Skip to main content

Nintendo announces Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle and free digital game download

nintendo announces mario kart 8 wii u bundle free digital game download
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out our full written Mario Kart 8 review.

Nintendo devoted its latest Nintendo Direct video presentation to the impending arrival of Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U next month, which the company hopes will bolster sales of its successor to the Wii console. 

Recommended Videos

Along with announcing the Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle that will package the game with the Wii U Deluxe Set version of the console — as well as a red Mario Wii Wheel accessory and a red Mario Wii Remote Plus controller — anyone who purchases Mario Kart 8 will also receive a free game download from the Nintendo eShop. The free download will be available after registering your version of Mario Kart 8 with Club Nintendo, and you’ll be able to choose from four titles: New Super Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD or Wii Party U.

Along with touting the Mario Kart 8 bundle and free download, the video also offered up some additional details about the new features of Mario Kart 8, including two new racers (Pink Gold Peach and Baby Rosalina), anti-gravity racing, and  the Spin Boosting ability.

“The numerous new features of Mario Kart 8 make this the most ambitious version yet, and one that will have players of all skill levels racing for the checkered flag,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing.

Mario Kart 8 (and the Mario Kart 8 Wii U Bundle) hits shelves May 30. The Wii U Bundle comes with a suggested retail price of $330.

You can watch the full Nintendo Direct presentation below: 

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Nintendo is shutting down online services for 3DS and Wii U next April
Mega Man and Mario fight in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U,

Nintendo confirmed it will widely shut down online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games in April 2024, which will be just over a year after it discontinued the Nintendo eShop on those systems.
This deactivation of most of the online services for those platforms was revealed on X (formerly Twitter) and Nintendo's support site early Wednesday. "In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. This also includes online co-operative play, internet rankings, and data distribution," the message says. "We will announce a specific end date and time at a later date. Please note that if an event occurs that would make it difficult to continue online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software, we may have to discontinue services earlier than planned. We sincerely thank players for using the online services of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software over a long period of time and apologize for any inconvenience."
Essentially, this means that after April 2024, you won't be able to use any online features in things like 3DS Pokémon games or Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U anymore. Nintendo does say in the Q&A section of its support article that people will still be able to play games offline and redownload updates and games from the Nintendo eShop for the foreseeable future. Pokémon Bank will remain unaffected, so it'll still be possible to transfer Pokémon from Ruby and Sapphire all of the way to Pokémon Home. However, SpotPass support and other online-focused applications like Nintendo Badge Arcade will stop working entirely.

Just like the Wii U and 3DS eShop closure that caused a ruckus earlier this year, this move is a blow to game preservation and will forever harm some games not available anywhere else. While it's understandable that Nintendo might want to move on from these systems' dated online infrastructure, it's still a disappointing move for those of us who spent a lot of time playing games offline and online on these systems.

Read more
What games will Nintendo Switch 2 launch with? We have some ideas
Mario and friends zip through a race course in Mario Kart 8.

We’re officially on “new console watch.” Reports from credible publications like Eurogamer say that Nintendo secretly showed developers its next system behind closed doors at this year’s Gamescom. While it’s only a rumor, it’s a realistic one. We’re six years into the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan and even the longest-running consoles turn over at eight. If Nintendo’s next system is one or two years away, it’s time to start lining up support from third-party developers.

We’ve speculated on features we’d want in a new system before, but the reality of a new platform has me asking another question: What games would you launch with something like this? The Nintendo Switch’s launch day was crucial to its long-term success thanks to a bonafide classic in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While the rest of its launch lineup wasn’t as impressive, Nintendo capitalized fairly quickly with titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2. If Nintendo’s going to push Switch owners over to a new system, it’ll have to roll out the big guns.

Read more
Every Mario Kart game ranked from best to worst
mario kart tour launch day record nintendo mobile

It's hard to imagine a time before Mario and his friends (and foes) got together to speed down the racetrack while throwing shells and hitting speed boosts. The series was a hit from its first entry on the SNES and is still going strong. Today, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is not only the best-selling game on the Switch, despite being a port of the Wii U game, but is still getting new content with the Booster Course Pass adding both revamped classic tracks and a few new ones. Just like the mainline Mario games, the Kart series always changes things up between entries, giving each one its own unique flavor while retaining the tight racing feel. Looking back over the entire franchise, we've ranked every game in the series from best to worst -- though even the series' lowest point is still fun.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Read more