Not many franchises in gaming can claim the same kind of fame like “Mario Kart”, and the last installment in the series was received quite warmly as well. In fact, fans are still talking about the game quite actively, and its community is very much active and alive. Meanwhile, Nintendo haven’t been neglecting their fans either, and the company has constantly been communicating with its audience on important matters.
An example of this can be seen recently, after speculation about a potential new “Mario Kart” themed controller started going around the Internet. It all started with a new commercial on the official Nintendo YouTube account, showing a possible new Wii U gamepad styled after the game. However, Nintendo didn’t let these rumors go on for very long – they were quick to release a statement explaining that the trailer is actually relatively old material, dated half a year back, and isn’t relevant to the company’s current plans for the game.
In any case, the video showed a new gamepad which was blurred out, with a slimmer design than that of the traditional Wii U controller, which was part of the reason fans were so excited about it. However, according to official explanations, there wasn’t actually anything special about the controller’s design, and any perceived differences were simply the product of mistakes in the video editing/production.
Meanwhile, the game continues to receive a lot of recognition for its quality, and has recently been awarded “Game of the Year” by none other than Gamespot. The game managed to win against other nominated titles including “Donkey Cong Country: Tropical Freeze”, “Bayonetta 2”, and “Super Smash Bros”, showing just how much fans still love “Mario Kart”, even after eight installments in the series.
And according to most critics, Nintendo definitely deserve the recognition after everything they’ve done for the series. The latest installment in the franchise saw yet another round of refreshing updates to the gameplay, adding even more features and mechanics that made the races more intense and breathtaking. The game’s visual qualities have been praised as well, with many critics pointing out that it still manages to look fresh, despite retaining the same base art style as was used in the previous installments. It’s not that surprising though, as Nintendo have proven to have some of the best artists in the industry on board, and they know how to handle a design like that in the long term. Because it’s not just about making the game look pretty, but part of the challenge lies in ensuring that it can still be recognized as a part of the series it belongs to.