Title: Mario Kart Arcade w/pics *56K is hit by lightning*
Description: Coming to a Triforce near you...
Description: Coming to a Triforce near you...
UltraGekko - February 18, 2005 06:34 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| The yearly AOU arcade show tends to have one or two big surprises, and taking this year's spot is none other than Nintendo's main man, Mario. Through a tie-up between Namco and Nintendo, Namco is developing Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix for arcades. Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix promises some added bonuses above previous home Mario Kart games. In addition to 24 courses set in 6 different worlds, you can count on some new playable characters, including Pacman. Namco will also be making use of what it calls the "Nam Cam," a camera placed above the monitor which allows players to place themselves in the game. Finally, continuing a growing arcade trend, the game will make use of rewritable cards for saving play data. A Japanese arcade release is set for Fall. We'll have more shortly. |
I wonder if they will port this to GameCube sometime down the track?
With NFSU2 also making it's way to arcades does this mean we will see more console games heading to the arcades?
Film Guru - February 18, 2005 07:03 AM (GMT)
Wow! Nintendo making an arcade version of Mario Kart?! That's as crazy as when iTunes came out for Windows!
Looks awesome. Finally, something to replace those old Daytona machines. That would have to be awesome arcade racing fun! :D
Looks awesome. Finally, something to replace those old Daytona machines. That would have to be awesome arcade racing fun! :D
Gio - February 18, 2005 09:34 AM (GMT)
:woot: That's the awesomest thing ever!
UltraGekko - February 18, 2005 01:10 PM (GMT)
Up to 4 arcade machines can be linked (dunno why it's not 8 but not many arcades even have 4 of the same machine anyway).
Some more pics (full size direct feed):
Is it just me but does it seem that while the polygon counts are similar to Double Dash the textures look more detailed? Is this due to the 48MB of 1T-SRAM in the Triforce compared to the 24MB in GameCube or is the extra RAM used for other purposes?
I'm still a bit iffy on Namco doing this since they seemed to have botched StarFox a little.
And where is Sonic? Sega are Triforce partners too...
Some more pics (full size direct feed):
Is it just me but does it seem that while the polygon counts are similar to Double Dash the textures look more detailed? Is this due to the 48MB of 1T-SRAM in the Triforce compared to the 24MB in GameCube or is the extra RAM used for other purposes?
I'm still a bit iffy on Namco doing this since they seemed to have botched StarFox a little.
And where is Sonic? Sega are Triforce partners too...
cd2 - February 18, 2005 11:03 PM (GMT)
This better be ported, cause it looks great. Ill have to keep an eye and se if it makes it here.
borgster101 - February 18, 2005 11:40 PM (GMT)
:woot: This would be awesome if released in arcades in Australia :D .
Sybatical - February 18, 2005 11:53 PM (GMT)
PacMan?
OMFG!!!
They've also brought back the Coins!!! :D
OMFG!!!
They've also brought back the Coins!!! :D
Gio - February 19, 2005 04:39 AM (GMT)
The polygon count looks higher to me.
The overall presentation is great! :D
About Sonic, would he even be in a kart? :blink:
The overall presentation is great! :D
About Sonic, would he even be in a kart? :blink:
borgster101 - February 19, 2005 06:34 AM (GMT)
Why drive when you can run :P .
UltraGekko - February 19, 2005 08:00 AM (GMT)
Yeah I think Sega and Nintendo have a disagreement about whether Sonic should be in a Kart or not. Well on the EB demo reel they have footage of the Sonic Collection and one game there has Sonic in a kart so I don't think Sonic in a kart is out of character.
UltraGekko - February 20, 2005 05:34 AM (GMT)
Some impressions from someone who got to play it...
| QUOTE |
| Ok, just got back from the show, so time to type up a few quick impressions of the game. As of now, the selectable characters were Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, Toad, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Wario, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Blinky the red ghost (Akabe!!!) Wasn't able to get any info out of any of the staff if there were hidden characters or not. Three cups(stages) were available, Mario cup, Donkey Kong cup, and Koopa cup. Each stage had 4 tracks, and tracks also had selectable conditions(sunny, night, rain, etc.) There should be three more cups available in the final version of the game, Wario, Pac-Man, and Rainbow cups. The game machine uses reprintable cards, and this is used for keeping track of which cups you've cleared. By clearing cups, you give yourself access to different, and I'm assuming more powerful items, for use in the game. Exactly how it will work though, I'm not quite sure since there are more than 100 items that can be used. Controls are made up of just the steering wheel, which has your item use button in the center, and the gas and brake pedals. Hitting the gas and brake pedals at the same time causes you to jump. Steering while jumping causes you to power drift. Just like the old Snes version. If you're REALLY quick about, you can actually get the jump off by letting off the gas, slamming the brakes, then slamming down on the gas pedal again. Usually I found it easier just to hit both at the same time. So, you sit down, select your character, then have your picture taken. Cup/Track/Conditions are either selected through majority(everyone picks the same one) or randomly if people pick different ones. From there you got to item selection where you are randomly assigned three different items. Most of the old favourites seem to be back in some form, and there's tonnes of new ones. I'll detail some of the ones I saw in another post later. The game, happily, plays closest to the original Mario Kart on the Snes of any in the series that have been released since. Courses are for the most part narrower. The speed is quicker, including coins which you pick up to increase your top speed. The initial speed boost is intact from the starting lights as well. Controls were nice and tight, although it took some time getting used to the gas/brake hopping for drifting. The graphics seem better than Double Dash in various ways. Having everyone driving the same karts again makes the game feel more solid thematically. Characters and karts are higher poly, mostly due to not having to animate two characters per kart anymore. After picking up items, you can tell which item you're carrying either in the item window in the left, or because your character actually holds the item in one hand while driving with the other. Bumping up against other drivers causes the characters to starting punching and shoving at each other. Graphics for the courses also looked better as well. Reminding me almost of a mix of F-zero GX crossed with Monkey Ball, but in the Mario universe. Anyway, taking pictures of the players comes in handy at the beginning, because at least right now, everyone can pick the same characters. Having four Bowsers racing against each other for example. Also tends to make things a little more personal than just seeing that Player 2 hit you with a tornado. Game was lots of fun, and I never saw anyone walking away looking disappointed at all. Think that's it for now, I'll try answer whatever questions I can if you guys have any. |
Considering the sorry state of arcades in Australia (especially where I live) Nintendo better port this to GameCube sometime before Revolution comes out.
cd2 - February 20, 2005 09:46 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (UltraGekko @ Feb 20 2005, 03:34 PM) |
| Considering the sorry state of arcades in Australia (especially where I live) Nintendo better port this to GameCube sometime before Revolution comes out. |
I would be happy even if it was a bonus on Mario Kart Revolution
dave_cool31 - May 15, 2005 06:56 AM (GMT)
that looks awesome!
I REALLY hope Nintendo port that to GameCube! Especially since there've been no good GameCube releases for quite some time now... I haven't bought a GCN game for a long time... Bring it on!
I REALLY hope Nintendo port that to GameCube! Especially since there've been no good GameCube releases for quite some time now... I haven't bought a GCN game for a long time... Bring it on!
fishonthecarpet - May 25, 2005 10:22 AM (GMT)
Does anyone know the chances of us getting an arcade version in Aus? Like commonly, not just imports? As in like local Timezones and stuff.
I wanna play : (
I wanna play : (
BrotherEstapol - May 25, 2005 11:14 AM (GMT)
Pretty low I'd say, we only got 2 F-Zero units that were put on rotation around the country.
taprod - May 29, 2005 07:03 AM (GMT)
That looks so awsome! I hope they bring it to arcades over here... :(
UltraGekko - September 1, 2005 11:10 PM (GMT)
Some new videos over at IGN.
From the looks of things it moves quicker than any previous Mario Kart games.
From the looks of things it moves quicker than any previous Mario Kart games.
| QUOTE |
| The game runs on the GameCube-based Tri-Force arcade board, so a home version should be a snap. It is, however, far more likely that Nintendo would opt to release this title for its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution. Mario Kart Arcade GP is designed from the ground up to be multiplayer-centric -- much like Nintendo's new machine, according to the company. Nintendo has not yet announced if any home versions of GP are in development, but such a move would make sense, especially if positioned as a launch title for Revolution. |
IMO it would be silly if they didn't port it over to Rev as a launch title. They'd just need to beef it up a bit with online capabilities and a battle mode.
cd2 - September 1, 2005 11:15 PM (GMT)
Ah you beat me to it...
Indeed, if think it would be foolish not to port it over to some console, perferable the Rev for some online support.
Indeed, if think it would be foolish not to port it over to some console, perferable the Rev for some online support.
UltraGekko - September 1, 2005 11:33 PM (GMT)
Though it is weird seeing Pacman and the Pacman ghosts racing in a Mario Kart game.
borgster101 - September 2, 2005 11:54 AM (GMT)
I think Pacman fits right in with the Mario crowd.
It looks great :D , maybe it will finally replace the Daytona USA machines around in various arcades <_<
It looks great :D , maybe it will finally replace the Daytona USA machines around in various arcades <_<
UltraGekko - September 3, 2005 09:45 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (borgster101 @ Sep 2 2005, 09:24 PM) |
| I think Pacman fits right in with the Mario crowd. |
Yeah you're right Pacman and Mario (jumpman) were the arcade greats.
cd2 - September 26, 2005 09:07 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| Namco has announced that Mario Kart GP will be available in October. Several months ago, Nintendo and Namco revealed that an arcade version of the Mario Kart series was in the works. Developed by Namco, the game would include characters from the mario universe as well as Namco games. Today the release date for the arcade racing game was revealed for America, as Namco has said they will be shipping the product this October. Those interested should understand that the product will be in high demand, and due to the nature of producing arcade machines, availability will be very limited. The US version will feature 11 characters, and will include Pac-Man, Blinky, and Ms. Pac-man from Namco. In addition, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and a host of other Nintendo characters are set to be included in the final version. Mario Kart GP will arrive packed with 68 courses and over 50 new items and objects to race with. |
Link
68 courses, I wish the home versions would have that many courses sometimes. I hope that this might make it down this way.