Gaming There Will Be Blue Shells: Mario Kart (8 Deluxe)

Thank you The2ndQuest. You have spoken wisdom. The Articles upon articles I've read about Nintendo's peril do not reflect the revenue they have made from past successes. How can an entire company fail over one product? Although I do know the 3DS has not reached sales that Nintendo was hoping for. However, it is difficult in these times to determine what is the truth, when companies write rumors and fear to try and destabilize their competition. As for Microsoft, I do not think they are suffering either. They just do not have their major titles available (Halo, COD, and GOW). I do agree that Microsoft is moving away from just gamining, which I think is a mistake. At least you can say with confidence that Nintendo is sticking to gaming. They could use the slogan, "Nintendo, just games." Like how Nike had, "Nike, just sports."

 

Nintendo's problem has been that they've allowed both the 3DS and Wii U to have very slow starts. Neither had big launch titles, and neither had any big releases in their first 6 to 12 months. The games are starting to come (I think Smash Bros will sell more consoles than the rest of the Wii U's lineup combined) but at this point they'll probably just be catching up on lost ground.

 

You make a good point Dranconarius. If you do not have great games at launch, you will only get die hard fans to buy the systems. If you have great games at launch you can entice moderate and casual gamers to buy.

 

3DS took a huge hit when it was discovered that 3D harms children's eyes 6yrs and below. That is a major audience and the announcement that you can flip a switch to turn your 3DS into a 2D handheld was not advertised very well. Hence why I think Nintendo went ahead and made the 2DS.

Back to Mario Kart 8. I really want to try the new Haunted Mansion level.

 

If anything the 2DS can only help sales.

As to the wii u, yeah, it was pretty much the fact that it launched with nothing, and gamer stigma that Nintendo is a "kiddie" console.

It doesn't hurt that so many younger gamers hang on to every word that game "journalists" write, and if it's not a 9/10 or above, the game is trash. Zombie U was a perfectly fine mature title. New Super Mario Bros U was a great launch title too. But man, the way people reacted you'd think they burned down gamers villages and raped their dogs with their terrible quality. -rolls eyes-

Heck, even the ps4/X1 line up suffered from the same thing, and the whole "next gen got no games" crap is annoying to no end.

 

Wii U launched with a decent line up but with the delays for the titles to follow had left an impression that there is no games on the system when there was quite a few options. If I had the time I can dig up a full list it had launched with.

In hindsight, maybe they should have staggered the launch line up releases a bit so that it gives the impression of something new. In the first 4 months of the console, I already had 9 games for it. At the moment I am sitting on 14 disc games, 2 downloaded/disc titles and various eShop/VC titles and most I've beaten but not enough time at the moment to play them all.

There's that confusion with some of the media/journalists that repeat each other. They've been saying doom and gloom for almost every generation and things have a way of correcting themselves. PS3/X360 did not have a strong launch. Come to think of it, during the same launch period the Wii U outsold what PS3/X360 combined during their launch period. True our climate now is much different from there. Talk of Nintendo going third party? Tell them they're dreamin'!

Anyhow, back to Mario Kart. Got the Collector's Edition with the Blue Shell and it is larger than I had thought it would be. Feels like it is made from two different materials, the top shell part is harder while the underside could be vinyl. Not sure. Looking good on its stand next to Yoshi, Link and Ratonhn'haké:ton.

I used the Gamepad to play while rest of the family used the Wii Pro Classic Controller. Feels good. I love the design of the levels and the remastered Retro levels. Toad's Turnpike, Yoshi's Valley and N64 Rainbow Road!! That Sweet Sweet Canyon made me think of Sugar Rush. I love all the details that they had put into the courses. Even tyre marks on the road from power sliding that lasts there the entire course!

I've tried online too. 2 player (on my end) vs 2 player (on friend's end) and that was a lot of fun. When selecting teams, it is randomly assigned and the first set of rounds had all three on one team while I was on the other… I still won… as Yoshi and probably fuelled my friend's hatred for that character even further because of it

 

How big is the Blue Shell collectable Corellian_Outrider? Is it baseball size, basketball size or larger?

 

Hmmm… larger than a cricket ball but not by much. On it's stand, it is a tad taller than the Yoshi due to the spikes. Bit hard to describe it when the lights are out and its going on 1am .

This is probably a good reference to compare:



About half the size game case in height and cause it is not round but an eclipse shape… about between half to two thirds the width of that packaging. I had imagined something half that size.

 

I would say that is the ultimate Mario Kart collectable.

 

Mario Kart 8 has already sold 1.2 Million units in three days!

 

I had thought ZombiU did well overall but wasn't going to meet expectations given that it had the budget of two games (was originally Killer Freaks From Outer Space and then changed into ZombiU) and the Red Steel comparison. I agree that a follow up would be amazing! I wonder what Retro is working on next…

Great news on the sales. Lets hope the momentum carries on when the next set of titles come out.

I have to say both Rainbow Roads are in MK8 feel great. A shame they had cut up the N64 one so that 3 laps is the entire course. Makes sense though as that is a long map on the original. I also miss the trophy ceremony that we used to get. Also keep in mind to go through each character to unlock more stamps.

 

Yeah, both Rainbow Roads look great, although I think I like the N64 version better- a classic updated in HD looks great, and I like the fireworks in the background. Too bad I'm too busy speeding around (or more likely being knocked off the track by other racers, as I'm not that good and usually prefer lighter racers) to watch the fireworks longer. 8's Rainbow Road with its space station theme and all the Toads in spacesuits look fun too.

Great to hear its already sold so many copies, this really is one of the best Mario Karts ever.

 

Blue Shells are not really a problem anymore, its the other kind… more often the green ones surprisingly.

Also, I still cannot believe that Luigi clip has gone viral to the point where a news outlet has been reporting on it.

 

Yeah, really seem like they've cut down on the blue shells. Tried a 150cc race, and whereas before sometimes the game timed blue shells to show up only when the player is in the lead, sometimes with two or three showing up, haven't seen that many, even when I was in the lead. The red and green shells though are perhaps even more annoying now.

Well, partially its the coin mechanic too. Before, even in first place you usually got a banana peel or three at worst, which were still useful for blocking shells (except for when shells occasionally hit you from the side, since green shells, even when just bouncing around a track, hit the player, or maybe its just my bad luck). now, more often then not I get some useless coins (especially when I'm already at my max), so I'm open to red shell attacks. Doesn't help that the piranha plant can't really be defended against either.

Not sure if this is the first Mario Kart like this, but its annoying that the "next race" button isn't the first choice after reach race, instead its "view highlights", but oh well, guess they're really pushing that feature and its just a minor inconvenience, just wish it was simpler to just button mash to the next race.

 

Corellian_Outrider is it still the Year of Luigi? That would explain why the video is going viral.

 

I think the Year of Luigi is over with already, I think it ended back in March. Otherwise, no idea why that video has gone viral.

That's why I never fire green shells unless I'm really desperate. Having green shells bouncing around seemingly randomly is one of the worst situations since somehow I end up getting hit by one or two of them. Especially bad in 150cc too. At least red shells are predictable, green shells usually end up hurting me more than anything else. Hm, speaking of green shells, not sure I've seen three green shells, or it might just be me. Three red shells, definitely, but stuff like the piranha plant and Super 8 comes up semi-often too. Super 8 is especially tough to use, since the good stuff is just as likely to be stolen as used, but that just adds to the fun chaos.

 

I got three green shells on Mario Kart 8 Demo. So I can testify they exist. Unless, of course the Demo Version has what the actual game does not. This is conceivable, because demos do tend to have experimental elements. But I believe the demo I played, was just MK8 with limitations so as to tease a prospective buyer with enough to get them to buy it, but leave out enough to ensure a purchase.

 

What do you think the next character Year will be? I would say that the Year of Dry Bones was during Mario Kart Wii and Mario Party 8.

 

It would be nice to themed months, where a character from Mario, Zelda, and beyond got esteemed.