in a plain background without any decorations. An updated version of the Yoshi Egg icon is used for [[The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8|''The Legend of Zelda'' × ''Mario Kart 8'']] add-on pack as the logo for the [[Egg Cup]].<ref>[http://mk8.tockdom.com/wiki/Mario_Kart_8/Beta_Elements]</ref> These unused cup icons possibly imply that DLC would be more oriented towards the ''Super Mario'' franchise, and not crossover with other series. An updated Spiny Shell icon is used for the [[Spiny Cup]] in the ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass|Booster Course Pass]]'' DLC expansion pack for ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'', though it is reflected horizontally.

Unused body part icons have been found. A prototype [[Pipe Frame]] body is seen with two exhaust pipes rather than one in the final build, more similar to the ''Mario Kart 64'' build of Pipe Frames. A prototype vehicle which looks similar to an early build of the Prancer is seen. Icons of the Standard Kart and gliders, plus the Egg 1 from ''Mario Kart 7'' are found, most likely place-holder icons.

An emblem for [[Kamek]] can be found, hinting he had been possibly planned for inclusion as a playable character. His emblem depicts a side profile of his hat and glasses. This emblem would later be used for his appearances in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' and the ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'' - Booster Course Pass.
====Gallery====
<gallery>
PipeFramePrototypeMK8.png|The unused Pipe Frame design
MK8 Unused Magikoopa Emblem.png|An unused [[Kamek]] emblem
MK8 Unused DLC Icons.PNG|The unused DLC cup icons
MK8UnusedWifiTestModel.png|The unused "WifiTest" track
MK8UnusedWifiTestTrack.png|[[Yoshi]] preparing to race on the unused "WifiTest" track
MK8 Unused Fruit Basket Model.png|The unused fruit basket's model
MK8 Unused 64 Tree Model.png|The unused tree's model
</gallery>

==References==
<references/>

{{Pre-release and unused content}}
[[Category:Mario Kart 8|*]]
[[Category:Pre-release and unused content|Mario Kart 8]]
[[de:Mario Kart 8/Beta-Elemente]]