Be the first to play Nintendo Wii - Mario Kart Wii at Games stores

Be amongst the first in the World to play Mario Kart Wii at a GAME store near you!

Start your engines and get racing in the Mario Kart Grand Wii tournament for your chance to win great prizes including your very own Mario Kart VW Beetle Convertible

To celebrate the launch of Mario Kart Wii, Nintendo and GAME are challenging the nation to take part in the Mario Kart Grand Wii, a tournament set to find the country’s best Mario Kart driver. Keen drivers will be first off the grid, trialling the new game before it goes on sale anywhere in the world and could win themselves their own Mario Kart VW Beetle Convertible.

Thirty GAME stores across the UK will be opening their doors to fans old and new of one of the world’s best loved racing games from Saturday 5th April. Heats will be taking place at each of the specially selected GAME stores throughout the day and the finalist from each location will go forward to race for a chance to win a Mario Kart Wii inspired VW Beetle Convertible.

Prizes up for grabs at GAME stores include copies of the game and £250 of ‘Experience Vouchers’ for activities including Karting, Paintballing, Quad Biking and other action packed family adventures. In addition, each GAME store will feature its own prize draw with the winner receiving a Mario Kart Gift Card worth £50 to spend in-store! The ‘Grand Wii’ final will take place at an exclusive racing day event at Mercedes-Benz World, Brooklands, Surrey on the 12th April which will see a winner cross the finish line and claim their prize.

You may think you’ve been racing as the Mushroom Kingdom’s finest for a long time, but now there’s a new racer in town: Your Mii! Put your Mii behind the wheel and take on all comers! For those who want to get into the game even more, Mario Kart Wii comes packed with the Wii Wheel. Shaped like a steering wheel, you place the Wii Remote inside the Wii Wheel’s casing and get ready to ride! In addition to the Wii Remote, you can also use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers in combo, or use a GameCube Controller to take those tight turns and challenges Mario Kart Wii throws at you.

Those looking for world ranking domination can take on up to 11 players simultaneously worldwide using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service which will offer them the chance to race other players across the globe in a nail-biting contest of speed and skill! Prefer to keep the rivalry a little closer to home? Try the Multiplayer Mode, in which up to four people will be able to challenge each other in the comfort of their own living room, bringing the on screen excitement into a whole new dimension.

MARIO KART GRAND Wii EVENT DETAILS:

WHEN: Saturday 5th April 2008

WHERE: GAME Stores at the following locations:

• MANCHESTER Unit 59 Arndale Centre
  
• TRAFFORD 124 Peel Centre Trafford Centre
  
• BOURNEMOUTH Unit 4, Avenue Centre Commercial Road
  
• PORSTMOUTH 226 Commercial Road Portsmouth
  
• STEVENAGE Unit 4A The Forum
  
• MERRYHILL Unit 87, Lower Mall Merryhill Shopping Centre
  
• READING Unit 18 Oracle Shopping Centre
  
• BASINGSTOKE Unit 15 Festival Place
  
• BRAEHEAD Unit 57 Braehead Shopping Centre Kings Inch Rd
  
• GLASGOW 146 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow
  
• MILTON KEYNES 15 Crown Walk Milton Keynes
  
• NOTTINGHAM Unit 308A Victoria Centre
  
• LEEDS 50-52 Albion Street Leeds
  
• LUTON 142-144 Arndale Centre Luton
  
• CHELTENHAM Unit A 100/104 High Street
  
• CRIBBS CAUSEWAY Unit LR53 Cribbs Causeway
  
• CARDIFF 92 Queen Street Cardiff
  
• NEWCASTLE FENWICKS (GAME CONCESSION) 39 Northumberland Street Newcastle
  
• GATESHEAD
  

• METRO CENTRE 17 Red Pathway Metro Centre
  
• BLACKBURN 10-12 Market Way Blackburn
  
• WIGAN 27 Standish Gate Wigan
  
• HANLEY 214-215 The Potteries Hanley
  
• LONDON HAMLEYS 188-196 Regent Street London
  
• LONDON 100 Oxford Street London
  
• THURROCK Unit 106 Lakeside Shopping Centre
  
• ROMFORD Unit 15 Liberty 2 Centre
  
• TAUNTON 45-46 Fore Street Taunton
  
• EDINBURGH 127 Princes Street Edinburgh
  
• DUNDEE 51 Murraygate Dundee
  
• KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES 3rd Floor The Bentalls Center
  

Mario Kart Wii launches in the UK on the 11th April at the estimated retail price of £35

Mario Kart on Nintendo Wii game trailer

Watch the trailer here

Smash Bros Mario Kart Nintendo Wii dominate Amazon best-sellers

Nintendo Wii products dominated the top rankings in the Video Games division at Amazon.com on strong demand for a range of products.

The fighting title Super Smash Bros. Brawl held the No. 1 rank, followed by the Wii Nunchuk Controller at No. 2, the Wii at No. 3, Mario Kart Wii at No. 4, the Wii Remote Controller at No. 6, and Wii Play with Wii Remote at No. 8.

Nintendo said that Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii home video game system has sold 1.4 million copies in one week at U.S. retail.

The title sold 874,000 on launch day alone and sold at a rate of 120 copies per second between Mar. 9 and Mar. 16.

Additionally, advanced orders for Mario Kart Wii with Wii Wheel spiked 282,600 percent over the weekend. The racing title, due out Apr. 27, sells for $49.99.

The title will include 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous titles, a choice of karts or motorbikes, and the option to place a Mii character in the driver's seat.

NPD Group Inc. this month recorded sales of 432,000 Wii units in Feb. U.S. sales to rank as the No. 2 best-selling video game hardware for the month.

Mario Kart races onto Nintendo Wii but is it any good?

Mario Kart will launch soon on Nintendo Wii offering the next 'fix' for all the followers of Mario racing games from way through Nintendo console history.

This time it takes a leap forward - you can race your Miis on all new tracks and with up to 12 players racing using Wi-Fi connection the latest Nintendo Mart Kart game should be a spring hit.

The game come with a special Nintendo Wii 'steering wheel' controller holder. All the famous features return with cup modes, battle mode, track boosts, ghost data and some classic tracks. This race game raises the bar and offers the players all loads of game play options that will keep you playing for a long time.

With the Wi-Fi option you can race against up to 11 other players (similar to Maro Kart DS on the Nintendo DS) but again Nintendo add features. Text your friend from within the game create rooms to chat in or join a race as a spectator while waiting for your race to begin.

With online options to compare your track times with other from around the globe. Each record contains information on the character, control and settings used. But it doesn't stop there - you can download race data as 'ghost kart' and race against them!

Another surprise is the new bike option no longer are you tied to karts. Bike have their own features so get set for some additional fun.

And there's no shortage of tracks with 14 to choose from including old classics like Peach Beach and Sherbert Land. 

Who want to race with Me? or Mii - yes, you can use your Mii to race around the tracks. Now you really can get behind the wheel. Talking about wheels the game comes with a controller holder shaped like a steering wheel but you also have the option to use the standard Nintendo Wii controller with the Nunchuck or even the GameCube controller.

The release date is April 11th some get in line now and be the first to the starting grid.

Game features...

• Wi-Fi connection for up to 12 racers Nintendo events racing in the Nintendo Channel online. Save store and share race data. Download ghost data to race against others from around the globe.
  
  
  
• Race Bikes or Karts perform tricks and special moves collect the boosts and try and avoid the traps other racers drop.
  
  
  
• Choose a new or old track and compete for trophies. Share your records with the world but remember to have fun.
  

Nintendo Speeds Into Spring With Mario Kart Wii

Nintendo Speeds Into Spring With Mario Kart Wii

Hotly Anticipated Racing Game Includes Innovative Wii Wheel

This year, the typical signs of spring will be accompanied by the sweet sound of revving engines and the sight of lightning-fast shells whizzing around every corner. Mario Kart Wii is zooming toward its launch in the United States on April 27. The game comes with the intuitive Wii Wheel™, which makes it easy for novices to compete against veterans, so no one is left in the dust. And with a broadband hookup to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, players can compete with up to 11 other drivers from around the world for racing dominance.

"Mario Kart Wii transforms one of our most popular franchises into a race that every member of the family can join," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Driving with the Wii Wheel could not be more natural, and this is one place where speeding is encouraged."

Mario Kart Wii will include 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous Mario Kart games. For the first time ever, players have the option of racing with either karts or motorbikes. Players can also hit the road as their personalized Mii™ caricatures in addition to the handful of classic Nintendo characters found in the game. True to the series, the game features tons of racing, plenty of power-ups and oodles of objects for players to use to slow down other drivers. And 10 battle arenas will keep players busy between trips around the circuit.

The easy-to-use Wii Wheel will also be sold as a separate accessory, giving every driver in the household a chance to get behind his or her own wheel. And if veteran Mario Kart fans are afraid of getting smoked by rookie drivers using the Wii Wheel, they can rest assured that Nintendo has them covered. Mario Kart Wii supports four different control options: Wii Remote™ with or without the Wii Wheel, Wii Remote and Nunchuk™ controller combo, Classic Controller and even the Nintendo GameCube™ controller. So there's bound to be a configuration that fits everyone's style.

Mario Kart Wii launches with a new channel added to the Wii Menu to enhance game play: The Mario Kart Wii Channel. This new channel builds on the huge online community of Wii owners and lets players compete in tournaments, check worldwide rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com. For more information about Mario Kart Wii, visit MarioKart.com.

Nintendo announce details of Mario Kart Wii

Nintendo has officially announced that the latest in its seminal Mario Kart series, Mario Kart Wii, will be released on April 27th in North America, with its own exclusive Wii channel, Mii and online support, and the Wii Wheel peripheral.

First announced at E3 of 2007, Nintendo says the game will include online support via the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection for multiplayer races of up to 12 players. The game will include 16 new and 16 classic courses, motorbike as well as Kart races, and Mii support for personalized drivers, and will support a number of controller configurations, including the Classic Controller and GameCube controller.

Nintendo has also announced the addition of a new Wii channel to accompany the launch of the game -- the aptly titled Mario Kart Wii Channel. In it, Nintendo will track and support the online community of players with tournaments, worldwide rankings, online friends lists, and downloadable ghost data.

Said marketing executive VP Cammie Dunaway, "Mario Kart Wii transforms one of our most popular franchises into a race that every member of the family can join. Driving with the Wii Wheel could not be more natural, and this is one place where speeding is encouraged."

Source: Gamasutra