Mario Kart | |
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Genre(s) | Kart racing |
Developer(s) |
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Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Creator(s) | |
Platform(s) | |
First release | Super Mario Kart August 27, 1992 |
Latest release | Mario Kart World June 5, 2025 |
Spin-offs |
Mario Kart [a] is a series of kart racing games based on the Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters from the Mario series racing along tracks from the Mario universe. Some releases have also included characters from other popular franchises like Pac-Man , The Legend of Zelda , Animal Crossing , and Splatoon .
The series was launched in 1992 with Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), to critical and commercial success. [1] The Mario Kart series totals seventeen games, with eight on home consoles, three on handheld-only consoles, five arcade games co-developed with Namco, and one for mobile phones. Over 189 million copies of the series have been sold worldwide.
Mario Kart 8 , released on the Wii U in 2014 and ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2017, is one of the best-selling video games, at 76.66 million sold for both versions. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit , a mixed reality game, was released on the Switch in October 2020. The newest installment, Mario Kart World, was released as a launch title on the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(May 2025) |
In the Mario Kart series, players compete in go-kart races, controlling one of a selection of Mario characters. Up to 24 characters can compete in each race (varying per game). Players can perform driving techniques during the race such as rocket starts, slipstreaming, drifting and mini-turbos.
Gameplay is enhanced by power-up items obtained by driving into item boxes laid out on the course. These power-ups vary across games in the series, but generally include Mushrooms to give players a speed boost, Red/Green Shells to be thrown at opponents, Banana Peels and hazards such as Fake Item Boxes. The game selects an item based on the player's current position in the race, utilising a mechanism known as rubber banding. For example, players lagging far behind may receive more powerful items such as Bullet Bills, which give the player invincibility while auto-piloting them forward at great speed, while the leader of a race may only receive small defensive items, such as Shells or Bananas. This gameplay mechanism allows other racers a realistic chance to catch up to the leading racer. In the original game, Super Mario Kart, the player takes control one of the eight Mario series characters, each with differing capabilities. In single player mode, players can race against computer-controlled characters in 4 multi-race cups consisting of 20 tracks (5 in each cup) over three difficulty levels (50cc, 100cc and 150cc). Alternatively, players can race against the clock in a Time Trial mode. In multiplayer mode, two players can simultaneously take part in the cups or can race against each other one-on-one in Match Race mode. In a third multiplayer mode – Battle Mode – the aim is to defeat the other players by attacking them with power-ups, destroying balloons which surround each kart.
Each new game has introduced new gameplay elements, such as new circuits, items, modes, and playable characters.
Each game has a variety of modes. The following five modes recur most often in the series:
The debut game in the Mario Kart series was Super Mario Kart released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1992. Its development was overseen by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the Japanese designer of many successful Nintendo games including Super Mario Bros. Darran Jones of NowGamer suggests that the success of Super Mario Kart resulted from the Super Mario characters, and being a new type of racing game. [20]
1992 | Super Mario Kart |
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1993 | |
1994 | |
1995 | |
1996 | Mario Kart 64 |
1997 | |
1998 | |
1999 | |
2000 | |
2001 | Mario Kart: Super Circuit |
2002 | |
2003 | Mario Kart: Double Dash |
2004 | |
2005 | Mario Kart Arcade GP |
Mario Kart DS | |
2006 | |
2007 | Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 |
2008 | Mario Kart Wii |
2009 | |
2010 | |
2011 | Mario Kart 7 |
2012 | |
2013 | Mario Kart Arcade GP DX |
2014 | Mario Kart 8 |
2015 | |
2016 | |
2017 | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR | |
2018 | |
2019 | Mario Kart Tour |
2020 | Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit |
2021 | |
2022 | |
2023 | |
2024 | |
2025 | Mario Kart World |
Year | Game | Platform | Virtual Console/Nintendo Switch Online re-release | |||||
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Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch | Switch 2 | ||||
1992 | Super Mario Kart | SNES | ![]() | [nb 1] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
1996 | Mario Kart 64 | Nintendo 64 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ||
2001 | Mario Kart: Super Circuit | Game Boy Advance | [nb 2] | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ||
2003 | Mario Kart: Double Dash | Nintendo GameCube | † | |||||
2005 | Mario Kart DS | Nintendo DS | † | ![]() | ||||
2008 | Mario Kart Wii | Wii | ‡ | † | ||||
2011 | Mario Kart 7 | Nintendo 3DS | ‡ | |||||
2014 | Mario Kart 8 | Wii U | ‡ | |||||
2017 | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Nintendo Switch | ‡ | † | ||||
2020 | Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit | Nintendo Switch | ‡ | † | ||||
2025 | Mario Kart World | Nintendo Switch 2 | ‡ |
Game | Year | Units sold (in millions) | GameRankings | Metacritic | OpenCritic |
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Super Mario Kart (SNES) | 1992 | 8.76 [33] | 94% | — | — |
Mario Kart 64 (N64) | 1996 | 9.87 [33] | 87% | 83/100 | — |
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) | 2001 | 5.90 [33] | 99% | 93/100 | — |
Mario Kart: Double Dash (GCN) | 2003 | 6.96 [33] | 87% | 87/100 | — |
Mario Kart DS (DS) | 2005 | 23.60 [34] | 91% | 91/100 | — |
Mario Kart Wii (Wii) | 2008 | 37.38 [35] | 82% | 82/100 | — |
Mario Kart 7 (3DS) | 2011 | 18.99 [36] | 85% | 85/100 | — |
Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) | 2014 | 8.46 [37] | 88% | 88/100 | 88% |
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NS) | 2017 | 68.86 [38] | 99% | 92/100 | 92% |
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (NS) | 2020 | 1.73 [39] | — | 75/100 | 44% |
Mario Kart World (NS2) | 2025 | 5.63 [40] | — | 86/100 | 98% |
![]() | This section needs expansionwith: Incomplete; does not talk about recent games, with the latest one being Double Dash.. You can help by adding to it. (June 2025) |
The Mario Kart series is critically acclaimed. Nintendo Power named it one of the greatest multiplayer experiences, citing the diversity in game modes and the entertainment value. [41] The first game in the series, Super Mario Kart, received critical acclaim and proved to be a commercial success; it received a Player's Choice release after selling one million copies and went on to sell 8.76 million copies worldwide, becoming the fourth best-selling game ever for the SNES. [42] [43] [44] In Japan, it was the top-selling game in September 1992 [45] [46] [47] and became a multi-million seller in 1992, [48] eventually selling a total of 3.82 million in Japan. [49] In Europe, it was the top-selling game during the first quarter of 1993, above the Sega Mega Drive titles Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Streets of Rage 2 during the same period. [50] In the United Kingdom, Super Mario Kart was the top-selling Super NES game in February 1993, [51] and it went on to be the seventh best-selling game of 1993 with more than 250,000 sales in the country. [52]
The second game in the series, Mario Kart 64, received "generally favorable" reviews according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. The game was commercially successful, selling 9.87 million copies worldwide—the second-bestselling game on the N64. [53] It was the highest selling game in the United States over the first three months of 1997, and reached over one million sales within two months of its release in the region. [54] By 1999, Mario Kart 64 had sold 6.23 million copies in the United States and 2.06 million units in Japan, the highest and third-highest selling N64 game in those regions respectively. [55]
Although Super Circuit received critical acclaim upon launch, retrospectively, Super Circuit ranks low on retrospective critics' lists of the best Mario Kart games, [56] [57] [58] [59] and Nintendo World Report said it was the Mario Kart game with the "fewest innovations". [60] Critics blamed this on the hardware limitations of the GBA; GamesRadar said that the scarcity of the Link Cable made Super Circuit's multiplayer experience less memorable than other Mario Kart games. [56] Kotaku described Super Circuit as "lost", unable to live up to the technically pioneering releases of Super Mario Kart and 64 because of the GBA's hardware. [59] Nonetheless, critics rank Super Circuit among the best GBA games. [61] [62] [63]
The fourth game in the series, Mario Kart: Double Dash, received "generally favorable" reviews from critics according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Nintendo Power gave the game a perfect score, and said the graphics were of "3-D perfection" and the controls and game mechanics "rival those of any [GameCube] racing game". Although the initial positive reviews, Double Dash has received criticism from the media. Considering the 7-year gap since Mario Kart 64 , Davis from GameSpot stated that he was "a little disappointed with the limited scope [of Double Dash"]. [64] Mirabella of IGN was critical towards Double Dash for not progressing beyond its predecessor, calling the game a "mediocre effort". [65] G-Wok of GameRevolution criticized the game's single-player mode for lacking substance and the track design for being "bland". [66]
Guinness World Records listed six records set by the Mario Kart series, including "First Console Kart Racing Game", "Best Selling Racing Game", and "Longest Running Kart Racing Franchise". Guinness World Records ranked Super Mario Kart number 1 of the top 50 console games of all time based on initial impact and lasting legacy. [67] Super Mario Kart was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2019. [68]
Like the Super Mario series, the Mario Kart series is a commercial success with 196 million copies sold in total. It is currently the most successful racing game franchise of all time. Super Mario Kart is the fourth-best-selling Super Nintendo Entertainment System game with 8.76 million copies sold. [33] Mario Kart 64 is the second-best-selling game for the Nintendo 64 (behind Super Mario 64 ), at 9.87 million copies. [33] Mario Kart: Double Dash is the second-best-selling GameCube game (next to Super Smash Bros. Melee ) with 6.96 million copies sold. [33] Mario Kart Wii is the second-best-selling in the series and is the second-best-selling Wii game (next to Wii Sports ) at 37.38 million copies. [35] Mario Kart 8 is the best-selling Wii U game at 8.46 million total copies sold. [37] It was the fastest-selling Wii U game with 1.2 million copies shipped in North America and Europe combined on its first few days since launch, until Super Smash Bros. for Wii U . [69] [70] The enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, is the fastest-selling game in the series with 459,000 units sold in the United States in one day of its launch. [71] It is the highest-selling Nintendo Switch game with a total of 68.2 million copies worldwide, outperforming the Wii U version. Both versions have a combined total of 76.66 million copies sold, making it the best-selling game in the series across regular and handheld consoles, and also the best selling Mario game as a whole. [72] Additionally, the game holds the title of being the highest selling Nintendo game, excluding Wii Sports due to being bundled with the Wii. [73] Upon its release on the Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World became the fastest-selling game in the series in Japan, as well as the best-selling game on the Switch 2 in Japan, selling 782,566 physical units within the first four days. [74] In the first 25 days, the game sold 5.63 million copies worldwide.
The handheld games were commercial successes too: Mario Kart: Super Circuit is the fourth-best-selling Game Boy Advance game at 5.9 million copies. [33] The second portable game, Mario Kart DS , is the third-best-selling Nintendo DS game and the best-selling portable game in the series with a total of 23.6 million copies. [34] Mario Kart 7 is the best-selling Nintendo 3DS game as of March 2023 at 18.98 million copies. [36]
The Mario Kart series has had a range of merchandise. This includes a slot car racer series based on Mario Kart DS: one set of which comes with Mario and Donkey Kong figures, with Wario and Luigi available separately. A line of radio-controlled karts are controlled by Game Boy Advance-shaped controllers, and feature Mario, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi. There are additional, larger karts which are radio-controlled by a GameCube-shape controller. Many racer figurines have been made. Sound Drops were inspired by Mario Kart Wii with eight sounds including the Spiny Shell and the race start countdown. A landline telephone features Mario holding a lightning bolt while seated in his kart. K'Nex released Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart 8 sets. Line released an animated sticker set with 24 stickers based on Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Nintendo's customer rewards program, Club Nintendo, released a Mario Kart 8 soundtrack, a Mario Kart Wii-themed stopwatch, and three gold trophies modeled after those in Mario Kart 7. Before Club Nintendo, a Mario Kart 64 soundtrack was offered by mail. In 2014, McDonald's released Mario Kart 8 toys with Happy Meals. In 2018, Monopoly Gamer features a Mario Kart themed board game with courses from Mario Kart 8 serving as properties, ten playable characters as tokens (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Donkey Kong, Shy Guy, Metal Mario, Rosalina, Bowser, and Yoshi) and a special die with power-ups. In 2019, Hot Wheels released Mario Kart sets of cars and tracks. In commemoration of Mario Day celebrations for March 10, 2021, Hot Wheels also released a Mario Kart track set based on Rainbow Road on June 24, 2021. [75] In 2020, for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary, Cold Stone Creamery released Mario themed desserts including a Rainbow Road themed ice cream cake, from September 30 to December 15. [76]
In September 2016, Nintendo filed an objection against the Japanese company MariCar, which rents go-karts modified for use on public roads in Tokyo along with costumes resembling Nintendo characters. [77] MariCar's English website warned customers not to throw "banana peels" or "red turtle shells". [78] The service is popular with tourists. [77]
Nintendo argued that the MariCar name was "intended to be mistaken for or confused with" Mario Kart, citing games commonly known by abbreviations in Japan, such as Pokémon (for Pocket Monsters) and Sumabura ( Super Smash Bros. ). In January 2017, the Japan Patent Office dismissed the objection, ruling that MariCar was not widely recognized as an abbreviation of Mario Kart. [77]
In February 2017, Nintendo sued MariCar over copyright infringement for renting unauthorized costumes of Nintendo characters and using their images to promote its business. [77] In September 2018, MariCar was ordered to stop using the characters and pay Nintendo ¥10 million in damages. [78]
Universal Destinations & Experiences' immersive Super Nintendo World areas in Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Orlando feature the Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge ride as their primary "anchor" attraction. Utilizing innovative augmented reality technology and dark ride set design, guests travel through several environments from Mario Kart 8, including Rainbow Road. The Japan version of the attraction includes a Mario Kart themed shop called "Mario Motors", and a nearby "Pit Stop Popcorn" food stand. [79] [80]
Starting with its 2018–19 season, electric open wheel racing series Formula E added a so-called "attack mode", which allows a driver to gain a temporary speed boost if they take an alternate lane (highlighted on television via augmented reality computer graphics). The concept has been described by members of the press and by series CEO Alejandro Agag as inspired by Mario Kart. [81] [82]
nb sales level at number 5 = 400,000 units, at number 9 = 250,000 units, at number 10 = 200,000 units
Source: Gallup-ELSPA/Electronic Arts/CTW