Has Mario Kart Hit a Wall?

The Mario Kart franchise is undeniably fun, but it's also the same game being cranked out over 7 releases with little improvement since its inception in 1992. And while its core mechanics are impressive enough to require such little adjustment, ModNation Racers is all-too-often overlooked for moving the genre forward with its own racing mechanics.

[browngamer41]

Year after year?Let's see they are now on the seventh Mario Kart (hence the title ) since the series inception in 92'. If I did my math right that's seven games in 20 years...

[Titanz]

The gaming media hates the fact that Nintendo has a ton of IP's that are million sellers. I can't understand why people (cough*N4G*cough) detest a company so much, when its livelihood is based purely on the videogame market.

[buckley]

It's not about detesting a company at all... The Mario Kart games are undeniably fun. What's interesting is the double-standard. The Mario Kart franchise hit its high point on N64, the second release of 7. Franchises are regularly vilified for doing what this one has done.

Not that Mario Kart deserves to be vilified. My point is just that it is perhaps getting a bit too much credit for stalling, while ModNation Racers is getting too little for innovating.

[Viper7]

It's actually LittleBigPlanet who is to blame for the lack of credit. LBP was introduced a year earlier in E3 with loads of attention going in to the "Play, create and share" idea. After modnation tried to do the same but year later, it just gave the impression of "LBP with karts?"

[f789790]

Why hasn't Nintendo done what modnation did? That's what dissapoints me. Allow people to make their own tracks and people will flip out with excitement as if hasn't been done before. -_-

[dedicatedtogamers]

Mario Kart games have always been fun. They don't need to change. I mean, do we need Street Fighter to go full 3D (with 3D movement)? Do we need Halo to add in racing, RPG, and volleyball mechanics?

[Infernostew]

@dedicatedtogamers

But at least Capcom tried something different with the Street Fighter EX series... Nintendo should at least have a track editor in their 7th entry into the Mario Kart series. The Mario Kart games are always great but could you imagine people being able to make their own tracks and upload them for people to download, it would be crazy.

[dedicatedtogamers]

@ Infernostew

Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm all for Mario Kart trying new things. But does it NEED to try new things? Has it hit a wall? No way. It's still an ace kart racing game, easily the best on the market.

And SF Ex was probably the worst game in the series, so I'm not sure what you were trying to point out with that. ;)

[n4f]

mario kart didnt hit a wall it hit a mushroom. and beside if mario kart hit a wall than grand tourismo hit a wall also. uncharted too(wow that was early)lets not talk about god of war. final fantasy any one?
see my point, keep playing your game and dont listen to anyone who talk trash about a game if you like it.

[AdvanceWarsSgt]

I like how people say Nintendo hasn't tried new things with MK yet completely forget the Missions mode in MKDS.

Really sucks that they didn't include that in MK7 though.

[Knushwood Butt]

There are always double standards when it comes to the gaming media reviewing Nintendo games.

It's as if Nintendo games are in a category of their own and cannot under any circumstances be judged against anything else, or any of the previous games in that series either.

I have a feeling that may change somewhat with the Wii U though.

[dark-hollow]

There is a reason why nintendo and it franchises are still alive for more than two decades.

Many "old" beloved franchises have fallen and the media never gave mercy to those games in ratings.

Even tho, by your logic, any good old franchise sequel gonna be highly praised regardless to quality and due to "nostalgia", right??

Why duke nukem have bombed?? Castlevania??? Resident evil??
Shouldnt the "media" rate those games with rose tinted glasses because of nostalgia???

You excuse the media of biasness but maybe you are the biased one because you are hating on nintendo titles just because they are old and still successful!

[hellvaguy]

"Why duke nukem have bombed?? Castlevania??? Resident evil?? Shouldnt the "media" rate those games with rose tinted glasses because of nostalgia???"

Because these werent exclusive to Nintendo. Plus these games are more hardcore, so without the kiddie cult nostalgia (burp+giggle+squeek noises), they always been subject to a much harsher review.

[thebudgetgamer]

My biggest problem with the last Mario kart was catch-up A.I.

[lorianguy]

I loved Double Dash!! Because you had 2 people in a kart and specials!

Still my favorite MarioKart to date! Unfortunately it was relatively unpopular due to the cube's negative popularity.

[Snookies12]

Same here, loved it, I don't know why people didn't love the Cube as much as they should have. It was a fantastic console!

[resistance100]

It was a case of the PS2 just being too damn good that generation. Kind of killed everything it touched.

Still on the plus side it did mean we could get a gamecube and games dead cheap back then which came in handy :D

[DNAbro]

I'm sorry but ModNation was pretty mediocre compared to Mario Kart. Yes you can build as many courses as you want, but not one of the courses i have played even came close to the brilliant design of most mario kart courses.

[Noticeably_FAT]

A wall of greatness and amazing sales!

[Crillvirus81]

This is bull every Mario kart always has a ton of new stuff but most haters don't play them so they will say it's the same game it's the same with Mario titles people that don't play them say there the same but if they did they would see all the new stuff that goes in to them

[krazykombatant]

Diddy Kong Racing kicks the shit out Mario Kart, non of that Ohhh hey you suck, screw over the other players ahead of you crap.

[Foxgod]

Big N should create a Smash brothers kart game, and invite some third party characters such as megaman to the race.

That would freshen things up.

[admiralthrawn87]

Modnation Racers? are you joking? The creation part was interesting. the racing part was extremely lacking.

Nerf the blue turtle, continue improving the online, and mario kart will return to greatness. The rubber banding ruins it. Can't wait to see Mario Kart for Wii-U. Better yet, can't wait to see Smash Bros. for the Wii-U

[TheDivine]

Mario Kart 7 is the best in the series idk what game you guys played. It has 8 circuits, 16 old tracks and 16 new tracks. It has 7 battle mode maps (although they left out double decker my fav one), online racing, trading ghosts, online battle mode with team or free for all. Its polished up the yin yang and a must have for anyone who has ever liked any mario kart game ever made. It would be dope to get a map editor for tracks but its more about small imporvements that perfect the formula and adding more content.

[Khordchange]

Is there really anything they can actually change with the formula? They pretty much perfected the kart racer to be honest. How ever, I would like more customization and online options.

[Allowen]

The Mario Kart 7 has a very good online mode and has the best MP racing experience in a portable device.

But the Mario Kart Wii is by far the best MK game ever!

Lots of things you can do on MKwii and what I like the most on it is the championship up to 32 races and do it with up to 4 friends(each one could be using a different controler set up) and on same/different team or every one against every one.

Mario Kart Wii is the best MP experience I had on my Wii and the best MP racing game this gen.

Not even Forza or GT5 can match MK 's 4 players MP in 32 tracks championship !
Yah ok, those games have online single race up to 8 or more ( don t remember ) but still the MP offline on these games sucks in comparison to MKWii.

[AdvanceWarsSgt]

Well, we certainly have different taste then because I find MKWii to be the lone abomination in the entire series.

[eagle21]

Mario Kart 7 is awesome, modnation plays like a tech demo compared to the refinement of MK. Period.

[Gr81]

Is this author really trying to compare some largely forgetable game to a 20yr stapled franchise? Who the hell will mention Modnation Racers in 20 years? Hell no one mentions it after 2!

When MK deviates to far from what gamers expect from it, the market responds. Hence why DD was pretty much shunned and MKWii sold over 30 Million!

The one thing modern MK has to improve is the battlemode. They've ventrued to far towards 'every ones a winner' as opposed to the SNES and N64 battlemodes where the last man standing was either the most cunning, skilled, or ruthless.

[buckley]

"Hell no one mentions it after 2!"

That's kind of the point.

[tweet75]

Mario Kart is alot of fun but it is tired. Its still the best racing series ever. I always get the feeling of been here done this but I keep coming back for more.

[PirateThom]

Nintendo in stale franchise shocker.

Nintendo have built themselves on rehashing... but they're good enough at it that the same game still seems fresh and is, at least, entertaining.

But as someone who has been playing Nintendo consoles since the NES, I'm pretty burned out on Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart to the point I haven't even played Zelda since Wind Waker, Mario since Galaxy and Mario Kart Wii only a few times.

[buckley]

You're on my wavelength, but maybe I underestimated the amount of people who may be new to the franchise.