Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii is a multiplayer-oriented racing game from the Mario Kart series for the Wii, developed by Nintendo EAD. Mario Kart Wii retains the traditional premise of the franchise, with players selecting Super Mario franchise characters to use as drivers alongside themed vehicles. As with most racing games, the overarching goal is to place first among other competitors, achieved through the usage of item-based weaponry common to the series and taking the fastest routes to secure the lead. Several new key elements introduced to Mario Kart Wii include increasing the number of racers to 12 racers from 8 racers from previous entries in the series, as well as introducing a new type of vehicle to the franchise: bikes. The game takes advantage of features unique to the Wii, most notably its motion control capabilities. A Wii Wheel is included in most Mario Kart Wii packages, though the game is still compatible with other controllers such as a regular Wii Remote held sideways, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Nintendo GameCube controller, and the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro. Additional game modes are also present such as the traditional Grand Prix, Versus, Battle, and Time Trial modes.

This game requires 23 blocks of storage on the player's Wii system to save game data. Also, the game data cannot be copied onto another Wii. This makes it the only game in the Mario Kart series where data cannot be transferred between consoles. The game also includes its own Wii Channel, called the Mario Kart Channel, which allows players to play in special tournaments and trade their racing profile with other players around the world. This channel uses 74 to 88 blocks (depending on the game's region), but unlike the game data, players can copy the channel onto their SD cards.

With over 37 million copies of the game sold, Mario Kart Wii is the second best-selling Wii game (after ) and the best-selling Mario game for the Wii console.

The game supported Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for online multiplayer play until it was terminated by Nintendo on May 20th, 2014.

Gameplay


Mario Kart Wii retains most of the elements from previous Mario Kart games, especially Mario Kart DS. Players select a racer from a cast of Mario characters, who are all divided into size categories in relation to their stats, and they need to select a vehicle from the class they belong in, all with their own stats. All races start with players at a line corresponding to their proper position, where Lakitu signals the countdown time. Once the time is finished, players race three laps around a race course in an attempt to be first of the pack. Once the third lap is completed, players are ranked points depending on how well they placed in the race. While every previous Mario Kart game allowed for a maximum of eight racers on each course, up to twelve are on the course at a time in Mario Kart Wii. In Grand Prix and VS mode, player characters always start out on the latter positions; once they finish the race, their position is saved as they move on to the next race. Like Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii shows a rating of how well a player performed after the trophy presentation: ★★★, ★★, ★, A, B, C, D, and E (E being the lowest ranking and ★★★ being the highest).

Integral to the Mario Kart series is the usage of Mario-themed items to use as weapons against other racers in the track, either directly benefiting the player or hurting another player's progress. Players can receive these items at random from Item Boxes scattered around the track. The quality of the item received depends on the position of the racer: racers who are further down the line receive stronger items to help compensate their poorer performances. For examples, lower racers receive Mushrooms as speed boosts, Stars for faster invincibility, etc. while higher-placed racers receive weak items such as Green Shells and Banana Peels. When players receive an item, they can stop the item roulette faster by pressing the corresponding item button.

Several advanced techniques are retained in Mario Kart Wii from prior Mario Kart titles, although several tweaks have been made to them. Players can drift through tougher curves to maintain speed; players can perform a Mini-Turbo when players receive color-coded sparks from drifting, which depends on how long players can hold the button for drifting and the angle at which they drift. Introduced in Mario Kart Wii are two drift modes: Automatic and Manual. Automatic drifting allows players to automatically drift when turning very sharply, though players cannot perform Mini-Turbos regardless of how well they drift. Manual mode requires players hold down a button to drift, but releasing the button may release a Mini-Turbo, the strength of it depending on the color of the sparks. Players are now able to perform tricks when they driver over specific types of ramps. When drivers perform a trick and land successfully, they gain a momentary boost of speed. Tricks consist of mid-air acrobatics and are performed by shaking the Wii Wheel upward, shaking the Wii Remote in the Wii Remote + Nunchuk combo, pressing the on the Classic Controller, or pressing the  on the GameCube controller.

Motorbikes are introduced in this game, alongside having a wider variety of karts to select from. Motorbikes can perform wheelies to increase top speed on straights, though motorbikes cannot perform the most powerful Mini-Turbo that karts can. Motorbikes also come in two classes: drift type and hang-on type. Drift type bikes drift in a similar way to karts, while hang-on type bikes commit to the turn instead.

Prior to discontinuation of online services, Mario Kart Wii featured a text chat in Online Multiplayer Mode when racing or battling against Friends. Users can send pre-written phrases to other users before the series of races starts. However, there is no facility for a user to type custom messages.

Another new change is the point system used for Grand Prix races. With twelve racers competing in each race, the point value has increased from 10/8/6/4/3/2/1/0 points for first to eighth place respectively to 15/12/10/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1/0 points for first to twelfth place respectively. Also, 4th and 5th place are not losing positions. The following chart shows the difference of the point spreads from previous games to this installment.

Controls
Mario Kart Wii takes advantage of the Wii Remote's motion-sensing ability. By tilting the remote, players can steer their karts. Since the Wii Remote is designed to be inserted into the Wii Wheel for better grip, players can also play without the Wheel if they choose to. Mario Kart Wii can also be played by connecting the Nunchuk Controller or the Classic Controller, or using the GameCube Controller. Controlling the vehicle is divided up into two sections: Basic and Advanced.

Basic controls and actions

 * Accelerate: When drivers hold down the corresponding button, the vehicle goes forward. Accelerating time depends on the type of karts: Lightweight karts have a high acceleration but low speed. Heavyweight karts tend to have a low acceleration but a high top speed. Middleweight karts tend to have an average top speed and acceleration.
 * Steer: Steering lets drivers move around corners.
 * Brake: Braking slows the vehicle to an abrupt stop.
 * Reverse: The driver's kart goes backwards if the driver continues holding the brake button after the vehicle comes to a stop. If a vehicle reaches maximum top speed, the vehicle will drift instead. If the player tries to accelerate while going in reverse, the vehicle will start to build momentum. When blue sparks start to appear, the player can release the brakes to get a small speed of boost.
 * Look Behind: Drivers can look behind their vehicles. In this way, drivers can be alert from other drivers incoming to steal their place. Drivers can also use this feature to see where they are going while backing up, or to aim a weapon at an opponent following up. This feature once appeared in Super Mario Kart.
 * Drift: Drivers drift to keep the vehicle's speed and take corners more easily, with the benefit of getting Mini-Turbos. The feature can be set to happen automatically or when a button is held, although Mini-Turbos cannot be obtained on the former setting.

Advanced control modes

 * Rocket Start: Drivers can perform a speed boost when a race begins. If drivers hold down the corresponding acceleration button right after the countdown timer displays the number 2, then they will receive an extra speed boost when the word "GO!" appears on the screen. However, if drivers hold down the button for too long, when the final beep is heard, their engine bursts and they get an even worse start than a regular one and take a few seconds to recover.
 * Mini-Turbo: When drivers drift for a reasonable amount of time varying on the vehicle used, blue sparks erupt from the vehicle's rear tires. Releasing the drift button gives them a short burst of speed. In a kart, drivers can keep drifting for longer periods to get orange sparks and a longer boost. However, orange sparks cannot be created on bikes. The amount of time the player must drift also depends on the vehicle's drifting stats. Drivers can also perform a "standing Mini-Turbo" by holding the brake/drift and acceleration buttons at the same time. This is helpful for vehicles with slow acceleration, as it will get the vehicle to top speed. A Mini-Turbo cannot be performed when drifting is set to automatic, but the standing Mini-Turbo can.
 * Jumps: If players jump over ramps or mushrooms, the length of the jump can be controlled by (shorter jump) and  (longer jump).
 * Tricks: Drivers can pull off a trick when they jump in order to gain a momentary Mini-Turbo. Drivers can perform a trick by flicking the Wii Remote, pressing on the Classic Controller, or pressing  on the GameCube Controller in any direction when going off a ramp or hill. They obtain a speed boost when landing.
 * Wheelie: Wheelies can be performed only when drivers are riding bikes. Drivers can increase their speed by lifting up the fronts of their bikes. While drivers perform a wheelie, the bike cannot be easily steered. The wheelie can be ended by braking, hopping, waiting for the wheelie to end, or simply setting the Wii Wheel or Wii Remote back down or pressing . If drivers are bumped into while they are performing a wheelie, they lose most of their speed. If they wheelie again right as their wheelie runs out, they can get a chain wheelie.
 * Bullet Bill: If a driver is flying as a Bullet Bill, its route can be controlled a bit with and . The range may differ for every part of a track.

Game modes
Grand Prix Mode initially allows only Karts in 50cc and only Bikes in 100cc; if all the Grand Prix's are won in a single engine class, the other vehicle type will become available for it. Mirror Mode is unlocked by scoring first place on all 150cc Grand Prix.
 * Grand Prix (1 player) In this mode, the player races against eleven other CPU players to finish in first. There are eight cups to choose from, ranging from the most to the least difficult. Drivers earn points by placing within twelve positions (see chart above). A driver with the most points at the end of the four races wins the cup. The driver will be awarded a grade for their racing performance at the end of the cup.
 * Time Trial (1 player) Drivers race for the fastest time on a selected course. The fastest record is saved as a Ghost and can be raced against at a later time. Drivers can also race staff records, Regional Records/Champions, World Records/Champions (Wi-Fi must be used), and Friend Records (Friend must be registered and must send the Ghost for Ghost Races, and Wi-Fi also must be used.)
 * VS Race (1 to 4 players, up to 12 online) Drivers can race with their own custom settings, but it is otherwise relatively the same as Grand Prix, other than the fact that drivers can see the other racers' character's names. The driver may choose a Solo Race, where they try to win for themselves, or Team Race, where two teams, red and blue, try to win by gathering the most points and beating the other.
 * Battle (1 to 4 players, up to 12 online) Drivers team up in two teams of six in a battle for the most points within a 3 minute time limit. Items work only against the opposite team and have no effect on the team that uses them. Players can select only the Standard Kart or Bike, color-coded for the team they are on. There are two ways to battle:
 * Balloon Battle: All drivers get three balloons and must use the items to hit the opponents to pop their balloons and get one point for every hit. If drivers lose all their balloons, one point is deducted and remain out for a while to be brought back to the battle with three balloons once more. If the player uses a mushroom and bumps into a player on the other team with the boost they get a point and steal a balloon.
 * Coin Runners: The goal for drivers is to obtain more coins with their team than the other. In the top right corner of the screen, the score shows, which are the coins obtained altogether for each team. If drivers hit opponents, opponents drop their Coins. The number of Coins dropped depends on the item that hits the player and the number of coins that the player has already gathered.
 * Ghost Race (Mario Kart Channel, 1 player) A Time Trial race with Ghosts made by players around the world with relatively the same skill level to the actual player.
 * Tournament (also known as Competition) (Mario Kart Channel, 1 player) Drivers would compete in a timed competition with specific goals (see list below). This mode served as the replacement of Mission Mode from Mario Kart DS. New tournaments were posted twice a month. The tournaments were discontinued after the first tournament in May 2014 was over.

Other information

 * Additionally, in this game, both normal races and battles are playable online through the use of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC). This is the second game in the series to utilize the WFC, the third to support online connectivity, and the first to allow for online battles. Races and Battles will now cater up to 12 players via Wi-Fi connection.
 * Just like in Mario Kart DS, it is not possible to play Grand Prix with multiple players. Players can now only win cup trophies by playing alone.
 * In Battle Mode, the player can only play in teams. Also, the Spiny Shell makes its first appearance in Battle Mode. It chases the player of the opposite team with the most points. Also, Lightning is an item in Battle Mode. It shrinks the drivers of the opposite team and makes them lose their items, but does not take a balloon or drop coins.

Tournaments
Mario Kart Wii introduces a new mode for the Mario Kart series, entitled "Tournaments" (known as "Competitions" in the European version). Tournaments are somewhat similar to missions in Mario Kart DS. Tournaments are played on the Mario Kart Channel, as long as the Mario Kart Wii disc is in the Wii. Tournaments require an Internet connection and WiiConnect24 to be turned on before they can be played. After a while, a tournament is retired to make room for a new one. However, the rankings of older tournaments can still be viewed on the rankings table. The tournaments began in May 2008 and continued even after all WiiConnect24 services were discontinued on June 28, 2013. The tournament service itself was later discontinued on May 20, 2014, the date on which the Nintendo WFC servers shut down.

The varieties of tournaments include the following:
 * VS Race - A standard VS race; however, race courses were somewhat altered.
 * Time Trial - A standard Time Trial; however, race courses were somewhat altered.
 * Numbered Gates - The player had to drive through ordered gates as fast as possible.
 * Coin Collecting - The player had to collect the coins on the stage as fast as possible.
 * Boss Battle - The player had to fight against a special boss.

Licenses
Licenses replace normal save files. It is the first Mario Kart game to feature more than one save file.

Each license contains each player's data, their Mii, nickname, Friend Code, and a table including all categories and cups with an empty space. After a cup is won, the corresponding space is filled in with a colored square: gold for first place, silver for second, bronze for third. If at any time the Mii being used for Mario Kart Wii is deleted from the Mii Channel, the in-game Mii is also deleted.

Friend roster
Players can add different people around the world on to their Mario Kart Wii Friend Roster. Two people need to add the Friend Codes on their licenses. A player can have up to 30 people on their Friend Roster.

If two people are friends on a roster, one can open a room, which allows who is ever friends with the person to join that room. In the room, the players who joined can send messages. If a player who added the person who created the room, and another person joins and the player has not added them, they have an ability to do so. The host of the room can choose a VS Race, Team VS Race, Balloon Battle, and Coin Runners.

If a player joins a race when another player is online and friends with them, the player who added the player in the race can join that race and race with the friend.

Drivers
Mario Kart Wii features 12 starting characters, while 14 (if both Mii outfits are counted as separate characters) more can be unlocked for a total of 26 playable characters. Of those characters, Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Rosalina, Funky Kong, Dry Bowser, and Mii (in "Outfit A" and "Outfit B") are playable for the first time in the Mario Kart series, with Baby Daisy, Rosalina, and Dry Bowser making their first playable appearances overall, and Baby Daisy making her first appearance in any game. In addition, Dry Bones is playable in a home console Mario Kart installment for the first time, after previously being playable in Mario Kart DS. Unlike with the past Mario Kart titles, however, the characters are categorized under a size class system, instead of the usual weight class system.

The size classes are as follows:
 * Small: Small drivers will drive small vehicles. They usually have good acceleration, handling, and off-road stats, but low top speed and weight.
 * Medium: Medium drivers will drive medium-sized vehicles. Most of the karts show average weight and off-road.
 * Large: Large drivers will drive large vehicles. They mostly feature high top speed and weight, but low acceleration, handling, and off-road.

Additionally, all the characters in the game have their own set of bonuses that boost certain stats for their vehicles. Units are out of 80, so a stat bonus of 3 would make a stat three points better than normal. Baby Peach and Large Miis have the most stat bonuses, with a total of 15 each. Bowser Jr. has the fewest stat bonuses, with a total of 6.

Additional enemies, obstacles, and species
These characters and features may either aid the player or act as obstacles and other intractable objects that impede racers if bumped into.

Background characters
These characters appear as part of the audience or do not affect the character, being part of the course scenery served for world-building purposes.
 * Birdos
 * Boos
 * Cheep Cheeps
 * Goombas
 * Hammer Bros.
 * Luma
 * Miis
 * Monty Moles
 * Piantas
 * Shy Guys
 * Sledge Bros.
 * Toads
 * Unagi

Vehicles
There are thirty-six total vehicles in this game. There are 18 karts, 18 bikes, each divided into the 3 size classes, making 6 and 6 available to each character, 3 and 3 to begin (thus making half of the vehicles unlockable). As with the Standard vehicles, each kart and bike varies in color scheme depending on which character drives them. Each has 7 stats, which are shown during character selection: The following table includes vehicles in order of class primarily. The last half of each of these six sub-sections is the way the vehicle turns when the player attempts to drift (Drift = the vehicle drifts; Hang-on = the vehicle commits to the turn) and the unlockable vehicles; the right-hand column describes the requirement to unlock it: if it is a single cup, it must be simply won. The stats are displayed with number values, with the units being out of 80. Some names differ between American English and Commonwealth English.
 * Speed: How high the top speed of the vehicle is. This does not affect off-road travel. Negatively correlated with acceleration. It is also the only stat where no vehicle goes below twenty.
 * Weight: How heavy a vehicle is. With a higher weight, the player can knock lighter characters away by ramming them. Weight also affects the angle that a vehicle goes over a jump at, with heavier vehicles jumping at a lower angle. Finally, heavier vehicles bounce less upon landing from a jump.
 * Acceleration: How quickly the vehicle's top speed is achieved from a non-moving position. Negatively correlated with speed.
 * Handling: How tight the vehicles can normally turn. Usually opposes the drift rating.
 * Drift: How tight the vehicle turns while using the drifting maneuver. Usually opposes the handling rating.
 * Off-Road: How much speed the vehicle retains when off the track. A low rating of this can slow the vehicle significantly. Also, vehicles with a high off-road stat slide less when driving on ice. There exist several types of off-road surfaces which vary in intensity.
 * Mini-Turbo: When using the manual drift option, how effective a mini-boost will be. While all vehicles can perform a blue spark mini-turbo, only karts can execute an orange spark mini-turbo. Has no effect on the standing mini-turbo.

Note: Vehicles with an Off-Road value greater than 50 can drift on normal off-road terrain.

Actual stats
The stats reported do not correspond to all the actual in-game stats.

Characters' bonuses
There are 20 different kinds of bonuses, which increase a few statistics of the vehicles:


 * Weight: Increases the weight of the vehicle.
 * Speed: Increases the top speed of the vehicle.
 * While Steering: Increases the top speed of the vehicle while steering, expressed as fraction of the top speed.
 * Acceleration: Increases the acceleration.
 * Standard Acceleration: Increases the first two stage-related acceleration parameters, used when starting from a standstill without mini-turbos (S1 and S2)
 * Drift Acceleration: Increases the last two stage-related acceleration parameters, used when the vehicle is near full speed while drifting (S3 and S4)
 * Handling: Increases how fast the vehicle can turn regularly (angular velocity).
 * Drift: Increases how fast the vehicle can turn while drifting (angular velocity).
 * Mini-Turbo: Increases the duration of the Mini-Turbo boost.
 * Off-Road Speed: Increases the top speed on each kind of off-road section.
 * Off-Road Handling: Increases the Handling on each kind of off-road section.

Vehicles' stats
The vehicles have 31 stats. Acceleration is divided in four stages, presumably depending on the actual speed relative to the full speed. In each stage, acceleration is determined by two factors, a stage-specific S factor which is affected by the character bonus and a general E factor. These factors change while drifting, that itself can begin once the vehicle has reached 55% of its top speed. Finally, some stats change depending on the drifting method used (either Manual or Auto) and depending on the fact that the vehicle is steering (While Steering) or not (Standard).


 * Weight: The weight of the vehicle.
 * Speed: The top speed of the vehicle.
 * While Steering: The top speed of the vehicle while steering, expressed as fraction of the top speed.
 * Acceleration: How much the relative speed of the vehicle, i.e. the speed expressed as fraction of the top speed, increases over time.
 * Handling: How fast the vehicle changes direction over time while steering (angular velocity).
 * Range: How much the vehicle swings while steering.
 * Drift: How fast the vehicle changes direction over time while drifting (angular velocity).
 * Range: How much the vehicle swings while drifting.
 * Mini-Turbo: The duration of the Mini-Turbo boost.
 * Off-Road Speed: The relative Speed in various Off-Road sections.
 * Off-Road Handling: The relative Handling in various Off-Road sections.
 * Tilt: How much the kart tilts in various conditions.

Courses
Race courses are divided into various Cups again: Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, and Special Cup for new courses and Shell Cup, Banana Cup, Leaf Cup, and Lightning Cup for returning courses. Notably, these are the same as in Mario Kart DS.

All thirty-two tracks have three laps, regardless of length and difficulty. At first, only two Wii and two Retro Cups are available, but clearing the former two in first place unlocks the Star Cup, while clearing the latter two in first place unlocks the Leaf Cup; likewise, clearing the Star and Leaf Cups in first place unlocks the Special and Lightning Cups, respectively. This process only applies for the difficulty level the player is in, so it must be repeated for all others to have the secret Cups available in each of them.

This is the first game in the series to have different track names between the American and PAL versions; this applies to DK Summit/DK's Snowboard Cross, Chain Chomp Wheel/Chain Chomp Roulette, and Galaxy Colosseum/Galaxy Arena.

Wii Grand Prix
There are sixteen new courses in Mario Kart Wii.

Retro Grand Prix
These are courses that appeared in previous Mario Kart installments, much like in Mario Kart DS. This includes two courses each from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and four each from Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart DS. These have been graphically updated and have some new details such as extra trees and ramps, new features such as jumps, pipe tricks, and even added shortcuts. These courses appear in the Shell, Banana, Leaf, and Lightning Cups. This game has the second most retro Mario Circuit courses of any Mario Kart game, behind only Mario Kart Tour, which currently has five.

Battle stages
This game has the most battle courses of any Mario Kart game, with ten. Additionally, this is the first Mario Kart game with unique music for each battle course.

Other stages
Mario Kart Wii featured one course that was exclusive to certain online tournaments.

Ghosts
In Mario Kart Wii, there are Normal Staff Ghosts and Expert Staff Ghosts. Beating the normal staff Ghosts by a certain amount of time unlocks the Expert Staff Ghosts. Unlocking Expert Staff Ghosts can help unlock certain characters and vehicles in the game. Below are two tables: the first shows the Normal Staff Ghosts, while the second shows the Expert Staff Ghosts, and also shows the character and vehicle the Ghost used.

Items

 * For the probability of obtaining each item when an Item Box is opened in the various modes, see Mario Kart Wii item probability distributions.

Mario Kart Wii includes two new items, the Mega Mushroom and the POW Block, and brings back the Thunder Cloud from the Mario Kart Arcade GP installments (all three of which are absent from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8). Items can be earned by driving through Item Boxes on the courses, just like in previous games. Once a player has done so, an item will be selected via the Item Roulette. Players can use items by pressing. In general, players tend to obtain a weak item such as a Banana or a Green Shell when they are in first. However, if players are in a lower place, they obtain a slightly more powerful item such as a Red Shell or Lightning. Usually, the lower the place of the player, the rarer and more powerful the item they get. Stars, Mega Mushrooms, and Bullet Bills are examples of powerful items as they provide speed boosts and invincibility. This is the only game in the Mario Kart series where the drivers do not vocally react to getting inked by a Blooper.

Differences in multiplayer modes
As in the previous games in the Mario Kart series, there are several small changes made to the courses in split-screen mode, most likely to preserve the frame-rate.
 * At the start of a race, Lakitu is next to the player driver, slightly facing the side of the track. In single player mode, he is in front of the player driver, facing the camera. This only counts for races though, in battles Lakitu always starts next to the player.
 * The question marks in the Item Boxes spin around with the box. They are static in single player mode.
 * Frame-rate slows to 30 frames per second if the screen is split 4 ways or is in Two Player Online.
 * The fourth screen in local three player play displays a dynamic camera that rotates between the three player drivers.
 * CPUs do not animate. In Battle Mode, their voices are also absent.
 * There are no tourists on the Sunshine cruise ship in.
 * Boos do not animate in.
 * In, the metal Piranha Plants do not move their jaws, and the moving arrow signs and the Jumbotron are absent as in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
 * There are no Miis in the stores in Coconut Mall.
 * The crowd in Mario Circuit, Toad's Factory, Daisy Circuit, and do not animate.
 * No tourists are on the ship in.
 * The Jumbotron at Funky Stadium does not show the human player; instead it shows a picture of Funky Kong's face with the words "Funky Stadium".
 * Star Bits are missing in Rainbow Road.

Staff
Consistent with the rest of the console Mario Kart series, Mario Kart Wii is developed by Nintendo EAD. Shigeru Miyamoto is the general producer of the game, with the producer being Hideki Konno, who had been consistently involved with the Mario Kart series since the first installment, except Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and the executive producer being Satoru Iwata. Yasuyuki Oyagi directed the game, having co-directed the series since Mario Kart 64 barring Mario Kart: Super Circuit, though Mario Kart Wii was the first installment he was the sole director of and the last installment he directed, becoming a co-producer later on. Mario Kart Wii was the debut of Kosuke Yabuki as a planner; he would later become key staff and serving a director role in later Mario Kart installments.

Critical reception
Mario Kart Wii has received positive reviews from critics. It has an average score of 82.07% from 74 reviews in GameRankings and an average of 82 based on 73 reviews on Metacritic.

Bozon of IGN gave the game an 8.5 out of 10, praising the online play, the presentation, and the gameplay but criticizing the cheap AI in 150cc, the lack of voice chat, reliance on friend codes, and the random items. He finished off with, "Every player is going to have their own love/hate relationship with Mario Kart Wii, but in the end the game does so many things right that it'd be foolish not to give credit where due. Online seriously raises the bar for Nintendo, trumping even Smash in a big, big way. The sense of community you can get even with random racers online and ghost-supported leader boards is impressive, and the fact that you can head on to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection solo, with a friend via split-screen, or hook up with buddies across the world without worry of lag and never-ending disconnect notices makes Mario Kart Wii a pure joy to play online. It isn't the best Mario Kart in the series, but it's a must-play experience on Wii, and standard-setting offering as far as online, channel support, and connectivity are concerned. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got some online stats to obsess over." Sammy Barker of Nintendo Life praised the game for its polished gameplay and being well-thought and brilliant. Though he criticized the presentation, he wrote, "Poor presentation should not be an issue in this generation of gaming, particularly with the other consoles doing it so well, but, thankfully for us (as Wii owners), this game is a living, breathing example of gameplay over graphics." He gave the game 9/10 stars. Oli Welsh of Eurogamer gave the game a score of 8/10. He praised the presentation of the game, the use of the Wii Wheel, and the smooth gameplay while criticizing the Battle Mode and the single player exclusive Grand Prix mode (though this was revised after being informed by Nintendo that four sequences of races with friends is still possible). He wrote, "Ultimately, the sheer sensory pleasure of playing Mario Kart Wii - from the charming animations, to the bopping tunes, to the sugar-rush boosting, to the exquisite steering - far overcomes the few concerns we have about it. It still has to be docked a mark for the awkward structure and compromised battle modes - but it's still unreservedly recommended to anyone for whom Mario Kart is a gaming cornerstone. And really, that should be everyone."

Ryan Davis of Giant Bomb criticized the game for being safe. He wrote, "Mario Kart Wii is a good game stunted by its audience's apparently insatiable appetite for the exact same thing, over and over again. The addition of online play and motion controls are good, but they're also the most predictable choices possible. Personally, I'm completely tired of getting exactly what I expect." He gave the game a 3 out of 5 stars. Edge gave the game 6/10, criticizing the game's compromising local, splitscreen multiplayer for online play. They ended with "Undercutting local multiplayer to benefit the online movement is a grievous error. Of all the multiplayer franchises, we struggle to think of a title in which four friends sat side by side seemed more natural. Having sacrificed racing integrity in Double Dash to side with social silliness, Nintendo has turned 180 degrees into an awkward halfway house. It’s a residence from where it has attempted to regain time-trial credentials with the loosest racing yet, and sees the company finally find its online feet by betraying one of its great pastimes. Perhaps first place in Mario Kart Wii isn’t the least enjoyable location in gaming after all."

Awards
Mario Kart Wii won the "Favorite Video Game" award at the, beating out The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, ', and '. The game won the Best Online Multiplayer Game from IGN in 2008. In the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition, Mario Kart Wii won the "Best-selling racing game" accolade.

Sales
In the week of May 4, 2008 in Japan, Mario Kart Wii became the best-selling game for the Wii, having sold over a million copies in Japan, less than a month after its release. In the UK, Mario Kart Wii was the 8th biggest selling video game in British history and the single best-selling Nintendo game in history. In the United States, at the month's release, Mario Kart Wii was the second best-seller at 1.12 million copies, being beaten out by the Xbox 360 version of , but outselling the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. Mario Kart Wii currently is the second best-selling game on the Wii, beaten out by Wii Sports, and in turn the best-selling Mario game on the system; the game has sold a total of 37.38 million units as of December 31, 2020, and was originally the best-selling Mario Kart game and the best-selling racing video game of all time, before being overtaken by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in September 30, 2021.

Promotion
Trading cards were released to celebrate the release of Mario Kart Wii. Trading card packs additionally included tattoos called FunTats.

For the marketing of Mario Kart Wii in the United States only, Nintendo of America did a series of three commercials starring Cowboy Jed, primarily to promote their slogan for this game: "Get Behind The Wheel!". The slogan focuses on the Wii Wheel, Nintendo's targeted gameplay control, as stated earlier in this article.

Pre-release and unused content
Unused graphics have been found depicting icons for a Hammer Bro, a Koopa Paratroopa, and Petey Piranha, presumably being an extra character for each weight class. An outfit for the NPC Miis has also been found, which resembles a Toad.

Glitches
Note: All names are conjectural unless otherwise specified.

Blue Fake Item Boxes in a Solo Race
If the player selects a team race or battle mode first and chooses the blue team, then exits and plays solo Vs. mode, the Fake Item Boxes will be blue instead of red.

Thirteen players online
Rarely, when a player finishes a race and leaves the results screen, the top left corner will say, "The next match might have 13 players", although it should say 12. It is also possible, although unlikely, to say more than 13 players (i.e. "The next match might have 14 players"). The reason is, that during matchmaking the Wiis are counted, but not the players. A Wii with 2 players uses 2 racing slots of 12 total, but is counted only as one. The next match will never have more than 12 players, though.

Grumble Volcano rock lap glitch
If the player manages to get on top of the large rock to the left of the starting line in Grumble Volcano, each time they drive around it, the game will act as if the player completed a lap, and it will count a lap for the player.

Music and sound
Technically, this is the first game before Mario Kart 8 to feature revamped music for retro courses. In this case, the SNES and GBA tracks received revamped songs, as well as some of the battle stages. Tracks from the N64 and DS had their songs slightly enhanced in sound quality. The GCN tracks, however, remained relatively the same. This trait is also kept in Mario Kart 7 as well. It is also the first and currently only game that cuts off the tracks' intros in the final lap.

The soundtrack was created using Best Service's Advanced Orchestra and Gigapack, EastWest's Stormdrum and Quantum Leap Brass, E-MU Systems' Proteus/3, Korg Triton Le, ILIO's Synclavier Essential Percussion and World & Orchestra, Roland's D-550, Fantom X7 and Sound Canvas SC-8850, Spectrasonics' Distorted Reality and Supreme Beats, Ueberschall's House Essentials and Zero-G's Jungle Warfare.

Soundtrack
An official soundtrack was released in 2011 by Club Nintendo as a Platinum reward featuring 43 songs from the game itself.

References to other games

 * All past Mario Kart games: Half of the courses are taken from those games in the Retro Grand Prix, while half of the Battle courses are taken from those games under Retro Battle Course.
 * Mario Bros.: The POW Block's logo appears in some of the cars in Moonview Highway. It also returns as an item.
 * Super Mario Bros.: Various items from said game appear in the background of the Battle course Block Plaza, Super Mario Bros.-style. Additionally, the first seconds of the course Bowser's Castle theme resemble the music played in that game by its instruments. Also, the tune that plays in the award ceremony is a cover version of the tune that plays when Mario/Luigi beats a castle. When it gets bumped into, the kart makes several beeping noises, one of them is the first few notes from the main tune of the game, the other the power-up sound effect.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: The license plates on some of the trucks read "SMB3", the abbreviation of Super Mario Bros. 3. They also say "POW" as a reference to the item that causes earthquakes.
 * Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally: The Tiny Titan was inspired by the Monster.
 * Super Mario Kart: Ghost Valley 2 and Mario Circuit 3 return as retro courses, and Battle Course 4 returns as a playable battle course. Also, part of the music that plays during the Award Ceremony (if drivers win a Trophy) is the same as in the same scenario in Super Mario Kart and in Mario Kart 64.
 * Super Mario 64: Unagi appear in the background of Koopa Cape and Chain Chomp Wheel.
 * Mario Kart 64: Mario Raceway, Sherbet Land, DK's Jungle Parkway, and Bowser's Castle return as retro courses, and Skyscraper returns as a playable battle course. Also, the course Moo Moo Meadows is based on Moo Moo Farm, and Block Plaza has parts of Block Fort. Also, part of the music that plays during the Award Ceremony (if drivers win a Trophy) is the same as in the same scenario in Mario Kart 64 and in Super Mario Kart.
 * Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Shy Guy Beach and Bowser Castle 3 return as retro courses, and Battle Course 3 returns as a playable battle course. Also, the Yoshi Sphinx from the background of Yoshi Desert returns as a part of the race course Dry Dry Ruins.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: The battle stage Delfino Pier is based on Delfino Plaza. Also, the course Coconut Mall is seemingly located on Isle Delfino.
 * WarioWare series: The Wario Bike appears as a selectable vehicle.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Peach Beach, Waluigi Stadium, Mario Circuit, and DK Mountain return as retro courses, and Cookie Land returns as a playable battle course, and all of these courses retain their intros as retro tracks. Also, Daisy Cruiser cameos in the background of Daisy Circuit, Block Plaza has parts of Block City, the course Dry Dry Ruins has the same starting point as Dry Dry Desert, and finally, the character icons and the starting race jingle for Grand Prix races was also recycled from that game for VS. and Grand Prix races in this game, along with the 3-2-1 starting countdown, but with "GO!" at the end instead of "START". Some of the animations seen for the driver selection process (excluding the new drivers introduced for this game) are ported character models from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, with only a few characters receiving noticeable changes. On the save file/driver's license screen, the Star Cup uses the same icon.
 * Mario Party 7: Dry Bones and Boo's artwork can be seen in Bowser's Castle on the Showtime billboard. Some of Birdo's voice clips are reused from this game.
 * Mario Kart DS: Yoshi Falls, Delfino Square, Desert Hills, and Peach Gardens return as retro courses, and Twilight House returns as a playable battle course, and just like Double Dash!!, all of the courses' intros return in this game as well. Also, the course DK Summit has derived many elements from DK Pass, and the course Dry Dry Ruins has similar music to that of Desert Hills, and finally, the countdown sound effect for starting races and battles are recycled from that game to signal the start of the race in Grand Prix, Time Trial, and VS mode. The Zipper is a bike that relates to the Shooting Star and the ROB-LGS acts like the Standard Bikes in the game. The opening portion of the theme for Rainbow Road is taken from Rainbow Road's music from this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros.: Various features in the game are derived from their New Super Mario Bros.-look. The Mega Mushroom is an item in the game. The mushroom platforms in Mushroom Gorge is based on the mushroom platforms in said game, with the red ones being "bouncy", and the green ones more like solid platforms. Grumble Volcano is similar to World 8 of New Super Mario Bros. Also, Dry Bowser, who first appears in New Super Mario Bros., returns to Mario Kart Wii as his second appearance.
 * Mario Kart Arcade GP 2: Princess Peach's profile artwork is reused.
 * Mario Strikers Charged: Several voice clips are reused from this game.
 * Mario Party 8: Several voice clips are reused from this game. Daisy's artwork from this game is also reused, but with her kart added to it.
 * Donkey Kong Barrel Blast: Several of Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Funky Kong's voice clips are reused from this game.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: Rainbow Road has several elements from said game, such as Star Bits or a section based on Launch Stars, and portions of the Good Egg Galaxy's music is heard for the course's music. Maple Treeway resembles the Gold Leaf Galaxy. The battle course Galaxy Colosseum is also heavily based on Super Mario Galaxy. Additionally, Spiky Topmen are the enemies in the June 2008 1st Competition. Also, Rosalina, who first appears in Super Mario Galaxy, returns to Mario Kart Wii as her second appearance.

References in later games

 * Mario Super Sluggers: Some of Funky Kong's voice clips are reused in this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: The character icons were reused in the Character Selection. Also, some of the voices from this game were reused as well.
 * Mario Sports Mix: In Toad Park, the Standard Kart design is used from this game.
 * Mario Kart 7: This game's retro selection reuses some courses, being Mushroom Gorge, Coconut Mall, Maple Treeway and Koopa Cape. Tricks, which are first introduced here, are reused in this game as well as the character icons and countdown timer for starting races and battles. Some voice clips and kart engine sounds are reused.
 * Mario Party 9: Some of the characters voice clips, such as most of Daisy's voice clips and some of Toad's, return in this game.
 * Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Tricks, Bikes, twelve-player races, and the ability to look behind return. Moo Moo Meadows, Grumble Volcano, and Wario's Gold Mine return as retro courses (Wario's Gold Mine was added via DLC, but is available from the start in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe). Coconut Mall, Mushroom Gorge, Maple Treeway, and DK Summit return as part of the Booster Course Pass in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The Bowser's Castle in this game sees the return of a similar giant moving Bowser statue that players drive around. Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina wear their bike suits again when riding a bike or ATV. Some voice clips are reused. The Launch Star boosters from Rainbow Road also return in the remastered in this game.
 * Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: Mushroom Gorge is one of the few songs that can be heard at the stage Mario Circuit. The Standard Bike M, Daytripper, Flame Runner, Quacker, and Offroader all appear as trophies. Also, some of Bowser Jr.'s voice clips are reused. The POW Block item causes the Shy Guy racers in Mario Circuit to spin out when used.
 * Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam: King Boo's voice clips are reused during his boss fight.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Some of Daisy's voice clips are recycled in this game.
 * Mario Kart Tour: Mushroom Gorge, Coconut Mall, DK Summit, Daisy Circuit, Koopa Cape, Maple Treeway, Dry Dry Ruins, and Rainbow Road appear as returning courses. The Cheep Charger, Wild Wing, Super Blooper, Sprinter (using its British English name), Daytripper, Offroader, Flame Flyer, and Jetsetter (renamed the Green Speeder) return as karts in this game. The jingle that plays when obtaining a level-boost ticket for a High-End kart, racer, or glider is recreated. Diddy Kong and Funky Kong's voice clips are reused in this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: Funky Kong's emblem from Mario Kart Wii makes a cameo appearance on some plane wreckage in the background of Big Top Bop.
 * Paper Mario: The Origami King: An arrangement of Maple Treeway's music plays in the Tranquil Pipes Teahouse at Shogun Studios.

Trivia

 * The save data description is "Race for first!" in the NTSC version and "Race for 1st place!" in the PAL version.
 * In the opening cutscene, Peach can be seen racing with her hair untied. She always wears a ponytail in-game.