by Steve
Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix was
released in 2005, to little fanfare. It is, by most accounts, an
awesome experience, but almost no one played it because, as we all
know, arcades have been practically dead for years. I think it's safe
to assume that the majority of you have never played it before. If
Nintendo were to port the arcade title to the Wii U, it could do
wonders for the system's image crisis.
Mario Kart Arcade GP is a
completely original entry in the wildly popular Mario Kart
series with 12 unique tracks never featured in a console version
before or since. The tracks can also be raced through backwards,
giving you two ways to experience each one. There are 11 playable
characters with specialty items that only certain characters can use,
much like the system employed by Mario Kart: Double Dash!! If
specialty items don't get you excited maybe this will: there are more
than 100 items in the game. No doubt about it, Mario Kart
Arcade sounds like a truly great game.
Even though it didn't see much playtime and made very little money, a
sequel was made, and it too was released exclusively as an arcade
game. In comparison with the other entries in the series, there is
relatively little information online about these two games. Not even
mariowiki.com could provide me with all of the information I wanted
while writing this article. That should give you a pretty good idea
of just how under-appreciated these games really are. As far as I can
tell, the sequel is pretty much a rehash of the first game with four
new levels, one additional playable character, and some extra bells
and whistles. Because of this, I think it would be best for both
games to be ported as one package.
Why Nintendo Should Port the Mario Kart Arcade Games
Reason 1: Very few high-profile titles
The big N's E3 presentation was
lackluster, to say the least. I have never seen such a lack of
enthusiasm for a new Nintendo console. While I can say with
conviction that New Super Mario Bros. U and
Pikmin 3 will be
great, there doesn't seem to be much else on the horizon. Retro
Studios is hard at work on something, but judging from their absence
at the annual expo, whatever they're working on was in such an
embryonic stage of development that it wasn't even presentable. Mario
U, Pikmin 3,
a handful of new IPs, and ports of third-party games, many of which
are a year old, are all there is to look forward to in the immediate
future. The announcement of a Mario Kart
game that would be available at launch, or even shortly afterward,
would win over a lot of people who are currently on the fence about
the new system. Mario Kart is
one series that shifts units.
Reason 2: Quick And Easy Job
Mario Kart games
usually make it to stores one to two years after being announced.
Nintendo said that they are "considering" a new entry, but
so far, there has been no official announcement. It's a safe bet that
we won't be karting on Nintendo's new console anytime soon.
Enter
Mario Kart Arcade GP.
It is a highly-polished quality game that received very good reviews.
More importantly, it is a finished
product. Porting the game to the Wii U would be a very easy job. The
arcade board the game runs on, the Triforce Arcade Board, is little
more than a souped-up GameCube. It has the same processor, same GPU,
same architecture...for all intents and purposes, it is
a GameCube. As much as we Nintendo fans hate to admit it, the Wii is
also little more than a souped-up GameCube. But in this case, that is
a positive.
Now
try to follow my logic here. As we all know, the Wii U can play Wii
games. The Wii is a souped-up GameCube. Mario Kart Arcade
ran on GameCube hardware. Connect the dots. Getting it to run on the
Wii U could be done easily and in a timely manner. If they were to
convert it, the turnaround time would be very short indeed.
Reason 3: Online Play
Mario Kart Arcade GP
is, like all entries in the series, a multiplayer game. Four players
can link up and play together, which might not sound all that
impressive. However, with the impending launch of the Wii U, that
number could be doubled or even tripled, courtesy of the Nintendo
Network. There were a lot of complaints about Nintendo's current
online service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and the new service is
supposed to be a huge improvement. Just imagine playing a game like
Mario Kart on a decent
online service, rather than the laggy mess that the big N offered for
playing Wii games over the Net. Sounds enticing, doesn't it? Seeing
as how Super Smash Bros. 4
is just barely getting off the ground, a Wii U version of Mario
Kart Arcade could be the perfect
showpiece for Nintendo's new and improved service.
Reason 4: Offline Multiplayer
With
the extra screen provided by the new controller, 5 players can play
on one Wii U at the same time, and Nintendo made sure to emphasize
this during their demonstration of New Super Mario Bros. U.
With
a home version of Mario
Kart Arcade,
5 player offline play might be possible. And with the announcement
that 2 Wii U Gamepads can be used simultaneously, even 6 player
offline isn't completely out of the question. Another thing to
consider: unlike Internet play, there is no lag whatsoever when
playing offline.
Please make this happen, Nintendo. |
Reason 5: Internet Ranking
Mario
Kart Arcade GP
used an Internet ranking system that allowed players to see how they
stacked up against one another. Nintendo has launched the Nintendo
Network. Interesting...
Reason 6: Built in Camera
Mario
Kart Arcade GP
and its sequel featured a camera that would take a picture of each
player and display it next to their character in-game. It just so
happens that the Wii U Gamepad has a built in camera. Need I say
more?
Reason 7: The 20th Anniversary of the Series
This
year marks the 20th anniversary of Super
Mario Kart, the
first game in the series. The folks at Nintendo have apparently
decided to let it pass without any sort of tribute or ceremony.
Seeing as how the anniversary coincides with the release of their
latest console, why not take advantage of the timing and repay their
loyal fans by giving them a home version of a game that went largely
unnoticed? Who knows, given the hardware it was designed for, a port
could be finished by year's end. If you were to ask Reggie or even
Iwata himself why they aren't doing anything for the anniversary,
they would probably counter that Mario
Kart 7
was released less than a year ago. If you wanted to be a wise guy,
you could then point out that Mario
Kart 7
is actually not the seventh Mario
Kart
game, but the ninth. Mario
Kart Arcade GP 2 was
the seventh. And, not that it matters, the first Mario
Kart Arcade GP
was the fifth. Anyway...
Reason 8: The Nintendo-Namco Alliance
If
you don't already know, both of the arcade Mario
Kart games
were designed by Namco under license from Nintendo. Namco even
included some of their own characters in the game, including Pac-Man,
Ms. Pac-Man, and Blinky the red ghost. Some gamers have speculated
that, due to Namco's role as developer, along with the existence of
two Pac-Man-themed tracks, there might be some sort of legalities
that stand in the way of any potential port. I can see that this
might be a problem. However, it just so happens that Nintendo and
Namco have entered another agreement, and the two gaming giants are
working together to create the new
Super Smash Bros. games
for the 3DS and Wii U. The two companies' ties may be at an all-time
high, and if there are any sort of legal problems, what better time
for the two big Ns to come up with some sort of compromise? There are
millions of dollars to be made from a Mario
Kart Arcade
port, and I'm surprised neither company has thought of this yet.
The two companies have reunited. Perfect time for a port! |
Suggestions
Two Games, One Package
As
I mentioned earlier, the sequel is basically a rehash of the first
game with one new character and four additional tracks. Because of
this, I would suggest Nintendo and Namco simply port the sequel, as
there doesn't seem to be any real reason to port the first Mario
Kart Arcade.
Let me put it this way. If Capcom had released Street
Fighter IV
and Super Street
Fighter IV
as arcade-exclusives, would you really care if they ported the
former?
If
I am mistaken and there are serious differences between the two, they
could port both games and include them on the same disc, a la Super
Mario All-Stars.
Either way, there isn't enough material to justify two separate
ports.
Make it a Budget Title, and Offer it as a Downloadable Game
There
are only sixteen tracks in Mario
Kart Arcade GP 2.
All twelve tracks from the first game return, plus four new ones.
Even though Mario
Kart 64 and
Mario Kart:
Double Dash!!
each had sixteen
tracks, I don't think the game should have a full-blown retail price,
especially since Mario
Kart Wii had
twice as many courses. Because of this, I would recommend the game
be sold as a budget title. Selling it for $25 would be great, and
even a $30 price tag seems reasonable. Better still, they could make it available as a disc and a download for those who prefer digital over physical copies.
With only half the content of most Mario
Kart games,
it would definitely be on the small side, making it an ideal
candidate for digital distribution. If Nintendo were to do so, it
would be a brilliant move.
MSRP $29.99 |
Closing Comments
Currently,
there are only two ways to play the Mario
Kart Arcade
games. One, you can go to an arcade, provided there's one within
driving distance. Or two, you can buy
an actual arcade cabinet,
and they are not cheap. I have not seen any that sell for less than
$15,000.
The
release of a Mario
Kart game,
either at launch or shortly thereafter, could do miracles for the Wii
U's image crisis. I have seen a number of comments on forums and
various websites from gamers who think the two arcade games look
better than what NintendoLand
has to offer, and the big N could definitely use one more
high-profile name to help them market their new console. Considering
everything I have laid out in the preceding paragraphs, Nintendo
would be foolish not to port the games.
So those are my thoughts. I would love to hear from our readers in the comments section below. Would you be interested in a home version of Mario Kart Arcade?
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Pictures created from images downloaded from mariowiki.com and wikipedia.org
Used under Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
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that would be epic!!! I've never played this game, but it would be a shame for a development like this to go to waste. this is the best idea I've seen to make the Wii U a day 1 must have. Nintendo-Namco please make this happen.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm glad you liked my article! It really is a shame that not many people played the two Mario Kart arcade games and I will never understand why Nintendo didn't release home versions of them. Here's hoping it might happen someday.
Deletecompletement d accord avec toi!!! j en reve depuis longhtemps, mario kart gp enfin accessible sur console nintendo, la wii u s y prete a merveille, faites un effort s il vous plait la maison nintendo, pour vos fan et pour celebrer comme il se doit l anniversaire de mario kart, avant la sortie de mario kart wii u special de la mort qui tue, s il vous plait ecoutez nous, c est une demande qui vient du fond du coeur, thanks my friends
ReplyDeleteThank you! Nice to hear from someone who agrees with me.
DeleteI would preorder it tomorrow
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are plenty of other gamers who feel the same way. I've been hoping for a console version for years.
DeleteI want this SO much! I love the Wii U, but I currently don't have enough quality games for it! I felt the same way about the 3DS for a while, but Mario Kart and Super Mario 3D Land saved the day, along with many other great games. I hope Nintendo decides to repeat this with the Wii U and give us this arcade port! Mario Kart 64 was my first game ever, and this would really bring back fond memories, all the while creating new ones...
ReplyDeleteOne idea I forgot to mention: Nintendo should release this as a full retail game, but with HD versions of Sherbet Land, Luigi's Circuit, Wario's Stadium, Rainbow Road, Banshee Boardwalk, Moo Moo Ranch, and other courses from the other games, maybe a new track or two as well.
Delete