Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 is an upcoming Mario Kart game for the Wii U, confirmed to be released in May 2014. The game is the eighth installment in the mainstream series, and eleventh overall in the Mario Kart series. Anti-gravity, a new feature for the Mario Kart series, has been confirmed. Bikes, gliders, and underwater driving are also confirmed to return.

Gameplay
The gameplay maintains the traditional elements as most Mario Kart games. The main karts use a design similar to the one from Mario Kart 7, with gliders and underwater racing returning. Bikes, which were introduced in Mario Kart Wii, make a return, but lose the ability to perform wheelies, now being only an aesthetic feature when the player boosts. The game introduces anti-gravity tracks that allow the players to race on vertical and upside-down roads. These tracks are also more narrow when compared to previous Mario Kart tracks, specifically those from Mario Kart Wii. When in anti-gravity, if a racer bumps into another racer the kart spins rather than just bumping and the racers receive a speed boost. Coins, introduced in Super Mario Kart and returning in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart 7, also return for this game, and like Mario Kart 7 the player can only collect up to ten coins at one time. Also, like Mario Kart Wii, twelve racers are present in normal races. For the fourth time in the series, courses from previous Mario Kart games will be included, and both the game's anti-gravity mechanic, as well as Mario Kart 7 's "air, land & sea" mechanic will be incorporated into these retro courses, much like the retro courses in Mario Kart 7. An aesthetic change includes the kart headlights turning on in a dark area. It has been confirmed that there will be Miiverse integration, which will allow players to share their replay videos and comment on others' videos. In another interview with the developers, it was revealed that customization from Mario Kart 7 was returning with more customization options. Another change is that in 2-player mode, the screen will split down the middle vertically instead of the horizontal split used in the other console Mario Kart games, a feature that was originally intended to be in Mario Kart 64 but was removed from the final game.

Other

 * Fishin' Lakitu
 * Koopa Paratroopas
 * Yoshis
 * Toads
 * Piantas
 * Nokis
 * Shy Guys
 * Fly Guys
 * Dolphins
 * Gingerbread Cookies
 * Piranha Plants
 * Super Piranha Plant
 * Goombas/Goomba Towers
 * Boos
 * Fishbones
 * Fire Snakes
 * Tiki Goons
 * Thwomps
 * Bone Piranha Plants
 * Cheep Cheeps
 * Mecha Cheeps

Karts

 * Standard*
 * A blue and yellow body that slightly resembles a jet
 * An ATV-styled body*
 * A body modeled after a Para-Biddybud*
 * A body that slightly resembles the Flame Flyer or the Wild Wing*
 * A green body that resembles the Classic Dragster
 * A body that resembles the Sprinter
 * A body modeled after Bowser's Airship
 * A pink cat body
 * A Wiggler body
 * A purple and yellow body shaped like a shoe

Bikes

 * Standard*
 * A bike body that resembles the Bolt Buggy
 * An orange body that slightly resembles the Mach Bike
 * A yellow and blue scooter-like body
 * A body that is similar to the Zip Zip
 * A body similar in build to the Wario Bike
 * A body shaped like a rocket

Wheels

 * Standard
 * Monster
 * Slim
 * Roller
 * Wood
 * Sponge
 * Red Monster
 * Slick
 * Small red wheels

Gliders

 * Super*

*Changes color, depending on character

Courses
So far, 19 tracks have been confirmed, consisting of 12 new tracks and 7 retro tracks, featuring one track from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, one from  Mario Kart: Double Dash, one from Mario Kart DS, one from  Mario Kart Wii and three from Mario Kart 7. As the retro tracks from the 3DS installment, the retro tracks in this game will feature altered sections that incorporate the game's hang-glider, underwater and anti-gravity features.

Nitro courses

 * Mario Circuit, a course shaped after a Möbius strip which is a chain of floating islands where Princess Peach's Castle is located
 * Sunshine Airport, a course in the Star Cup set on the runaways and terminals of an airport
 * A dessert themed course, decorated with references to Princess Daisy and Princess Peach
 * A ruins course filled with Thwomps
 * A town by the seaside, with some similarities to the city of San Francisco
 * A haunted mansion course with an underwater chamber and a dark garden
 * A canyon filled with giant bones and ships
 * A sky course with beanstalks and airships similar to Sky Garden and Airship Fortress
 * A water park course with a roller-coaster and a Ferris wheel, as well as a museum
 * A city or nightclub course with neon lights and digital billboards
 * A canyon course with several waterfalls and Shy Guys mining crystals
 * An ocean course featuring Dolphins and Dolphin-shaped rock formations

Retro courses

 * GBA Mario Circuit
 * GCN Dry Dry Desert
 * DS Tick-Tock Clock
 * Wii Grumble Volcano
 * 3DS Music Park
 * 3DS Piranha Plant Slide
 * 3DS DK Jungle

Development
Development for Mario Kart 8 started in 2012. Some ideas that were scrapped in Mario Kart 8 included a drill that made drivers drive into subterranean depths. The idea was scrapped because the developers thought it was not as interesting as the anti-gravity idea. The anti-gravity concept stemmed from the Wii U being a powerful console, and with the upgraded hardware, the developers wanted to make courses with a 3D plane in mind rather than the 2D plane as the other tracks in the Mario Kart series.

The title, Mario Kart 8, is chosen to represent the anti-gravity mechanic as the "8" used in the official logo resembles the Möbius strip from Mario Circuit.

References to other games

 * Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally: The Mario's Motors logo is seen at the starting line of Mario Circuit.
 * Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Mario Circuit returns as a retro course.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: Sunshine Airport has a Shine Sprite in its logo.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Like in this game, characters hold items in their hands. Dry Dry Desert returns as a retro course.
 * Mario Kart DS: Tick-Tock Clock returns as a retro course.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: An image of a Luma can be seen on an airplane (from Galaxy Air airlines) in Sunshine Airport. Also, part of the cloud-themed track's music is a cover of Gusty Garden Galaxy's music and Sky Station Galaxy's music.
 * Mario Kart Wii: Twelve player races and motorbikes return, Grumble Volcano returns as a retro course.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: One of the planes in Sunshine Airport has a logo for Propeller Toad Transport with an insignia of a Propeller Mushroom. The Red Case first featured on the game's box art will return as a North American exclusive
 * Super Mario 3D Land: Goomba Towers appear as obstacles in Mario Circuit.
 * Mario Kart 7: Gliders and underwater areas return. Music Park, Piranha Plant Slide, and DK Jungle return as retro courses.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: The haunted house course's entrance has a statue of a Boohemoth above it, an enemy from this game. Bone Piranha Plants also make an appearance.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U: The Mecha Cheep returns in this game.