Old News & Updates from 2005

Note: Some of the links on this page may be outdated and won't work.

December 18, 2005 - by Troopa
Nintendo is sending out these emails to help promote their Mario Kart DS bundle, so yay for that.

I added a few new MKDS time trial movies, and they're very good, so check them out.

December 12, 2005 - by Troopa
Check out the new Mario Kart DS glitch video.

December 8, 2005 - by Troopa
I added 3 new Mario Kart DS time trial movies. If any of you can send me some more, please do. It just needs to good enough to beat the staff ghost, it doesn't have to be perfect. I'm going to sell my copy of Mario Kart DS soon as I'd honestly rather play other games, so I won't be able to make anymore videos myself.

December 2, 2005 - by Troopa
Lots of updates to the following...

1. Mario Kart DS Guides.
2. Mario Kart DS Audio.
3. New MKDD movies from Gregor Fran.

And this Cocoto Kart Racer game is the biggest rip-off of Mario Kart ever!

December 1, 2005 - by Troopa


See my record up there? Yeah, I'm doing half-way decent online. Why don't you join the forums and teach me a lesson?

I added a highly anticipated section, the Mario Kart DS Audio. Thanks to our staff member Mushroomboy, and enjoy it! I'll be adding more to it in the near future.

November 30, 2005 - by Troopa
I added new Mario Kart DS movies that will show you how to beat the staff ghosts in time trial mode.

I have a lot more stuff I plan to add this week. Our staff member Mushroomboy has sent me many Mario Kart DS mp3s that I need to upload, so stay tuned for that!

If you want to listen to a bunch of funny guys play Mario Kart DS for 40 minutes, check out this entry at 4 color rebellion.

November 27, 2005 - by Troopa
Some people have asked me what I think about "snaking" in Mario Kart DS, and whether or not it is a fair tactic. For those who do not know, snaking is basically just doing mini-turbos on a straight portion of a track, or any other portion a mini-turbo wouldn't usually be done. Here is my official response:

It is not cheating. It is an advanced technique people can use.

Ya know, when Michael Jordan was new, the other players would complain to the referees that he jumped too high. The NBA considered not letting him jump so high because it was "unfair" until they realized that Michael should not be punished just because he was better than everyone else. If people want to compete, then they need to learn how to jump as high as Michael.

The webmaster of the Mario Kart GP RPG asked me to mention his site, so there ya go! It's just starting, so check it out if you're interested in joining a Mario Kart related online RPG.

To promote Mario Kart DS, Nintendo signed a deal with a London taxi cab company to give away free rides. Tickets were found in London newspapers, but it seems the promotion only lasted for one day.

November 24, 2005 - by Troopa
Check out this awesome Mario Kart Tribute video.

1UP has posted a great preview of Mario Kart Arcade GP, and it includes high-res videos!

November 22, 2005 - by Troopa
New section: Mario Kart DS Glitches & Tricks

According to Nintendo, in one week more than 45% of the people who have purchased Mario Kart DS have taken their game online via the free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Comparatively, Microsoft reported last year that after three weeks on store shelves, just 18 percent of Halo 2 owners had played that game on Xbox Live.

Read the full article here. Thanks to Veggie for the news tip.

Wow, for the past two weeks I've been updating the site almost every day. Don't expect me to keep this streak going forever. ;)

November 21, 2005 - by Troopa
And another new section: Mario Kart DS Guides

November 20, 2005 - by Troopa
Another new section: Mario Kart DS F.A.Q.

Check it out to see answers for online questions and other things. If you have a question then please feel free to contact me.

November 19, 2005 - by Troopa
4 color rebellion posted a great interview with Gregor Fran, one of the best Mario Kart Double Dash players in the world. You can download the MP3 interview by clicking here.

New section: Mario Kart DS Codes & Secrets.

November 18, 2005 - by Troopa
Now my online record is 32 Wins and 1 Loss. I've run into a few disconnectors but it doesn't matter to me because I keep track of my own record so I just count them as a loss, as long as I was ahead in points. I'm looking to play against some VERY GOOD players so please contact me if you wish. :)

While playing Mario Kart DS online you may occasionally see someone with stars in their name, such as this picture shows. This means that the player you're against is most likely going to be very good. I'm still learning how to get the stars, but basically you want to achieve as much as you can in MKDS. Have fun!

I completed the Mario Kart DS Items page. I plan to add more strategies to it eventually but I need to create other sections first, such as driver information and track strategies.

A cool guy recently emailed me and told me about how my Video Game Tester page helped him get a job at EA Tiburon. He sent me his story and I added it to the page so check it out.

And finally, you should check out this good interview: Nintendo Power Magazine Goes Behind the Scenes with Mario Kart DS Producer Hideki Konno.

November 17, 2005 - by Troopa
I'm having a lot of fun online with Mario Kart DS. If you haven't done so yet, email me and we can setup a match together. So far my record is 19-1 and I've been lucky enough to not have anyone purposely disconnect on me when they were losing.

Stay tuned for tips and other goodies in the coming weeks.

November 16, 2005 - by Troopa
I love VG Cats, especially today.

My First MKDS Impressions
I bought MKDS last night and spent a few hours trying the different modes. I'm very impressed with it and I believe this will become my favorite Mario Kart of them all. I tried many online matches and experienced no lag. The graphics engine is silky smooth at 60 frames per second. The single player battle mode is pretty fun and the computer is a worthy opponent. The map on the bottom screen is very helpful, and I think the bottom screen alone would have made a fun NES game back in the day.

If you want to play with me, send me an email or instant message with your friend code and a time you would like to play. Make sure to tell me your time zone. My friend code is 206217-902970.

And finally, I noticed Cheat Code Central changed their Mario Kart DS review from slightly negative to very positive. Hey Vaughn, I'm glad you came to your senses, you crazy silly boy.

November 15, 2005 - by Troopa
Update: 5:30pm
I hope you all are enjoying MKDS. I'm going to get my copy in a few hours, as long as everything goes according to plan with GameStop. I'm starting to work on the MKDS Items page so check that out if you'd like.

Update: 1:09am
Got some more reviews...

Nov. 14 | GameSpot | 9.2 out of 10!
Nov. 14 | GamePro | 4.5 out of 5!
Nov. 14 | Lawrence | 9.5 out of 10!
Nov. 14 | Cheat Code Central | 3 out of 5?!

Cheat Code Central decided to give MKDS an average score of 3. They didn't like that it played similar to old Mario Karts. Hey, you know what... I think I hate ALL video games, because they're all so similar too! Let's give MKDS a bad score, it will send people to our site and get us lots of fun hate mail. Oh look, Troopa mentioned us on his site, that's funny.

Yeah, I'm just kidding around. :)

November 14, 2005 - by Troopa
I went to GameStop today and was told my reserved copy of Mario Kart DS won't be in the store until tomorrow. They said they will call me when I can pick it up. Argh, one more day!

It seems that Mario Kart DS online suffers from many people quitting when they start to lose. Craig from IGN has become an expert at that, heheh. So here is my advice to everyone; who cares. If some idiot wants to quit because they care so much about the number of wins they have, so be it. The smart gamers play the game to enjoy it, not just to see a number get higher and higher. If the GameFAQs' babies want to quit when they start to lose, I'll just laugh even more.

Yesterday was the site's busiest day ever and I expect the next few days to be quite busy too. Thanks for visiting everyone, I hope my site is helpful to you in some way.

New Reviews
Nov. 13 | Gamerz Edge | 9.6 out of 10!
Nov. 13 | DS Advanced | 9.4 out of 10!

November 12, 2005 - by Troopa
Update: 4:13pm
Okay we've got two new affiliates you gotta check out.

First is Bomb-Omb.Com. I love this site simply because their domain name is fun to say. No, but seriously, these guys have a good infrastructure set up for communication between Mario Kart DS players. Their chat room is integrated with their forum, it has a slick interface, and they are working on getting voice chat going.

Second is the MKDS Player's Page. This is the place to go if you're serious about time trials. This is where the best players in the world will be submitting their times, so check it out.

Update: 1:47pm
I uploaded some new movies.

Download | Double Dash parade commercial (MOV)

Download | Mario Kart DS commercial (MOV)
Download | Mario Kart DS commercial (WMV)

Download | MKDS WiFi commercial (MOV)
Download | MKDS WiFi commercial (WMV)

Update: 4:33am
GameSpy has moved this site to a new server, so our new URL will be: www.mariokart.planets.gamespy.com

For now the old URL is working too, but I'm not sure how long it will, so please update your bookmarks. Also, you can always get to the site by going to www.mario-kart.net

November 11, 2005 - by Troopa
Update: 8:58pm
IGN has posted their MKDS review. They give it a 9.5 out of 10, and say it is the best Mario Kart ever developed. Congrats to the Nintendo development team, nice job!

Update: 6:56pm
Nintendo has launched the official MKDS UK site. Wow, that is one cool intro!

Darkain has a great Mario Kart DS Mission FAQ, with pictures too! Be careful before clicking that link - the page contains major spoilers about the missions.

Update: 1:35pm
"Mario Kart DS is reason alone to own the DS platform. All of the fun that has been intrinsic to the series is intact, and the much-anticipated online component simply seals the deal. This is the best game in the series by far, and perhaps the best kart-style racing game ever to come along."

eToyChest gives Mario Kart DS a 9.5 out of 10. Read the full review.

Update: 12:20am
1UP has posted the first Mario Kart DS review. 9 out of 10.

November 10, 2005 - by Troopa
Update: 3:18am
IGN.com | MKDS Online Pros & Cons
IGN.com | Uncut Producer Interview

Here's a basic rundown of the pros and cons of online play:

Mario Kart DS allows two, three, or four player racing.

It will always try to create four player races. If it is unable to find four players within a minute or two, it will go with however many players you have. You can not choose to just play a two or three player match, unless you go through a lot of trouble by removing everyone else from your friends list.

You will be able to have a friends list. You will need to know this person in real life, or get their friends code from talking to them online. You can not "Add a recent player to your friends list." That works in Halo 2, but not here.

MKDS keeps track of your wins/losses against your friends. It is recorded to your individual cartridge.

The game will alert you when friends sign on. A blue icon appears and blinks above the wireless bar.

November 09, 2005 - by Troopa
Update: 5:30pm
My favorite video game magazine has updated their site with a new Mario Kart DS preview, six new movies, and a great interview. Thank you GameInformer!

Update: 3:10pm
Welcome to our new affiliate, DSwifiworld. I also added new MKDD track images.

New Previews
Nov. 7, 2005 | GameSpot
Nov. 6, 2005 | Gamebiz
Nov. 4, 2005 | Planet Gamecube

Update: 3:20am
Thanks to our new staff member Mushroomboy for the Mario Kart Double Dash MP3s I just uploaded.

Many sources have told me that 20 of the available 32 tracks will be playable online in Mario Kart DS. It would be nice to play all 32, but 20 tracks still gives us a good variety.

November 08, 2005 - by Troopa
Check out our new Mario Kart DS sections: drivers and missions. They're not much yet but it's a start. :)

November 07, 2005 - by Troopa
Update: 8:17pm
Check out this awesome Mario Kart DS decal maker, and be sure to see the large collection of decals at our affiliate's site.

Update: 12:21pm
NintendoWiFi.com seems like it is fully launched now, and I am very impressed with the site and the tracking abilities Nintendo has made.

Thanks to Darkain, a video of the recently discovered Mario Kart DS driver can be downloaded here. The video requires the free XviD codec.

Update: 1:04am
Another secret driver from Mario Kart DS has been found. Click the pictures below if you want to know who it is.

MKDS Secret Driver Picture #1
MKDS Secret Driver Picture #2

November 06, 2005 - by Troopa
The official site has loads of cool stuff you need to check out.

Only 8 more days! I'm going to get MKDS as early as possible in the morning so I can get online and play with you all. I'll post my MKDS information here on the main page. Please go easy on me.

November 04, 2005 - by Troopa
Since MKDS is only 10 days away from being released in the USA, you're sure to see lots of previews and new information.

Previews
Nov. 4, 2005 | Total Video Games
Nov. 3, 2005 | IGN.com
Nov. 3, 2005 | 1UP.com
Nov. 3, 2005 | GameSpot
Nov. 2, 2005 | GameSpy
Aug. 13, 2005 | MarioKartDS.co.uk

Some people are confused about online play. Let me clear up one issue. To play online you will need a high speed connection with a low ping. If you have DSL, cable, fiber, or a business connection (T1, T3, etc.) then you should be fine. Satellite will NOT work, it is high speed but has very high latency. Dialup is not supported, but you MIGHT be able to play it okay against one other person. It all depends on how much bandwidth Mario Kart DS needs. We don't know for sure until someone tries it. I do know that Phantasy Star Online (Gamecube) works well on a dialup connection, so that gives us a little hope.

November 02, 2005 - by Troopa
Check out this awesome GameSpy preview of MKDS and all the new movies!

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween, I know I did. I updated the Mario Kart DS information with news about hidden characters, and I added four MKDS wallpapers.

Just as a reminder to you guys, if you don't want any secrets in the game spoiled for you, don't go around the Internet reading things!

October 26, 2005 - by Troopa
Mariokart.com has launched, and we have new MKDS wallpaper.

October 25, 2005 - by Troopa
I updated our Mario Kart DS section with the latest info.

With the release of MKDS coming soon, now is a good time to join the forums. Lots of cool people are there to chat with, such as the staff of MarioKartDS.co.uk, and myself of course. There are also other loyal members who are not involved with any particular site.

So I'm just sitting here, sipping on my hot cocoa, happy to survive yet another Florida hurricane, and I start thinking about the holidays. This is my favorite time of the year. I lived in New York when I was younger, and I remember I'd go outside in the snow without a shirt and jump on the trampoline. That was fun, but it caused terrible shrinkage. Uhhh yeah, so anyway, has anyone ever noticed that Mario & Luigi share the same colors with Christmas (red and green)? Also, red and green are the main colors of driving, like in Mario Kart. Woo hoo, there are Nintendo references everywhere! I'm sure some of you are wondering what exactly I put in my hot cocoa by now...

October 21, 2005 - by Troopa
Our Mario Kart DS section has been updated with new information. Less than one month until we get our hands on it!

Nintendo has signed an agreement with Wayport, a leading provider of wired and Wi-Fi high-speed Internet access in public locations, to extend Wi-Fi service to Nintendo DS users at nearly 6,000 McDonald's restaurants across the United States. More info here.

This will make it even easier for people to get online and play. Imagine going down to McDonalds, sipping on a chocolate shake, and throwing red shells at friends online. Sounds like fun to me!

October 19, 2005 - by Troopa
We've got seven new Mario Kart DS movies. Yummy yummy!

This is old news but Nintendo recently confirmed that the Europe release date for Mario Kart DS has been changed to November 25.

October 17, 2005 - by Troopa
Check out the press release for Mario Kart DS.

October 16, 2005 - by Troopa
I just uploaded 19 new Mario Kart DS pictures.

October 15, 2005 - by Troopa
Just a quick update. Check out this good email from Seether for a little MKDS info. And also see these awesome videos over at mariokartds.co.uk.

October 13, 2005 - by Troopa
Recently announced is a new Nintendo DS Mario Kart Bundle. It will retail for $149.99, and it will be released on November 28 (14 days after the release of Mario Kart DS). Check out this picture of the DS and this picture of the box.

I highly recommend you visit our affiliate MarioKartDS.co.uk and check out this great article by Nintendo Now (lots of multiplayer info!) and this IGN article.

I also updated our own Mario Kart DS section with more news and another movie!

Finally, why does everyone keep saying that Mario Kart DS has the most tracks? MKDS has 32, but Mario Kart: Super Circuit has 40!

October 06, 2005 - by Troopa
Added ten movies for Mario Kart Arcade GP. Enjoy!

October 03, 2005 - by Troopa
Added pictures for Mario Kart Arcade GP. Expect some movies within a few days...

I also added my Xbox Live gamertag to the Contact Me page, so if any of you want to kill me in Halo 2 feel free to send me a friend request.

September 29, 2005 - by Troopa
Added Mario Kart Arcade GP section.

Thanks to a large gaming site linking to it, the Mario Kart Remix game was downloaded over 80,000 times in 11 days. That's amazing! I'm glad my download host, Datapacket.net, was able to easily serve the file to all of those people.

September 18, 2005 - by Troopa
I added the Mario Kart Remix page. It is very cool, so check it out.

I've recently become involved in a Mario Kart Half-Life 2 mod called Mario Kart Source. We need some people to help get it going, so if you're interested please check out the web site and let us know!

SmoothMunky made a good observation while watching Satoru Iwata's keynote speech. It seems as if the new "funky" logo that IGN displayed may in fact be the official logo. Nintendo, you need to consult with me before making silly decisions like that. ;)

September 15, 2005 - by Troopa
There's not much new to discuss in the Mario Kart world except for this funky MKDS logo found at IGN. I do not think this will be the final logo. I'm not sure if Nintendo even made this logo because it looks like something an amateur would do in Photoshop.

I added a new fan art, which is rare. If you have any Mario Kart fan art, please email me!

Today is big news for Nintendo fans. New details have been told about the new Revolution system, and it seems very unique! Just look at that controller!

September 04, 2005 - by Troopa
Added new:

Mario Kart DS movies and info.
MK: Double Dash Japanese Commercial in movies.
MK: Super Circuit Japanese Commercial in movies.

These japanese movies are hilarious to me. They get better commercials than we do here in the USA.

September 02, 2005 - by Troopa
I've been fixing/adding brand new movies for all of the Mario Kart games, so check those out.

I've become aware of the fact that a few of our pages look funky in Mozilla/Firefox, so I will work on fixing that too.

August 30, 2005 - by Troopa
I finally fixed the broken download links in the MK64 track guide and I added brand new MK64 time trial movies. You can download them all without the need to register thanks to our super-fast download host, Datapacket!

I've been playing a lot of Alien Hominid lately. This game is just amazing. It reminds me of the games I played growing up, and it has a silky smooth style. A lot of my friends even like to just watch me play it! Biting the heads off of FBI agents never gets old. Check out the official site and support these guys! I can't wait until their next game.

August 28, 2005 - by Troopa
According to this Eurogamer Interview, there will be no support for online battle mode in Mario Kart DS. This is disappointing news to me because I was especially looking forward to playing battle mode online. I hope Nintendo will let us know why! Surely it's not because it can't be done, perhaps they don't have enough time to implement it.

Special thanks to our visitor Tyler for letting me know.

August 27, 2005 - by Troopa
Added two Mario Kart DS movies.

August 25, 2005 - by Troopa
Check out our new affiliates, Project Mario Kart and Symphonic Heaven. They're both great sites!

Nintendo has told us an official release date for Mario Kart DS in the United States - November 14! That's not very far away at all. Hey Nintendo, you gotta hook us up with some copies to give away in a contest. *wink, wink*

I added more stuff to the Mario Kart DS section, so check that out if you'd like.

August 19, 2005 - by Troopa
I updated the Mario Kart DS section with new information and new movies.

Make sure to check out MarioKartDS.co.uk, our affiliate. Their site rox! :)

August 13, 2005 - by Troopa
Major update! Here we go...

Added: Mario Kart Double Dash Strategy & Tips.
Added: More Mario Kart Double Dash Movies.
Added: New affiliate, MarioKartDS.co.uk! Check them out.
Added: Zelda 101 to our Links page. Hahaha, I added Zelda to our Link page. That's funny. You get it, right?

I'm pretty happy with our Mario Kart Double Dash section. For over a year it was nothing, but now it has become a respectable part of the web site.

I hope Nintendo does a great job with Mario Kart DS. I have faith in them. The only reason I plan to buy a Nintendo DS is to play Mario Kart and Animal Crossing, so hopefully they live up to everything they should be!

August 10, 2005 - by Troopa
Autumn is coming which means Florida will stop being so hot, yay for me. I'm originally from New York so naturally I prefer the cold. Anyway, on with the show...

Added: Mario Kart Double Dash Items page.
Added: Mario Kart Double Dash Movies page.
Added: Forum link listed under 'General'.
Removed: An old affiliate who no longer exists!

August 08, 2005 - by Troopa
Added: Nintendo Power scans for Mario Kart DS.
Lots of cool pictures and info!

Special thanks to Ophie of Mario Heaven.

August 03, 2005 - by Troopa
New sections: Mario Kart Double Dash pictures and tricks.

August 13, 2005 - by Troopa
Major update! Here we go...

Added: Mario Kart Double Dash Strategy & Tips.
Added: More Mario Kart Double Dash Movies.
Added: New affiliate, MarioKartDS.co.uk! Check them out.
Added: Zelda 101 to our Links page. Hahaha, I added Zelda to our Link page. That's funny. You get it, right?

I'm pretty happy with our Mario Kart Double Dash section. For over a year it was nothing, but now it has become a respectable part of the web site.

I hope Nintendo does a great job with Mario Kart DS. I have faith in them. The only reason I plan to buy a Nintendo DS is to play Mario Kart and Animal Crossing, so hopefully they live up to everything they should be!

August 10, 2005 - by Troopa
Autumn is coming which means Florida will stop being so hot, yay for me. I'm originally from New York so naturally I prefer the cold. Anyway, on with the show...

Added: Mario Kart Double Dash Items page.
Added: Mario Kart Double Dash Movies page.
Added: Forum link listed under 'General'.
Removed: An old affiliate who no longer exists!

August 08, 2005 - by Troopa
Added: Nintendo Power scans for Mario Kart DS.
Lots of cool pictures and info!

Special thanks to Ophie of Mario Heaven.

August 03, 2005 - by Troopa
New sections: Mario Kart Double Dash pictures and tricks.

July 26, 2005 - by Troopa
Added new sections: Mario Kart DS articles and pictures.

Also added a new Link and a new Mario Kart 64 tip.

I'll be 21 in two days. Someone buy me a margarita, a stripper, and a whip.

July 21, 2005 - by Troopa
Hey, it's one week until my birthday. I might get a new Dell laptop!

I added new Mario Kart Double Dash and Mario Kart DS sections. Check them out, yo!

July 14, 2005 - by Troopa
I've changed our affiliates because some of them were inactive. I've also been working on cleaning up the old HTML code and removing useless links. After I get all this grunt work done I can move on to the more fun stuff. :)

July 12, 2005 - by Troopa
Ladies and gentlemen, add Mario Kart Central back into your bookmarks because we're coming back!

After a two year break, I've had some life changes, and with these changes has come more free time. One of the ways I want to spend this free time is building this web site to be your Mario Kart source again!

I have already fixed some of the broken download links that have probably been like that for years. I thought of creating a new design, but that would take a long time to make it and then convert all of the pages to it. I'd rather just start working on the new stuff, such as Mario Kart DS info! Besides, I like this site design. It's charming and retro. ;)

June 13, 2005 - by Troopa
Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this site. A few new Mario Kart games are on the way to the arcades, the Nintendo DS, and I'm sure they'll be making one for the Nintendo Revolution. If I still had the time and desire this site would have a lot to talk about! Hopefully other Internet sites can give you all of the information you like.

I removed old affiliates and added a new one, The Mario Karters. This is new site, but it has something charming about it and if they keep working on it it could become really great. I'll also be working on fixing broken download links whenever I can. Take care everyone!

Past forum members, go here for the new forum: Mario Heaven.