One of the great hopes for boosting sales of the Wii U is the next Mario Kart game. Mario Kart 8 will sell more than a few systems, no doubt, so it’s surprising to hear we’ll be kept waiting so long for it as Nintendo has announced a May 30 launch date.
The gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played a Mario Kart title before, but Mario Kart 8 does have a few additions. For one, this is the first outing of the series to carry HD visuals. It’s also the first to include all seven of Bowser’s Koopalings as playable characters. That means you’ll have Iggy, Larry, Lemmy, Ludwig, Morton, Roy and Wendy to choose between as well as the regular crew of karters.



In terms of gameplay, hand gliders, motorbikes and underwater sections make a return, but a new anti-gravity feature has been added to certain sections of different tracks. You’ll also be glad to hear there is both local and online multiplayer featuring up to 12 players.
It’s going to be a long wait until we get to play the game, and the news is no better for other highly anticipated titles. Super Smash Bros. and Bayonetta 2 are both only confirmed as arriving in 2014 with no definite dates released as of yet.
The only other game that could help see you through to the end of May is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, which sees a release next week on February 21. Let’s hope it has enough depth to keep us all entertained for the next 3 months.

not waiting as others