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15th November 2005 - by CharzendatOK, MKDS is now out in the US (I would of had it 4 days ago if Nintendo didn't push the release back :( ). Most of you should have it by now if not I hope your picking it up soon. I've had a couple of e-mails about unlocking things and the information has been added to the details section. I have also uploaded some new Decals and new Time Trials. Other than that I wish you all happy gaming.
13th November 2005 - by CharzendatIf their are any readers of the UK magazine Games Master (the TV series was much better) then turn to page 49 to see is being mentioned. It is a bit out of date (like most of the information in that mag). I'm guessing from the latter it was sent just after the All Star Tour which was in August. SmoothMunky mentions that we have avoer 1000 hits, this is true but over 3 million sounds better (not his fault though, was an old letter). It also says we are dedicated to Mario Kart: Double Dash which we clearly arn't. Well at least they put up some niceartowrk of Mario & Luigi (from Double Dash). Still, it may get us some more readers. If you havn't seen it then check the scan.
I've made a nice update to the Time Trials which are starting to get rather competitive, espically in the Mushroom Cup tracks on Double Dash. I have received E-Mails about our Time Trials and about 50 & 60Hz. I shall tell you all now that our Time Trials section is just a small addition to the site. We don't care if you use 50 or 60Hz or if you use gameglitches to take ridiculose shortcuts, they are just their for a bit of fun.
The details page has been updated. If you missed my update last night then I added maps for 24 of the tracks. BUt I've also updated the mission mode with the missions for the first 6 Levels nad 7-B. Like the maps I said I would improve, we'll also do the missions in some nice tables iving loads of info and on their own page.
Games Master, Time Trials, Missions, a couple of new decals.. been a busy morning. Oh yeah, about the game's release tomorrow (or the day after...). I would ask that you do not send us loads of e-mails about the game and everything (assuming you can get away from it for 10 minutes). If you want to e-mail us some info just tell us how things are unlocked such as the karts, characters, missions etc. Don't go on about track details, mission tips or cool graphics, just how things are unlocked. Thank you.
12th November 2005 - by CharzendatMKDS is under 2 DAYS AWAY! Well for americans anyway. Is that timer right by the way? Dosn't matter, I am here to correct the errors of NOM (Nintendo Official Magazine). In their latest issue they say that your friend code is printed on the bottom of your DS, well it isn't. After searching the bottom of my DS for a while the only code of length I discoverd was 11 characters long (3 letters & 8 numbers). However we know for a fact the friend code is 12 characters long and all numbers. Also if you got to NintendoWiFi.com and to their FAQ, it clearly says that your friend code is generated by the game itself (and therefore different for each game you have). I just thought I'd tell you this before people go around swapping that series of numbers for nothing. But NOM give the game a 95% so they can be forgiven.
On a seperate note the official MKDS UK site has launched and can be found here (better than the .com site IMO). Also check out IGN for a review, Online pros & cons and a MKDS Ad. They rate it the same as NOM with a 9.5 and name it "the greatest Kart racer game ever created", which is nice.
As for site news, well I added the new decals, the poll is going well with Online Play running away with the lead very easily and... thats it.
1 thing I forget. Also check out the new vids at IGN which include a baloon battle at Twilight House and a full lap of Desert Hills.
Gotta give thanks to the official MKDS UK site for giving us the track maps. And thanks to several people who pointed out how to access the later half of the tracks in the Nitro Cup. I have print screens of the 24 maps which have been added to the details section. When the game is out and I've had a good go through I'll update the maps with item locations, baddies, track alterations etc. And also write up a short walkthrough for each track. But that won't be for a month of so yet. Also I ask you not to take these maps and post them on your own site. If you want them then ask but please don't steal them (unless your affiliated in which case help urself).
11th November 2005 - by CharzendatWell it's been at least half a day since then and as far as I know their is still no news to report. But I would like to point you in the direction of Darkain again who have many more images. Including some kart images with their stats and names (probabley all 36 karts) and proof of their being more than 6 levels in Mission Mode. If only they had a better image viewing system. And the new poll is up, I hope you like it. Also if you havn't already look at our Past Polls as they are still open.
Hi ho. No news to report as far as I know but that release date is very close now. Their is some site news to report though. Firstly after receieving several e-mails I have deceided what the topic of the new poll will be, but you'll have to wait a while before I put it up. Secdonly the new decal of the week has been nammed which you can now see on our decals page. I don't think that they are actually called decals in the game but even if they are not they shall always be decals here. Finally, for those who are intrested we just broke the 3 millions hits mark, which is nice.
9th November 2005 - by Charzendat This is probabley old news to most of ya but some people may not know. Only 20 of the 32 tracks will be playable online (apparntly). The reason for this is some images that appears at darkain which shows a list of 20 tracks. It is believed (and most likely true) that these tracks are being viewd whilst online (we know they have been online due to several other online images). Also after checking other sites their has been numerous mentionings of only 20 tracks online. Anyway, you can now see the online track list in the details section.
I would also like to direct you to Gameinformer that have 6 excellent videos of in game racing. Well worth the download.
And if all that isn't enough then we've got some more decals. Get your entries in soon as the decal of the week judging will be this Friday.
One final thing, I want to setup a new poll this Friday since the current one has been up for a while. Any suggestions would be appriciated, just mail them to me.
7th November 2005 - by Charzendat Arse
That was an official respone to ROB. Anyway, news.... well nintendowifi.com is now up and running so I recomend you go their. It's got loads of information on WiFi games, how to connect, whose online and many other intresting bits of useful info. Including a hotpot finder for US & Canada.
I have updated the decals so that the decals are now spread over 3 pages (plus a main page for decal of the week). Also I am now asking that you only e-mail me 1 decal a day, I spent well over an hour sorting out this latest group, so 1 decal per day per artist please. Unless you go to the Forum and show them in the Yoshi Museum, in which case do as many as you can.
7th November 2005 - by SmoothMunkyWhoa new unlockable character has been found. I can't say I'm suprised really. Check it out here and here. Just to prove that this isn't fake, we have a video of him as well here. Other interesting notes are that it seems that everyone can use everyone elses karts. Just look as it says kart 1/36. Also we have a new image that is likey from when you complete the game after unlocking the first four characters here.
5th November 2005 - by Charzendat A whole load of new screenshots have appeard that put our section to shame. SHAME I SAY! Anyway, you can see them here. I know I won't be able to add any to the site untill Monday afternoon, but I don't know about SM.
Oh, and we broke the 2 million hits mark yesterday, thankyou.
5th November 2005 - by SmoothMunkyI'm back again. Just here to let you know that the official Mario Kart DS web site is live. Check it out here. Loads of cool stuff there like videos of half the tracks and info on the characters, items and game modes. I love the official sites. I used to watch the videos on the official Mario Kart: Double Dash!! site all the time before the release. Expect analysis of these videos soon.
4th November 2005 - by CharzendatThe new info from those IGN vids have been added to the details page, but I'm not doing a second by second analysis like I did for the other videos. BigRedPimp has a friend that has a copy of MKDS. No info is really given but their is a quick breakdown and some shots of him setting up the WiFi connection. He does actually get online but their arn't taht many people to play against.
4th November 2005 - by SmoothMunkyWow guys, its been a while. I've proably not even been around since most of you started to visit. I'm just letting you all that, no, I'm not dead. I've just been........ busy. Also you should check out IGN's hands on with Mario Kart DS. While you're there, why not check out some of their new videos. They have one showing off loads of stuff, including Wario's Stadium, Battle mode and missions. Watch out though because it is 25 mins long and over 100MB. There is a quick on showing a trailer for WiFi and another one showing of one of the levels on the star cup. Check them out now. Its good to be back guys. And to repeat what Charzy said earlier "and now I'm off to bed. Goodnight."
Charzendat - The new info from those vids have been added to the details page.
4th November 2005 - by CharzendatOK then, 12 new vids at Gamespy (I'm sure you've already seen them), the winner of decal of the week is JimJimJim with his British Bulldog and now I'm off to bed. Goodnight.
2nd November 2005 - by CharzendatHoly hell the decals have taken over. We now have 119 decals from 22 different artists. They have become so popular that their will be a decal of the week comp. The prize will be satisfaction. The first judging will be this Friday so try to draw the best decals that you can as their is alot to beat.
Also, look at the countdown, go on, look at it. Less than 2 weeks untill MKDS is out in the US.
Now then,a few days ago their was an interview that apparntly confirmed chatting in MKDS. However, this has been confirmed as false by Revo Europe who e-mail Nintendo directly asking them.
Also I've been sent several e-mails about who I think the remaining 4 characters are. I am guessing they will be Birdo, b.Mario, King Boo/Petey Pirahna & Koopa Troopa. So you can stop e-mailing me now.
1st November 2005 - by CharzendatPINCH PUNCH, FIRST OF THE MONTH. NO RETURN!! Got ya. Now then, the decals. It appears that I am going to have to add them to the side menu as we now have 81 decals. So I will make that update tomorrow. Their are other things I wanted to say but I have to go watch Stargate now, so see ya later.
31st October 2005 - by CharzendatSomer more intresting news. An interview here talks mostly about WiFi and the Revo. I translated it with babelfish but the length made it hard to read. But from what I got from it I believe it is possible to chat with your opponents while playing MKDS. But only those that are on your buddy list.
OK, proof of the 12th character. Here. It was speculated before and now thier is solid proof that she is in their. OK. This picture also tells us that you can go into battle mode with only 7 players, which is nice. Also what are the number 0 to 7 doing down the side??? Does not matter, proof of the 12th character. Only 4 more to go.
Also, since last night the decals page has grown overnight. Not only some more taken from the forum but a few through e-mail. So if you've got one you'd like me to show then just e-mail it to me or post it on the forum.
And thankyou to fireblend for sending us this congrats image.
30th October 2005 - by CharzendatNo news today either. But their are some updates which is nice. We have a new wallpaper, some new Time Trials and a new image (it's been around for a while but I only just put it up today). If you havn't voted in the poll yet then please do so. Oh, and we now have over 1 million hits, which is nice.
Added a new page, Decals. I havn't added it to the menu on the side cause that takes alot of work. But if it gets big enough I'll add it. In the meantime their are plenty of links over the site so it's not too hard to find.
29th October 2005 - by CharzendatHmmmmm, no news today. Better make something up. F-ZERO GX TRACKS WILL BE IN MKDS!! PROOF!!
Also, I noticed we didn't have any images of the decal screen, so I got one for ya. Enjoy.
28th October 2005 - by CharzendatWhen you go online to play Mario Kart DS, look out for this:
Thanks to Simon Amer for tipping us off about the Nintendo DS USB Access Point which can now be pre-ordered at play.com and Amazon.co.uk (£24.99 released 25/11/05, of course). US residents however will only be able to purchase it from the Nintendo Store (but it's not their yet).
Incase you don't know what it is, plugging this into your computer will allow you to play online through the Nintendo WiFi in games such as Animal Crossing: Wild World, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land and a little racer known as Mario Kart DS. Of course, if you already have a wirless router at home you won't need one and if you can't afford it their are the free hotspots that are around the country (awaiting details an exactly where though).
That was last night, this is today (well depending where you live that is). 37 new images have been added to the gallery inclduing some that show team multiplayer games. The details page has been updated as usual and I have made the new poll. Enjoy. Oh, and we got some new MK64 Time Trials.
The 11th character has been confirmed. We all know the standard 8 and Waluigi is a deffinate unlockable which makes 9. Since Shy Guy is used in multi-player for those who do not have the game cartridge then excluding him from those with the cartridge just seems silly, so thats 10. But now, number 11 of a reported 16 has been announced. I know some of you don't like spoilers so just go to this image to see for yourself. If you don't know who he is then just look at the address of the picture to see his name.
27th October 2005 - by CharzendatThnks to everyone who sent me this link to Tincon Portatil. It features a load of new images from Peach Gardens & Wario Stadium. Plus images of a few more of the karts. I won't take them all due to the large number but 48 of them are in the gallery and on the details page. The videos are nothing new and are the same ones mentioned in the fantastic 4.
And if all that isn't enough the their are 2 new wallpapers for you to have. If you have any MKDS releated wallpapers or artwork then please send them in and we'll feature them for you/
26th October 2005 - by CharzendatI've been waiting for this for quite a while now. Nintendo have finally released their official site at mariokart.com. The old double dash site has gone and I've looked around and it appears gone forever, which is a shame. But the official site is here (even though it isn't much). The screenshots are very old and the links at the bottom go to the MKDS page at Nintendo.com (plus the one to NintendoWiFi), but it is their. They do have their first official wallpapers however, 1 of mario & 1 of Luigi which can also be found on our Wallpaper page. If anything else happens their we'll let you know.
26th October 2005 - by CharzendatSome videos appeared last night and if you go to the link below you can find them and my walkthrough of the clips. I have already taken some screenshots of them which can now be found in our gallary as well as the relevant place on the details page.
I have changed the countdown timer to go for the US release date (14th November). I don't know what time zone I've set it to but it's some place in America, somewhere. When that one is finished I'll change it too Australia (17th Novemeber), back to Europe (25th November) and finally Japan (8th December).
I have received many e-mails about characters people would like me to put in the poll, but please, stop suggesting characters from MKDD, all of them will be in their.
25th October 2005 - by Charzendat The fantastic 4. Not the movie, just some new MKDS vids we found.
25th October 2005 - by Charzendat While searching the web yesterday I found this french MKDS site. Now if you want a translation then all I can say is babel fish it (they can do full page translations). Anyway, I did manage to get a couple of small nuggets of new info from it.
- In balloon battle mode it appears you start off with one balloon and have to inflate the others yourself by blowing into the mic. No more information concerning this is given.
- In versus mode (local only) you can set yourself up in teams.
- If you are having 2-player versus you get 10 points for first and 5 for second.
- If you are having 3-player versus you get 10 points for first, 7 for second and 4 for third.
Nothing spectaculy intresting but if your a big Mario Kart fan it is sure worth knowing.
Oh, and so far this month we have had over 400,000 hits. So thankyou : )
24th October 2005 - by Charzendat No real news today, jsut some info. I may soon make a poll asking which character you would most like to see in MKDS. If their is anyone in particular you would like me to have as an option then just e-mail me. Also I recently received a wallpaper made by one Ryan Sizemore. It is simple, yet impressive and can now be found on our wallpaper page.
22nd October 2005 - by Charzendat Look at that countdown, just over a month left for Europe. And of course it's going to be out in the US in just over 3 weeks, which is why I will be talking to SM to see if we can change that for the US release date. Anyway, today I have worked on the Time Trial pages. I was sent a good ulk of MK64 times which I'm sure/praying that some of you want to beat. Even if you can't beat them send me a picture of your time and you will have presidence over the current ones.
I also added the MKDS tracks to the Time Trials page (why not) when i noticed something, their are 2 Luigi CIrcuits in their, odd hmm. Could this be that the these new track listings are a LIE!!! Maybe, we'll have to wait and see.
21st October 2005 - by Charzendat We have some good news to report to you today, complete track listings. They have been up for a short while now but I was very busy last night and this morning and unable to report them to you. Anyway, the tracks that will be included into the game are:
Retro Mode
Shell Cup
- Mario Circuit 1 (SNES)
- Moo Moo Farm (N64)
- Peach Circuit (GBA)
- Luigi Circuit (GCN)
- Donut Plains 1 (SNES)
- Frappe Snowland (N64)
- Bowser Castle 2 (GBA)
- Baby Park (GCN)
- Koopa Beach 2 (SNES)
- Choco Mountain (N64)
- Luigi Circuit (GBA)
- Mushroom Bridge (GCN)
- Choco Island 2 (SNES)
- Banshee Boardwalk (N64)
- Sky Garden (GBA)
- Yoshi Circuit (GCN)
No Rainbow Road??? *Crosses fingers for Rainbow Cup"
Nitro Mode
Mushroom Cup
- Figure-8 Circuit
- Yoshi Falls
- Cheep Cheep Beach
- Luigi's Mansion
- Desert Hills
- Delfino Square
- Waluigi Pinball
- Shroom Ridge
- DK Pass
- Tick-Tock Clock
- Mario Circuit
- Airship Fortress
- Wario Stadium
- Peach Gardens
- Bowser Castle
- Rainbow Road
You can also see these track listings in our updated details page.
In the news of secret characters their has been confirmation of 8 in total. We already know of Waluigi and Shy Guy is suspected to be another, but who are the reamining 6???
Incase you are intrested we got all our information from revo-europe, and we thank them for that. But seeing how their article has some similarties to ours (in particular the bit about Toad & Yoshi on Rambi), you must think were they get their info from. They must know the same spanish guy.
Finally and most importantly I have some excellent and highley exclusive news to report. We've got 3 new times in our Time Trails table, YAY!!! Come on people, submit yours and if you've got proof that would be nice too.
19th October 2005 - by Charzendat To be honest I was a bit worried today. It was 7 o'clock and I had nothing special to offer you. I was thinking of making a new poll to compensate, but then I lucked out and entered into a conversation with the Spanish Guy. You can find the transcript here in a simple .txt format. But if you want the important stuff quickly then just read the bullet points:
- Waluigi is unlockable by completing the Star Cup (Which difficulty is unknown),
- Mirror Mode is unlocked by completing all cups in 150cc,
- Each character has 7 karts (maybe more, unknown). Some of them are repeated amongst the characters (Yoshi & Toad can use DK's Rambi Kart),
- The tracks in the Special Cup are Wario Stadium (name may change, Peach Garden, Bowser's Castle & Rainbow Road
Well that is all we have. Don't take ti as read that just because I only mentioend Waluigi can be unlocked that no one else can. Sadly their are no images or videos to confirm any of this but I believe that they will be on the net before long.
18th October 2005 - by CharzendatLet me first tell you that SM is still around. It's just that he can't seem to get Dreamweaver working at his university so he can't upload anything. But he's still here working hard. Right, down to the news. Not really MKDS news today, more WiFi & McDonalds. Nintendo have been talking with Wayport (they do alot of WiFi stuff) and come November 14th you will be able to access the WiFi abilities of your NDS at nearly 6000 McDonalds throught the US. Their is no news yet weather they will get some in Europe or other parts of the world, but it's good news for you Americans. You can read the full article at Nintendo.com.
Also you can now visit www.NintendoWiFi.com for a nice flash animation. Although come November it will probabley allow you to locate your nearest Hotspot.
That is all for today, come back tomorrow when I am hoping we'll have something extra special for you.
17th October 2005 - by CharzendatOK, another update today with more screenshots. These were taken by Yoshiking from the 7 videos. Also 2 brand new screenshots from the Spanish guy who did the 2 vids. One of them is just a bit of Mushroom Hills but the other shows a section of Rainbow Road without a side. We also have a few things in Japanese. I don't know exactly what they are or where they came from, but it's got pictures of MKDS on them so their good enough for me. Also, Yoshiking & SmoothMunky have been in contact with the Spanish guy who made the recent MKDS videos. He will be playing the game again tomorrow so be ready to get some more news and vids soon too.
Oh, and I've added links to the new images on the Details page too.
We now have 77 screenshots, over a dozen movies and 7 japanese articles. So any site that says they have more MKDS info than us are filthy rotten liars. Give em slap from me.
16th October 2005 - by CharzendatCompletley re-did the Details page. So go their for everything you can and would want to know about MKDS at this moment of time. SM is currently working on the artwork images to make them suitable for the site header, so they should appear any day now.
15th October 2005 - by CharzendatI have added some new screenshots and artwork to our gallery. To be honest they have been out for a while but I got distracted with the videos. Anyway, enjoy.
Also, I have been so busy that I forgot to mention the information about multiplayer. Here ya go.
Single Cartridge Play:
Up to 8 Players,
Race, Balloon Battle or Shine Game,
If you own the game you can choose any character and use your own decal,
If you are downloading it then you can only play as Shy Guy (stats unknown),
Only 8 Tracks & 3 Arenas availiable (assuming the player with cartridge chooses),
100cc engine class.
Multi Cartridge Play:
Up to 8 Players,
Race, Balloon Battle or Shine Game,
Any tracks, arenas or characters can be chosen (if their are unloackable ones then you may all have to unlock them for them to be available, unknown),
Win/loose ratio is saved,
The game will add the player to your buddy list,
Ghosts can be traded.
Online Play:
Up to 4 players,
Racing only,
You can choose to play against Friends (players on your buddy list), Rivals (players with similar skills), Recent Opponents, Players in the same Country, Players on the same planet,
Track choice is decided by a vote; If it's a tie the track is randomly chosen,
You can use your decals.
Well their you go. All the info on multiplayer Mario Kart DS. Their are still a few voids like unlockable tracks and characters, but they will be cleaned up soon. A shame about battle mode not being allowed online, but thats somthing for them to look at with the Revolution.
12th October 2005 - by Charzendat The secrets of the 7 vids.
11th October 2005 - by Charzendat I bet your getting sick of all these updates now. IGN have given a report from the Japanese mag Famitsu. Some new details are revealed which I shall now list for you in easy to read bullet points:
- You can jump (already known).
- The stearing is similar to MK64, despite the D-Pad limitations.
- Karts are in a greater variety than ever before. Like MKDD they have different handling, drift, weight, speed etc. But also some karts are better at getting decent items. It's a trade-off, do you go for the nippy speedster that can get to 100mph in 2 seconds but is limited with poor stearing and bananas, or the slow and steady rock with a top speed of 3 meters an hour but will never be thrown of course and can always grab you a star (exagurated).
- Different karts perform differently on different tracks.
- By driving directly behind someone you can get in their slip stream and speed up.
- Their is a decal editor allowing to make your own decals (32x32).
- The game will store a friend's list (up to 60). Whenever you play someone in a local WiFi match they will automatically added to your friends list. You can also exchange codes with someone to add them manually.
- Balloon mode is in multiplayer allowing you to have 5 balloons instead of the usual 3 (unknown if you can change this number).
- "Collect Shine" appears as a new multiplayer mode in which you have to collect the most shines. Hitting someone causes them to loose shines.
- The game will feature a Mission Run Mode where players are given a specific kart and have to perform tasks on a track. Certain tasks revealed include driving through tires or taking out crabs in a battle stage. By beating pre-set times you can unlock new karts.
All very exciting isn't it. Since the game is now a month away in the US we can expect to get loads of new data very soon.
11th October 2005 - by Charzendat More news. This was found by SmoothMunky but he's got college so couldn't post it himself. This news is confirmation on tracks and cups. It will have 32 tracks 16 old & 16 new. The new ones will probabley be sorted into the usual Mushroom, Flower, Star & Special (not confirmed), but the old ones will go into 4 new cups entitled Shell, Banana, Leaf & Lightning. You can read all at revo-europe. Now some tracks have been confirmed and I plan to work on a current track list later as well as what cups I believe they go into. But for now just think about playing an all-cup tour with 32 tracks.
10th October 2005 - by Charzendat We have some better news this time, straight from the dsnews site. Firstly they report of a feature in the German mag N Zone. This feature apparntly includes information on 3 new tracks (Piazza Delfino, Waluigi Flipper, Mushroom Mountain and more). Also it says they have 4 cups with 8 tracks in each, and information on some remakes (Mario Circuit 1 (SMK), Peach Circuit & Bowser Castle 2 (MKSC), Frappe Snowland (MK64) and Baby Park from MKDD. Full article here.
In other dsnews news, they have a video that features Plazza Delfino which can now be found in our downloads section (in zip form). Other than the new track it gives some intresting multiplayer information. Firstly I can tell its multiplayer from the logo in the bottom right, weather it is onlie or not is unclear. However, I believe that the character being used is Luigi, and their are 2 more Luigi's on the track, showing that one character can be selected multiple times. Also, the Luigi being used is in a different kart from the other 2, showing that you get to choose which kart you want to race in. But we kinda knew/speculated that already.
9th October 2005 - by Charzendat Well, at least it's news to report. The European release date has been pushed back to 25th November (see Nintendo-Europe). It dosn't give the reason but I believe it's due to the Wi-Fi and having it ready for the release of MKDS. The counter has been changed to go for this new release date, which shows we have over 6 weeks left to go.
7th October 2005 - by Charzendat YAY! News. Well not really. An interview from IGN at the Nintendo Fusion Tour. The only thing of note is that MKDS will be a great game and shall feature new characters, but thats it. Go to downloads to download it (but not from us, as it's a bit too big).
2nd October 2005 - by Charzendat Don't worry, we are still alive and havn't forgotten about you. It's just that me and SM have both recently gone back to college which leaves little time to add new polls and quizes. Plus their hasn't really been any new MKDS news to speak of. But don't worry, as soon as we find some we'll let you know.
16th September 2005 - by SmoothMunky Its the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) this weekend and while everyone is talking about Revolution Controller this and HD era that I've only got one thing to comment on. I was watching the broadcast of Satoru Iwata's (President of Nintendo) Keynote speech and he was talking about the future of the DS and this image popped up. It looks like that new artwork is the new logo for Mario Kart DS. For shame. Oh well, nothing we can but imbrase it and hope that the European package gets a makeover. Not much else news to comment on except that Nintendo are hoping to release some more news regarding Nintendo Wi-fi will be avalible in October. Stayed tuned for new updates.
11th September 2005 - by Charzendat And you thought we had forgotten about you. I'm not saying much just telling you that I have added a new poll. I found the results of the polls quite intresting and I did not expect Lightning Bolt to win, believe it or not. Anyway, a new poll has been added and their are plans for the next quiz. Just 2 months to go people.
8th September 2005 - by Charzendat Oh deary, deary me. A new logo has appeared on the scene and it's a bit iffy. While some people may like the new look others probably won't. You can see the image here and in our gallery. Also you may notice but I've moved some more of the old news stories to our Archive. And finally I hope you like our timer, counting down to the release of MKDS in Europe (if you want the US release then just add a few days :p ).
5th September 2005 - by SmoothMunky Thanks to MrStupes for finding these 2 new videos. One of the last half of Luigi's Mansion and the other the end of Cheep Cheep Beach and the begining of Luigi's Mansion. These videos are from Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 05 and they were taken by the people from Nintendo Now.
Also news has come about that Battle Mode will not be playable online. This might upset some people, but it really doesn't bother me that much, because I perfer racing. But for all you battle fans, don't fret because remember you can now do battle against the computer.
31st August 2005 - by Charzendat It's been kinda slow recently due to a lack of Mario news, so I'm just making this update to let you know we are still alive. I have added a new poll and a new quiz to the poll and quiz sections. That's it, if anything happens we'll let you know.
25th August 2005 - by SmoothMunkyIts been a while but theres not been much to update. I've put a timer at the top of the home page, counting down until the European release. Also we have two new affiliates:
- Mario Kart Competition, a french site with a Mario Kart DS league for when it comes out. I don't understand the content, but the layout is great.
- Project MKart, a forum made for Mario Kart DS, but it has lots of different places to talk about lots of different things. I see site battles coming up when MKDS is released.
24th August 2005 - by Charzendat 2 new videos have been released and you can find them here at IGN. Each video is 30 seconds long and both feature a short section of Moo Moo Farm, however from this single minute of footage we have learned quite alot.
- Moo Moo Farm has shrunk and the track is much narrower than the MK64 version. This is probabley so they can fit everything onto the game cart and we should expect further alterations for other past tracks.
- The most clear thing in the videos are the icons coming from each of the drivers. I believe that these videos are taken from Multiplayer mode and they are the defualt icons for each driver. We know that you will be able to draw your own icons to appear on your kart so they will probabley feature in the boxes too.
- You can also some lettering next to each of the white boxes, these are most likely the names of each of the players. From a recent interview with Hideki Konno it is unlikely that they are the name you enter when you first turn on your DS and are probabley unique to the game.
- When Peach is hit by the lightning she only remains shrunk for about 4 seconds, this will likely be lengthend in the final version.
- Also when Peach fired her three green shells they all went off together very quickly (that may of been on purpose though). This may also be altered in the final version so that would not happen.
- Yoshi does a get a star but no star music appears, this is also likely to change.
- Peach does get hit by DK while invincible, but she dosn't get stopped for long, another thing that could be changed.
- Alot of the sound effects appear to be very 'kilinky'. This may be due to the limitations of the DS.
- And we may of known this before but the starting line-up is in the style of MKDD
- One finaly thing. WHERE IS LAKITU!? Early videos have shown him in his usual position, but has our famous race guide vanished from the starting line up? Who will save the poor drivers from the watery deep now? Hmmmm, didn't they mention something about extra drivers?
Anyway, all of this is pure speculation as no information has been given with the videos. If you can translate the german spoken at the start of the Peach video (I doubt it contains anyhting important though) or you can spot anything else from those 2 videos, then please contact us.
You can now download these videos from our Downloads page.
23rd August 2005 - by Charzendat All US residents can now relax as a release date for Mario Kart DS has been cofirmed as November 14th.
I should be doing some more research really. On my travels through the web I have found this excellent interview with Hideki Konno on Gamecube Europe. It reveals exciting new info on a new item and on a Pinball themed track.
19th August 2005 - by Charzendat No real news to report today. Just letting you know SM has gone away for the weekend and will be back tuesday. Also I have added some times for SMK in Time Trials. If you wish to submit your own time then send it to TimeTrials@MarioKartDS.co.uk. A photo is preferd but not nesscery.
18th August 2005 - by Charzendat Another great day in the world of Mario Kart DS. While nothing new has been announced abuot the game, 8 new screenshots and 2 new pieces of artword were released from the Games Conference in Leipzig, Germany. You can see these in our Gallery.
Just went through the site and I noticed a few errors, they have been corrected now. The new poll has been altered so you can only vote once (which explains why Peach is winning). Also I've added the new artwork of peach to the top of the page and finally I took some of the older news reports from this month and placed them in the Archive.
17th August 2005 - by SmoothMunkyThe biggest news story on the site so far. A European release date has been annouced at the Games Conference in Leipzig, Germany. That date is the 11th November. It's an easy date to remember. 11/11. Only the European date so far has been confirmed, but now that it has, the american and japanese dates are sure to follow close behind. More information as it develops, so keep checking back.
Source - Nintendo.co.uk
17th August 2005 - by CharzendatAn with Hideki Konno (the producer of MKDS) in the September issue of NOM revealed three very intresting things. More items, more karts and more characters. While no specific details were announced here are my thoughts.
From the looks of the interview it does appear that they don't plan to use the karts from MKDD, but since they were designed for 2 characters its understandable. But ever since this image was seen I have always believed their would be more karts. Perhaps they'll have karts that follow themes, the Go-Karts, the F1 Racers, Jeeps etc.
Konno said that they will use items that involve the DS hardware. The touch screen is out cause you don't want to stop mid race to use an item, so something that responds to the mic could be a possibility. Perhaps a shell that homes in on the character who's name you say. And what about MKGP, that had somewhere in a region of 100 items, will any of those make an appereance?
Having all the characters return from MKDD is most likely, but could they have new ones. Maybe Namco will let Nintendo put Pacman and Ms. Pacman in their (they are in MKGP).
Why this is all very intresting but as I said at the start, no specific details were given. But I am glad of this because it gives us even more to speculate on.
Their won't be much to update on the site today but I am working on an MKDS wallpaper which might appear later (but don't count on it). A new poll has been added asking you which is your favourite Mario Kart character (you can still vote in the old poll here).Finally I'd like to give a big thank you to all who are reading this as our popularity has now tripled with 12519 hits yesterday. Lets keep this up. P.S. NOM RAWKS!!
16th August 2005 - by SmoothMunky Another day, another update. A lot done today. Your desktop looking dull? Why not use a Mario Kart themed wallpaper. There are quite a few on there to choose from including ones from Mario Kart 64, Super Circuit and Double Dash. Did you try out our first quiz? Well there's a second one now, in the form of a crossword. Also we have been featured on DSNews.co.uk. We will shortly be added to their friends list, and they will be added to our affiliates later. As always we've been getting more and more visitors. If your new, enjoy your stay and join the forums
15th August 2005 - by SmoothMunky Each day the site is getting more popular as each day goes by. Yesterday our old total of 2001 hits was smashed by a 65% rise to 3306. Keep on coming people, we have plenty for you to see.
Another update. We have a brand new affiliate: Zelda 101. Check it out, its a cool site. The Links and Details pages have been updated a little bit. All of pages now have their own titles as well. Also there are some videos in the Downloads section. Videos of Cheep Cheep Beach and Luigi's Mansion. Thats all for now.
The preview of Mario Kart DS that I played at the All Stars Tour in Eastbourne on Saturday is now up. Check it out. I'd like to thank Yoshiking for proof reading it because my spelling sucks. To anyone that got one my cards at the weekend, join our forum. I'm sure you'll like it there. Tell everyone what you thought of Mario Kart DS. The details page has been slightly updated as well. A special download will be avalible soon so keep checking back to get it. Why not Add MarioKartDS to your bookmarks.
14th August 2005 - by Charzendat Thanks to Yoshiking the Retro MK section is now spelling error free. Also I wish to report our most succesful day so far was yesterday with over 2000 hits (2001). Finally SmoothMunky was at the Nintendo All-Stars tour yesterday and got to play some MKDS, expect his write-up soon.
11th August 2005 - by SmoothMunky There are some MKDD music files now on the site. You can find them in the Downloads section. Also the Links and the MKDD page have been updated. Check it out.
11th August 2005 - by Charzendat Just reporting a few minor updates. Edited the gallery so if you now click on an image you can see it enlarged and added a few other things here and their (just minor alterations). On a MKDS related note, Nintendo.com have begun Wi-Fi surveys. If you want to participate then go here, but you will have to be a member.
10th August 2005 - by Charzendat As of Midnight BST this site is now officially up and running. Over the past few weeks me and SmoothMunky have been working hard to get this site finished, and now it is. Obviously more will be added as time goes on, SmoothMunky is actually going to be playing a demo of Mario Kart DS this weekend, but this is what we have for now. I hope you all enjoy the site and keep coming for many, many, many months to come.
26th July 2005 - by Charzendat OK, site still not online but I'm doing this anyway. I am here to tell you that we now have the ability to upload our site and the coming soon page is up and running. SmoothMunky is away on holiday at the moment, but the site will be completley up shortley after his return (in 2 weeks). In the mean time I will be working on the site. Finally I want to give a super mega double thanks (with cream) to Troopa, who was a massive help in getting us this far.
24th July 2005 - by Charzendat You might want to know that SM made those news updates but the site isn't even online yet. We are having a few difficulties but I'm sure they will be worked out before long.
24th July 2005 - by SmoothMunky Just testing to see if everything now works because we had some problems with the images and content in Internet Explorer. Everything should be working okay now. Some more pages are now up including the News Archive, About Us and Contact Us. The Details section is also up but is still being updated.
22nd July 2005 - by SmoothMunky Just testing to see if this works. Welcome to SmoothMunky's (me) and Charzendat's new website: MarioKartDS.co.uk. This site is here to keep everyone up to date with everything Mario Kart DS. Once the game is released then there will be a place where you can set you setup races with your friends, but that won't be for a while. Only the front page at the moment, but more will come shortly.