Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 is an upcoming Mario Kart game for the Wii U, releasing in Japan on May 29th, both North America and Europe on the 30th and the 31st for Australia. 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. Buggies have been confirmed to join traditional karts and bikes as a new class of vehicle.

Gameplay
The gameplay maintains the traditional elements of previous Mario Kart games, mostly from the two recent installments on Wii and 3DS respectively. Karts, which feature similar designs from Mario Kart 7, can be customized once again, alongside the returning bikes, which handle similar to the karts now and can only perform a wheelie via a boost, and the newly introduced buggies, as well as, according to an interview, more customization options that have yet to be revealed. . The hang-glider and underwater mechanics also return, as well as Coins and as in Mario Kart 7 the player can collect up to ten coins at one race. Like in Mario Kart Wii, twelve racers are present in normal races.

The newest feature for the series is anti-gravitional segments, that not only allow for more dynamic track design, but allow racers to drive across the side of a track and upside-down as well. 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. These tracks have been described as more narrow when compared to previous Mario Kart tracks, specifically those from Mario Kart Wii. 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.

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 a feature called "Mario Kart TV". Another change is that in 2-player mode, the screen will split vertically instead of the horizontally 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.

Playable
So far, 24 playable characters have been confirmed for Mario Kart 8. 7 of these characters (the Koopalings) make their playable debut. * - New characters

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
 * 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 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

Buggies
Buggy-type bodies are confirmed to be in the game.
 * An ATV-styled body*
 * A Wiggler body

Tires

 * Tires similar to the Standard
 * Tires similar to the Monster
 * Skinny tires with a white and red stripe pattern, similar to the Slim tires
 * Skinny, red star tires
 * Wooden wagon tires
 * Tires with green lines, similar to the Slick tires
 * Small red tires
 * Sponge-like Red Monster tires

Gliders

 * Super*

* - Changes color depending on the 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 with 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.
 * Bone Dry Dunes, a course filled with giant bones and boats.
 * Cloudtop Cruise, a sky course with beanstalks and airships similar to Sky Garden and Airship Fortress.
 * Sunshine Airport, a course set on the runaways and terminals of an airport.
 * Sweet Sweet Canyon, a dessert themed course, decorated with references to Princess Daisy and Princess Peach.
 * Thwomp Ruins, a ruins course filled with Thwomps.
 * Toad Harbor, a course that takes place in a town by the seaside with some similarities to the city of San Francisco.
 * Twisted Mansion, a haunted mansion course with an underwater chamber and a dark garden.
 * An ocean course featuring Dolphins and Dolphin-shaped rock formations.
 * 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.

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.

Promotion and advertising
A limited edition version of Mario Kart 8 is available to pre-orders in the European and Australian regions. It includes not only the game but other merchandise as well, such as a Spiny Shell figurine.

Nintendo and Pennzoil teamed up to promote Mario Kart 8. It features real-life go-karts on a specially modified track. Icons representing some of the items in the game are spread in the course as well.

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. In addition, Mario's artwork from the game can be faintly seen above the logo itself.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic: The Shy Guy Metals sign seen at Toad Harbor says that they've been around since 1987, which is the year of the Shy Guy's first appearance.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Many aspects of Cloudtop Cruise, particularly the airships, are inspired by this game.
 * 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 Cloudtop Cruise'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 also 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. A kart body also resembles a Para-Biddybud.
 * Mario Kart 7: Gliders and underwater areas return. Music Park, Piranha Plant Slide, and DK Jungle return as retro courses. Customization returns from this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: Twisted Mansion's entrance has a statue of a Boohemoth above it, an enemy from this game. Bone Piranha Plants also make an appearance in Bone Dry Dunes.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U: The Mecha Cheep returns in this game.