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NWR Interactive => TalkBack => Topic started by: Nick DiMola on May 03, 2008, 03:41:52 AM

Title: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: Nick DiMola on May 03, 2008, 03:41:52 AM
Take on racers worldwide in challenges provided by the Mario Kart Channel.
 http://nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=15900

 Nintendo is offering tournaments for Mario kart Wii players worldwide to compete in. The tournaments appear in the Mario Kart Channel, which can be installed via the Mario Kart Wii game disc. Each tournament will take on a unique shape, requiring the player to perform different feats to the best of their ability. The first tournament was made available last Thursday, and Nintendo plans to offer new challenges every few weeks.    


The tournament made available Thursday asks racers to compete for the fastest time on the Mario Circuit stage. The course was given a slight alteration in view of the competition, resulting in a number of Chain Chomp enemies moving against traffic throughout the race. In addition, this particular tournament is not raced solo but alongside a full repertoire of computer opponents.    


Racers can take the challenge as many times as they would like during the duration of the tournament. After one score is submitted, leaderboards become available for viewing. Their performance is matched up first against friends, then regional players, and finally compared to Mario Kart racers worldwide. A top ten list is provided for each category.    


Players will be able to compete in and enjoy this first tournament up until May 9 when Nintendo will officially declare a winner.    


NINTENDO ANNOUNCES WORLDWIDE MARIO KART WII TOURNAMENTS    


May 1, 2008    


Nintendo has thrown down the gauntlet for Mario Kart® Wii racers worldwide. Now it's time to see who's up to the challenge, as players take on the world in Mario Kart Wii Tournaments.    


Every few weeks, a new tournament will appear on the Mario Kart Channel, an online feature that not only allows players to compete in tournaments, but also exchange race data with friends. Tournaments might take the form of a challenge for players to race a certain course as fast as they can with specific characters, or to collect a number of coins on a course using the Wii Wheel™ accessory or another control setup. They can feature unique rules or obstacles on the course.    


The first tournament, which appears today, directs racers to compete for the fastest time on the Mario Circuit. Look closely though – something may be different. Players can attempt the challenge as often as they like during the duration of the tournament. Their best time will be recorded and added to the worldwide rankings, allowing players to see how they stack up against the best racers from around the world.    


NOTE: If you would like to participate in Mario Kart Wii tournaments, your Wii™ console needs to be connected to the Internet. For more information about how to get online, visit Wii.com. For more information about Mario Kart Wii, please visit www.MarioKart.com.

Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: Nick DiMola on May 03, 2008, 10:52:14 AM
I like that Nintendo is doing this though I do have a couple of problems with it.

1) You aren't racing in time attack mode which makes this pretty worthless
2) You can choose any combination of vehicle and racer giving people who beat the game an automatic advantage (this will not be an issue over time though)

Other than that the leaderboards are cool and I like that Nintendo is doing more with online than just making it available. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Sony or Microsoft has ever had anything like this in their online offerings.
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: Pale on May 03, 2008, 11:35:14 AM
So I got in the high 1.57 range on this challenge...

And then the current leader beat me by like 20 seconds.... GREAT!
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: KDR_11k on May 03, 2008, 12:50:23 PM
Use moar sploits!
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: Mario on May 03, 2008, 01:01:10 PM
It should be noted that "tournament" mode is called "competition" in the PAL versions.
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: UncleBob on May 03, 2008, 03:37:40 PM
I'm in first out of my friends.  Pale sucks. :)
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: Shift Key on May 03, 2008, 08:08:44 PM
1) You aren't racing in time attack mode which makes this pretty worthless

There are already time trial rankings available, relative to friends, continental and worldwide gamers. I don't see the point of doing time trial competitions when they are already available at any time.

Having said that, I'm left scratching my head at the times some people are posting. I'm stuck in the 1'55s at the moment - damn sploits that I don't know about.
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: blackfootsteps on May 03, 2008, 10:09:15 PM
Other than that the leaderboards are cool and I like that Nintendo is doing more with online than just making it available. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Sony or Microsoft has ever had anything like this in their online offerings.

Project Gotham Racing 3 had a similar mode where you had to compete on a particular track with a set vehicle in time trial mode. After 2 days of qualifying the top 32 (or was it 64?) in the world / region would then progress to a tournament style racing phase. You could do as many laps as you wanted and check back whenever to see if you were still in the top rankings. Pretty cool use of online; I even think there were prizes for winning.
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: Nick DiMola on May 03, 2008, 10:54:00 PM
Ah very cool, I wasn't aware that anyone else had done that. I'm still just amazed by how outstanding the online offering in this game is. Hopefully Nintendo realizes this and makes a concerted effort to include such modes in future offerings.
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: RABicle on May 04, 2008, 03:48:50 AM
How the hell are you guys getting Sub 2 minute times? For me it's like "HAHA TODAY WE ALL GET LIGHTNING AND POW BLOCKS!"
Title: Re: Mario Kart Wii Tournaments Begin
Post by: Shift Key on May 04, 2008, 09:17:55 AM
How the hell are you guys getting Sub 2 minute times? For me it's like "HAHA TODAY WE ALL GET LIGHTNING AND POW BLOCKS!"


It seems to be a mix of luck and not getting too far ahead of the pack. I still copped a POW block on my best run (actually most of them) so there's definitely room for improvement, but not 20+ seconds of improvement.