Mario Kart 7 is a
racing game developed by
Nintendo EAD and
Retro Studios for the
Nintendo 3DS. It is the seventh console installment in the
Mario Kart series (hence the game's title), and the second (the first being
Super Mario 3D Land) installment in the
Super Mario franchise overall (excluding crossover installments) to be localized in Dutch, European Portuguese, and Russian. Additionally, it is the first
Mario Kart game to be developed by more than one video game developer, namely Nintendo EAD and Retro Studios, and the second
Mario Kart to have a different video game developer (not including the
Mario Kart Arcade GP series), the first being
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (though, unlike that game, Nintendo EAD is still included in this one). The main new feature of this installment is the
hang gliding and
underwater driving, which allows racers to glide through the air and race in underwater sections of the new and old tracks.
Kart customization is also introduced instead of racing in pre-made karts like the previous titles. In the game, players can exchange
Ghost data and play online in multiplayer mode. Players can also receive Ghost data via
SpotPass and race against other player's Ghosts from around the world. Nintendo stated that the game brings "a bunch of new elements" to the
Mario Kart series.
