Topic: Voice Chat, Wii U Bundle, New Characters Announced for Mario Kart 8

[Br26]

Today's Nintendo Direct gives us details on the upcoming bundle, online multiplayer, new characters, new items, and free game offer!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/37298/voice-chat-wii-u-bundle-new-characters-announced-for-mario-kart-8

A Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundle, three new characters, a free game offer, and oodles of online details were revealed in the latest Nintendo Direct, focused all on the upcoming Wii U game, Mario Kart 8.

The Mario Kart 8 Wii U Deluxe Set bundle, which was previously announced for Europe, is confirmed for North American release. It will include a black Deluxe Wii U, a copy of Mario Kart 8, a red Mario Wii Remote Plus, and a red Mario Wii Wheel. This will retail for $329.99 and be released on May 30.

Those who purchase the game and register it at Club Nintendo before July 31 will receive a code that will enable them to download one of the following games: New Super Mario Bros. U, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3, or Wii Party U. Those who download the digital version of Mario Kart 8 from the eShop, or get the game from the Wii U bundle, will also be eligible to receive the free game as well.

Additionally, more details on online play were confirmed. Up to 12 participants can compete online, and people can set up their own tournaments, both public or private.  Voice chat will be enabled in the game's online lobby using the Wii U GamePad's microphone. Players can also download time trial ghosts online, including ones from the development team. Those who beat the dev team ghosts will be able to obtain special Miiverse stamps. Another internet feature, Mario Kart TV, allows players to rewind and highlight their race videos and even upload the videos to YouTube.

Some new items were revealed, too, including the Super Horn, which blasts away your opponents and items (even the the blue shell), and the Crazy Eight, which gives players eight random items to use. Three new characters were also revealed, Baby Rosalina, Pink Gold Peach, and a Mii.

Mario Kart 8 will be released in North America on May 30. Check the Nintendo Direct from today below for more information.

[Mythtendo]

New Super Mario Bros. U, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3 and Wii Party U
[/size][/color]
[/size]Of those, the only one I don't own is Wii Party U. I don't really have any desire to have Wii Party U, but if I can get it for free, i'll download it anyways.[/color]

[BlackNMild2k1]

Voice chat in the lobby only... I guess we got to start somewhere.

[azeke]

Voice chat in the lobby is stupid.


Voice in the Mario Kart races is stupid as well though, it's not a team game though racers don't have anything meaingful to say anyway.

[BlackNMild2k1]

If I want to chat to the friend I'm playing against online, then why can't I?

you should always be able to mute individual players so that you can speak to only who you wish to speak to, should you wish to speak at all, but why are we always ok with limiting out options? Especially options that should have been available as standard years ago.

Hell, by now we should be able to voice/video chat system wide regardless of what I'm doing on my system or what you are doing on yours. I could be playing Mario Kart and you could be watching Netflix, but we should still be able to video chat without concern if that's what we choose to do.
The tech is there, the potential is seen, but for some reason no one bothered to actually activate the feature.

[StrikerObi]

This is great. I traded in my copy of New Super Mario Bros U to buy Pikmin 3. Now I can get it back for free. Or I guess I could get Wii Party U... nah.

[Ian Sane]

The free game promotion kind of reminds me of the old Turbo Duo where they packed in several free games with the system.  You don't really want to be in a situation where we're making Turbo Duo comparisons but it's a cool promotion.

Pikmin 3 is the only Wii U game released thus far that I really want.  I could get it for "free" here, except I'm not interested in Mario Kart so it be more like I'm buying a Wii U for Pikmin 3 and then I get Mario Kart free.  Eh, I'll continue to wait as that isn't much value for me personally.  But if there are a lot of fence-sitters then this could be what gets them to bite.

NOE has a lot more games to choose from though.  Pretty lame that NOA has only four.  Wii Party U is suddenly going to gain a much larger userbase.

[Adrock]

You're the only person who would make that comparison.

The voice chat only in the lobby thing is weird though hardly surprising. It isn't handled on a system level so I just don't expect it to be there which is and continues to be a shame.

[daverhodus]

Well, Wii U is in a TurboDuo or Saturn position. Nintendo is in much better shape than NEC/Hudson and Sega were though.

Raising the overall price for a Wii U makes no sense to me, but I think it's the best bundle they've done so far.

[kkl97]

Did anyone know this direct was coming? I swore I never even heard about it until someone told me today. Anyway, I love getting a free game. Preordered MK8 and now happy to receive a free game. Always wanted to pick up pikmin as I never had a chance to play the franchise before.

[leahsdad]

Man...I wasn't even going to get Mario Kart until next fall (I expect Amazon will do $5 or nearly $10 off around then, and that will be the cheapest it will EVER be).   But this is awesome.   Like most people around here, I've already got all the games on the list but I've got the Collecter's Edition Windwaker HD with the Ganondorf figurine, and I've hated the idea of breaking the seal on that just to play the game.  Now, I don't have to.  I can just keep it on my shelf, secure in the thought that it will be worth quite a bit of money one day, even though I'll never sell it anyway and I would have been better off investing that money in a mutual fund.

[Mop it up]

Glad to see the bundle is releasing in NA too. The online features seem nice, I'll probably have some fun with MKTV, though I'll be turning off voice chat.

My choices for the free game are Pikmin 3 and Wii Party U since I have the other two. I kinda would rather have Pikmin 3 at retail, but I'm not so sure I even want Wii Party U at all... I guess I have some time to think about that one.

I sure hope that this isn't the final character roster, there's a lot of filler and a lot of cuts. Makes me wonder if they'll be selling the rest as DLC...

[BlackNMild2k1]

Glad to see the bundle is releasing in NA too. The online features seem nice, I'll probably have some fun with MKTV, though I'll be turning off voice chat.

Ahhh, but I want to hear your reaction everytime I pass you and say "ON YOUR LEFT!!!"

[Mop it up]

That can't happen anyway since it's lobbies only!

[Tripon]

If I want to chat to the friend I'm playing against online, then why can't I?

you should always be able to mute individual players so that you can speak to only who you wish to speak to, should you wish to speak at all, but why are we always ok with limiting out options? Especially options that should have been available as standard years ago.

Hell, by now we should be able to voice/video chat system wide regardless of what I'm doing on my system or what you are doing on yours. I could be playing Mario Kart and you could be watching Netflix, but we should still be able to video chat without concern if that's what we choose to do.
The tech is there, the potential is seen, but for some reason no one bothered to actually activate the feature.

Get skype?

[BlackNMild2k1]

That can't happen anyway since it's lobbies only!

SEE!! THIS IS WHY WE NEED IN GAME CHAT!!!

[BlackNMild2k1]

If I want to chat to the friend I'm playing against online, then why can't I?

you should always be able to mute individual players so that you can speak to only who you wish to speak to, should you wish to speak at all, but why are we always ok with limiting out options? Especially options that should have been available as standard years ago.

Hell, by now we should be able to voice/video chat system wide regardless of what I'm doing on my system or what you are doing on yours. I could be playing Mario Kart and you could be watching Netflix, but we should still be able to video chat without concern if that's what we choose to do.
The tech is there, the potential is seen, but for some reason no one bothered to actually activate the feature.

Get skype?

on my Wii U?
you'll have to talk to Nintendo about that...

The beauty of having it as part of the console, is that if I am already playing a game with someone online, I know we both have the same hardware. I don't want to complicate the situation by having to juggle a separate 3rd party device... what if my Skype is through the TV and the other person is on the phone...? now I can't see what I'm playing and chat at the same time unless I move it to the gamepad. Neither of us can see each other's face (Didn't Mario Kart arcade have a video chat window on screen?) without looking away or hear each other with out outside equipment. That's a hassle.
Wii U is technically capable (game pad has a camera, speakers and a mic), it's only not happening because Nintendo lacks effort and foresight.

[ShyGuy]

"Revenge must taste like Peaches!"

...

[ShyGuy]

Speaker box defending against blue shells is nice.

[TrueNerd]

I wasn't gonna get Mario Kart 8 but throw in free Wind Waker? Yeah I'm buying this game now. 

[pokepal148]

Golden peach? Really? Oh for goodness sake...

[Professor Clayton]

In Europe, they get to choose from a selection of TEN free games...
Now, I don't want to complain about a free game, but I already have Pikmin 3, Wind Waker, and New Super Mario Bros. U... Which leaves me with the dreaded Wii Party U. If I was across the pond, I could pick up Wonderful 101, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, or Game & Wario, all of which interest me but are iffy enough that I haven't been able to justify dropping the cash on them just yet.
Oh well.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Nintendo's largest market gets the shaft yet again.

It always hurts... but eventually you come to expect it. [/batteredwifesyndrome]

[ShyGuy]

Good heavens. I'm guessing Europe is getting the sweeter offer BECAUSE it is a smaller market. I think I will pick up NSMBU and see what this Nabbit character is all about.

[NeoStar9X]

The presentation in this direct was amazing. Between this, the Smash Bros and Tomodachi Life directs I can only imagine what the E3 presentation is going to be like.


That said I don't mind chat in just lobbies. When I'm racing I don't really have anything to say. Though it would be nice to have it for friend only matches. The uploading of clips and matches to YouTube and Miiverse is what I find more interesting.
 
The bundle is good but meaningless if they don't advertise the hell out of it. The games are here. All that is left to be addressed is marketing.