Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 is an upcoming Mario Kart game for the Wii U, confirmed to be released in Spring 2014. The game is the eighth installment in the mainstream series, and eleventh overall in the Mario Kart series. Anti-gravity, a new gimmick 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 similar design from Mario Kart 7, with gliders and underwater racing returning from this game. Bikes, which are introduced in Mario Kart Wii make a return as well, and can only do wheelies if they boost via a mushroom or a boost pad. 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. 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. An aesthetic changes 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 an interview, the producer of the game, Hideki Konno, has stated that a Mario Kart: Double Dash!!-style mode is under consideration. In another interview with the developers, it was revealed that customization from Mario Kart 7 was returning with more customization options. Also, in 2-player mode, the screen will split down the middle vertically instead of the horizontal split used in Mario Kart Wii.

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Peach
 * Yoshi
 * Bowser
 * Donkey Kong
 * Toad
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Princess Daisy
 * Toadette
 * Wario
 * Waluigi

Other

 * Super Piranha Plant
 * Goombas/Goomba Towers
 * Fishbones
 * Boos
 * Fishin' Lakitu

Items

 * Item Boxes
 * Coins
 * Banana
 * Triple Bananas
 * Fire Flower
 * Green Shell
 * Triple Green Shells
 * Red Shell
 * Triple Red Shells
 * Spiny Shell
 * Mushroom
 * Triple Mushrooms
 * Golden Mushroom
 * Star
 * Thunderbolt
 * Blooper
 * Bob-omb

Bodies

 * Standard
 * A blue and yellow body that slightly resembles a jet.

Wheels

 * Standard
 * Monster
 * Wheels that resemble the Slim wheels
 * Smaller wheels similar to the Roller wheels

Gliders

 * Super

Nitro Courses

 * Mario Circuit, which are floating islands where Princess Peach's Castle is, and also the main course shown in the E3 2013 trailer.
 * A course made of candy and desserts.
 * A ruins course.
 * A residential course with similarities to the city of San Francisco, California, United States of America.
 * A haunted mansion course with an underwater chamber.

Retro Courses

 * GCN Dry Dry Desert
 * 3DS Music Park
 * 3DS Piranha Plant Slide

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" resembles the Möbius strip from Mario Circuit.

References to other titles

 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Dry Dry Desert returns.
 * Mario Kart Wii: Twelve-player races, bikes, and tricks return.
 * Mario Kart 7: Gliders and underwater areas return. Music Park and Piranha Plant Slide return as retro courses.