Post by: WindyMan on February 17, 2005, 06:51:02 PM
Every year, the All-Nippon Amusment Machine Operator's Union holds their annual show. AOU2005 is basically E3 for the Japanese arcade industry, and traditional arcade powerhouses such as Sega, Namco, Sammy, and Capcom show off their latest coin-op creations.
As for Namco, early reports from the show have revealed a rather interesting new arcade unit: Mario Kart. Running on the Triforce arcade hardware, the Mario Kart Arcade GP will allow up to four units to link up for some furious karting action, complete with koopa shells, banana peels, power slides, and everything else that makes Mario Kart great on the consoles. The arcade version will also feature magnetic cards for data tracking, similar to what Sega implemented in the also Triforce-powered F-Zero AX.
Mario, DK, Yoshi, and the standard cast of characters will definately be in the game, but making a special appearance from Namco's stable of characters is none other than Pac-Man. Yes, you can take the pellet-gobbling yellow blob, sit him down in a kart, and see how he fares against Mario and crew. A full character list hasn't been announced yet, but judging from screens, as many as 10 characters might be available. They'll all be able to race in 24 tracks set in 6 Mario-themed worlds.
The coolest feature the unit will have, however, is Namco's special NamCam system, which lets the player take his or her picture, then use it as a position marker, so other players can see who is driving which kart. Early screenshots show goofy eye and hat stickers applied over the photos (think Game Boy Camera), which could lead to some hilarious action.
Mario Kart Arcade GP is scheduled to be released to the arcades in Japan this fall. With this announcement just coming in from the Japanese show, no US release mentioned, but considering that Nintendo got F-Zero AX released in North America, it wouldn't be too hard to imagine the game coming out over here eventually.
Post by: MattVDB on February 17, 2005, 07:14:46 PM
Post by: Robageejammin on February 17, 2005, 07:29:59 PM
Post by: VideoGamerJ on February 17, 2005, 07:58:16 PM
Post by: WuTangTurtle on February 17, 2005, 08:21:41 PM
Post by: King of Twitch on February 17, 2005, 08:27:18 PM
Post by: anubis6789 on February 17, 2005, 09:05:50 PM
When I went to Disney World last summer I knew it had arcades all over the place so I was about to bring my memory card with my F-Zero save, but then I figured what were the chances and I would probably just loose my memory card anyways, so I left it at home. When I got to the hotel that I was staying at, guess what was in the lobby, for 25ยข a game no less.
Needless to say when it got dark and I left one of the parks and came back to the hotel I would drop a few dollors in that machine. I tried to beat all the best times for each track ,which were all held by the same name. I wonder if my phantom rival even knows that I beat his score at the sonic loop. I still regret not bringing my memory card.
*EDIT* grammar
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on February 17, 2005, 09:38:30 PM
Post by: joshnickerson on February 18, 2005, 03:06:44 AM
It looks cool. I wonder if there's going to be the ability to bring in your Double Dash save and maybe unlock a special course or character in the arcade game, depending on what you unlocked in Double Dash. I kind of doubt Nintendo will go to the trouble of porting this to the Cube though, since Double Dash is still doing well. It'd probably shut IGN up though. *L*
Oh, and did anyone else notice that the coin system is apparently back?
*Continues to wait for Ian to pop up, complaining about Nintendo releasing yet ANOTHER Mario game.*
Post by: Pale on February 18, 2005, 03:31:18 AM
Post by: Spak-Spang on February 18, 2005, 03:31:20 AM
Sony has talked about including a camera as a part of its new system.
Nintendo could be doing the same...Personally if I had a camera within the system I would want it installed to the controller and not the console, but I dunno if that would work.
I think this is awesome, and I hope to see it for the next system not Gamecube, because there is just enough time to really jazz up a home edition for launch with a new system.
Also just another aside, IF Nintendo is preparing this for a launch game and includes that cool camera feature, then it means some kind of online gaming support.
All around I think this is great news.
Post by: Bill Aurion on February 18, 2005, 04:26:22 AM
But of course with even more tracks and battle stages!
Post by: couchmonkey on February 18, 2005, 04:34:22 AM
Edit: Okay, okay...that's not to say it COULDN'T be remade for Revolution as Bill suggested, I just think/hope that Revolution Mario Kart will look a lot better than this *kicks self for being a graphics ho*.
I hope the reason we aren't seeing themed, two-character karts in recent Mario Kart games is because Nintendo wants to save it's more creative ideas for the home console versions of the series, but I don't know. While I personally thought a lot of the themed carts looked stupid, I liked the concept and I think it would be awesome if more time and effort was put into making the designs more go-cart-like. And the two-character set up added a nice twist, I don't think it needs to be in every game, but I'd like to see it again, for sure.
Post by: JonLeung on February 18, 2005, 05:06:26 AM
It should be more likely to show up in arcades, though by how much is anybody's guess. I never saw an F-Zero AX machine at all around here... :/
Post by: Pale on February 18, 2005, 05:16:05 AM
Edit: Hell, wouldn't it be awesome if these arcade cabinets had a spot for a person to stand on the back? Make it so two people could still play for the cost of one normal play as long as one was willing to not drive. Give them a fire forward and fire back button along with a little screen showing their item. Then make the floor tippy so that it can sense which way they are leaning to activiate the blue sparks. That would be a bad ass arcade game then.
Post by: Spak-Spang on February 18, 2005, 06:35:42 AM
I would rather have a Mario Kart look that good and launch for Revolution then have it look potentially better, but wait 2 years.
24 Tracks is alot, but I am willing to bet many of those tracks are old track designs redesigned with higher resolution.
I think added tracks, adding battle courses, and resolution will be enough to make it a revolution game.
And theme Karts could be hidden and unlocked...I like that idea best.
Post by: Pale on February 18, 2005, 07:16:36 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on February 18, 2005, 07:16:53 AM
You need to check out the thread in Other Systems since that's where I've responded so far.
If this was just another Cube Mario Kart game I would irritated that Nintendo would waste time and effort on something so unneeded. But this isn't a Cube game, not yet anyway. Mario Kart is one of the few Mario spinoffs that I feel should continue to appear on each Nintendo console. It's become big enough that it's really it's own franchise outside of Mario. It attracts sales because it's "Mario Kart" not just because it's a derivative game with "Mario" on the box.
I want to see this on the Revolution. I think it's a perfect easy launch title. It's already pretty much done. The track design (except maybe for battle mode), the engine, etc are all done already. It's really just a port job and they've got a major title that they can plug into the Revolution release schedule at pretty much any time. And the face mapping thing might relate to the Rev's new features as well. The only problem I can see is that if Mario Kart is a Revolution launch title then it might not be online which would kind of suck. Mario Kart NEEDS to be online at some point and having to wait yet another generation for it would be a waste.
Other then that thought they could save it for any potential post-launch drought. Imagine if Mario Kart: Double Dash had been released in February 2002. The Cube's whole position in the console wars could be completely different if a title of that calibre had been released right in the middle of the post-launch drought.
Post by: MattVDB on February 18, 2005, 07:26:29 AM
Yeah, so I'm a bit iffy about Pac-Man being in the game. Am I the only one that thinks that a bit weird? He doesn't seem to have a place in the mario universe. Correction, he doesn't have a place. Hmmpf
Post by: Ian Sane on February 18, 2005, 07:43:39 AM
It's revenge for Mario's stupid commentary ruining Pac-Man Vs.
Post by: Hostile Creation on February 18, 2005, 07:56:46 AM
Post by: Spak-Spang on February 18, 2005, 07:57:05 AM
As for Revolution. If this was a launch game or any Mario Kart game was a launch game you would see millions instantly. Mario Kart is one of the most beloved franchises of all.
I actually think Nintendo is making a mistake launching this new Zelda for Gamecube.
This Zelda should be pushed back, enhanced and perfect for Revolution.
Launch games should include. Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, and perhaps Pilot Wings. If Nintendo did that and had Smash Brothers waiting from the next lineup of games it would be a great start.
Post by: Pale on February 18, 2005, 08:12:22 AM
Post by: vudu on February 18, 2005, 08:16:33 AM
If this game is Nintendo's sole launch title for Revolution, I will be very upset. Plus, a port for a launch title is acceptable if it's a not a port of a game that everyone's already played.
With Super Mario DS, not only was it the system's only first-party launch title, but it was a port of a game that everyone has already played through at least twice.
Post by: Ian Sane on February 18, 2005, 08:24:12 AM
And yes kingvudu I would be upset if this was the sole Revolution launch title.
Not because of what this game is but just because having only one title is REALLY lame.
Post by: Spak-Spang on February 18, 2005, 09:24:00 AM
Its a racing game...its not like the image of Pacman taints, hurts the gameplay, or does anything negative to the game. I think its kinda cool. Its another option, that is all.
I could understand complaining about PacMan in a 3D Mario Game, or in Smash Brothers, because then the gameplay could be dramatically different. Not so with in this case though.
Its just like secret characters in Tony Hawk or SSX3. They are wierd for sure, and don't seem to fit, but they also don't hurt the game.
Post by: couchmonkey on February 18, 2005, 10:05:03 AM
But I still think the game is only a little better looking than Double Dash.
I grabbed a pile of screens from both Gamesarefun and PlanetGameCube to make sure I wasn't fooling myself. I think the thing that makes the Arcade game look better to everyone is that they're going for a more realistic style. As someone else here said, they're not basing it on Super Mario Sunshine. Which is great, but its also a matter of taste. Qualitatively, I think the only things that definitely look better in the Arcade screenshots are: - Sharper graphics, mainly because it isn't using a depth-of-field effect
- Better character models, however there is also only one character per kart, and from what I've seen, only six karts are on the track at one time! There is way more chaos in the Double Dash screenshots.
I'd still like to see this game as an early Revolution port, and I wouldn't even mind if they don't enhance the graphics, I just think Revolution will be capable of more.
Post by: PaLaDiN on February 18, 2005, 11:10:40 AM
Post by: Pale on February 18, 2005, 11:15:09 AM
Post by: Mario on February 18, 2005, 12:40:33 PM
Post by: Djunknown on February 18, 2005, 04:48:17 PM
Yeah, yeah Mario Kart comes to the arcade. Whoopty-do. I really can't be too excited; F-Zero AX is nowhere to be found in my area(or my state for that matter), and what few arcades are left just have the DDR upteenth mix and Tekken 5 as the newest games. Granted, this is Namco we're talking about, who are better off than Sega, but I won't hold my breath.
The whole Triforce gig was a wasted opportunity, at least here in the North America. I wanted to play F-Zero AX. Very badly. But Sega didnt' distribute them En-mass, and Nintendo didn't bother taking up distribution duty. I shouldn't have to bend over backwards just because they didn't put their best foot foward.
Oh well, but if it indeed shows up around my area, I'll quit my bitching.
Post by: Savior on February 18, 2005, 05:31:29 PM
Post by: Hostile Creation on February 18, 2005, 08:57:22 PM
Post by: MattVDB on February 18, 2005, 09:39:21 PM
Post by: KDR_11k on February 19, 2005, 12:24:12 AM
Post by: JonLeung on February 19, 2005, 05:12:08 AM
Pac-Man has been in Pac-Man Fever with Astaroth.
Astaroth has been in Soul Calibur II with Link.
Link has been in Super Smash Bros. (and SSBM and SMRPG and Tetris (NES)) with Mario.
Ha! Three degrees!
Thanks to several comic book/video game/etc. crossovers, you'd be surprised at how many characters are in the same multiverse as Mario. Pac-Man is just closer than he was before, if you don't count Pac-Man Vs. (Lara Croft, Optimus Prime, Batman, and several other characters are also in the same multiverse as Super Mario if you think about it.)
Besides, Pac-Man is a cartoony character, and a major classic game character. It's inevitable that they should meet. If you don't like it, don't play him.
Though I wonder what features you'd be able to add on your picture if you chose Pac-Man. It's not like there's much to Pac-Man, unless they make your face yellow or put his arms coming out of your ears. o_0
Post by: Bill Aurion on February 19, 2005, 05:24:58 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on February 19, 2005, 05:42:28 AM
Post by: JonLeung on February 19, 2005, 06:08:39 AM
When I do the "Six Degrees Of Super Mario" game I don't count it unless they're actually there in person; though I also allow for different incarnations of the same person (eg. Link, Predator).
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on February 19, 2005, 10:41:41 AM
I wonder if the Mario Kart "hop" will return in the arcade version, and therefore the seats will JUMP UP TO GIVE YOU A HEART ATTACK accordingaly. Make sure you don't have anything solid in your backpockets, cuz it will hurt bad.
Post by: King of Twitch on February 19, 2005, 11:09:42 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on February 20, 2005, 01:18:15 AM
Post by: CHEN on February 20, 2005, 01:26:05 PM
Post by: dafunkk12 on February 20, 2005, 03:27:29 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: PaleZer0
I think its awesome that PacMan is in it. It lets everyone know that this is Namco's mario kart. One of the things that bugged me about F-Zero was that Sega didn't really do anything to put their stamp on it. It would have rocked if there was a Green Hill race track or something.
Wow, I hadn't thought of having a Sonic track before you mentioned it, but now the possibilities are racing through my head!
Oh, and I played F-Zero AX at Rocky's Replay a dedicated arcade building here in Orlando, and maybe it was just me, but it felt a bit "wrong."
Post by: Hostile Creation on February 21, 2005, 08:11:49 PM
I think this is awesome and would be ultra-hyped if I got to play it. This is the sort of thing that could get me to break my "no arcade" philosophy. Hopefully some version of this comes to some system, because it sounds like it could be a blast (despite pac-man).
Post by: King of Twitch on February 21, 2005, 10:33:28 PM
Quote
The basic karting control is about the same as it was in the SNES days, wherein hitting both the gas and the brake at the same time will cause the kart to hop into the air
Blasphemy.
