E3 '07: Mario Kart Wii Trailer Impressions

At Nintendo's E3 07 press conference this morning, the company dropped a bomb that all Mario Kart fans have been anticipating for some time: the debut of the franchise on the Wii. During Reggie Fils-Aime's presentation, he unveiled the new entry via a trailer that showed off some gameplay.

Immediately, the new Mario Kart strikes one, at least visually, as being highly reminiscent of what was seen in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for the GameCube, though it's a bit sharper overall. Several memorable Mario characters were on display driving their respective karts, including the titular hero himself, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Baby Mario. The footage of the game was limited, mostly showing quick cuts of the various racers darting around a variety of tracks that seemed wholly appropriate for the franchise. One notable point in the trailer was that the dual-character component of Double Dash!! was absent here. Each character was riding solo on his or her respective kart.

But bigger than any of the above were two other announcements. One was the announcement that this new iteration of Mario Kart would feature full online support, and the second was the projected release date of early next year. We'll be sure to bring you more on Mario Kart Wii as it becomes available.