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Mario Kart

SUPER NINTENDO WORLD Set to Open at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe in May 2025

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From the fun of Mario Kart to careening through Donkey Kong Country, experience all the interactive excitement of SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™, opening 2025 at Universal Epic Universe.

Exciting news for theme park lovers: SUPER NINTENDO WORLD is set to open in May 2025 at Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe park! This immersive land will bring iconic Nintendo franchises to life, offering rides, interactive experiences, and themed dining inspired by beloved characters like Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach.

Fans can look forward to racing through Mushroom Kingdom and exploring Bowser’s Castle in vibrant, high-tech environments. SUPER NINTENDO WORLD is expected to be a major highlight of the Epic Universe expansion, creating new levels of fun and adventure for all ages.

For more details, visit Universal Orlando’s official site.

image source: Universal Orlando

BattleKart Action In Melbourne

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Have you ever dreamed of playing Mario Kart in real life? With BattleKart, you don’t play the game; you play IN the game!

If you are in Melbourne, then you are in luck! BattleKart is the perfect combination of electric karting, video games and augmented reality (AR). A unique mix to thrill your senses! Full throttle aboard an electric kart, on a track where different circuits, bonuses and game modes are projected onto the ground, interacting with the scenery and the other players to win the game!

So put down that Switch with Mario Kart 8 and get to BattleKart to play for real!

The lowdown:

  • What: BattleKart Melbourne
  • Where: 50 McArthur St, West Footscray VIC 3012
  • Open: Wed – Sun (closed Mon and Tue)
  • Price: starting from AU$69 for a single session
  • Booking: https://www.battlekart.com/en/melbourne/

The Incredible LEGO Mario Kart Roller Coaster

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Let’s-a-go! Wahoo!

What do you do if your name is Scott Makes MOCs and you love Lego, Mario Kart and coasters? Well, you make an insanely amazing LEGO Mario Kart Roller Coaster!

3 years in the making, this incredible build by Scott just needs to be seen to be believed. The intricate details and care taken in making this Mario Kart themed LEGO roller coaster is beyond our wildest imagination.


source: scottmakesmocs

Instead of just throwing in just one video of this incredible LEGO roller coaster, we thought we’d also share the time-lapse one which compresses 3 years into 5 minutes! Totally mind-blowing!

We may need to be shrunk down to size so we can ride this coaster too! Wahoo!


source: scottmakesmocs



[story source: borninspace]

It’s On Like Donkey Kong: The 2023 Brisbane Pinball & Arcade Collective

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Thunder & Lightning BPAC 2023

It’s that time of year peeps, one of Australia’s (and the southern hemisphere!) biggest annual arcade, pinball and console gaming events, the Brisbane Pinball & Arcade Collective exhibition or better known as BPAC, is coming to Brisbane from Friday 14th Jul 2023 till Sun 23rd Jul 2023 – it’s going to be MEGA!

From arcade to console, there a load of tournaments for each category that you could participate in, like the Australian Kong Off: Donkey Kong (arcade version) Championship, Australian Arcade Championships – Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Comp, N64 Mario Kart and GoldenEye Championships to name just a few!

Of course there will be a ton of pinball action with the Brisbane Pinball Masters and Pin-Golf tournaments to satisfy your silverball craving. We hear that a certain new Haggis Pinball machine may make it there too 😉

Just get a load of the stacked schedule – truly mind-blowing!

If you are keen to attend BPAC, then head over to their site here for more details and ticket information.

So, who is going and who is competing?



HALO KART: The Incredible Halo x Mario Kart Mashup

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Ah geez there are some keen and very very clever peeps out there!

This Cursed Halo Kart mashup of Halo and Mario Kart is based on the Cursed Halo Again mod created by modder and Steam user InfernoPlus.

Just like in Mario Kart, players race around the track in their Halo modded vehicles, trying to win by all means, including shooting each other! This is our kind of Mario Kart game 😉

story source: technabob



An ‘SNL’ Sketch Sold a ‘Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’ Unit

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Two weeks ago, I bought a copy of “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” because of “Saturday Night Live’s” “HBO Mario Kart Trailer” sketch.

Pedro Pascal is one of my favorite actors. His performance on the Netflix series “Narcos” is incredible, and when his character, Javier Pena, was no longer on the hit series, I stopped watching. When I saw that he was hosting “Saturday Night Live,” I was excited and instantly thought to myself, what took so long?

In my freshman year of college, my roommates and I would play “Mario Kart 64” on Nintendo 64 for hours after classes. We would often bet a six-pack of beer on a race. Sometimes the person who came in last would have to buy a 24 case for the other racers to share. Everyone was on a college budget, so you really didn’t want to finish last.

I haven’t played the game in a few years, but when I watched the great “SNL” sketch, it piqued my interest again in the iconic game. The sketch was one of the funniest things that the writers have come up with this season; and it’s been an exceptional season. The spin on Pedro Pascal’s involvement in HBO’s “The Last of Us” and a dystopian “Mario Kart” world was brilliant and cleverly funny. When I first watched the sketch, I thought, that’s going to go viral. Since it’s airing, the sketch has had 12 million views on YouTube.

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking over all the Nintendo Switch games at my local Best Buy. My mind went to the “SNL” sketch, and I realized I didn’t own a single “Mario Kart” game. That afternoon, I purchased “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and played the game for hours when I arrived home.

I’m sure “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will have numerous references to “Mario Kart.” I just hope they somehow include my favorite racetrack in the film, Sweet Sweet Canyon…but I doubt it.



Dystopian Mario Kart Sketch on SNL

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If HBO could make a TV series out of The Last Of Us, then why not make one from another massive franchise, Mario Kart?

Well, the Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedy show, in conjunction with HBO and Nintendo, did exactly that, with Pedro Pascal playing Mario in a dystopian Mario Kart sketch – it’s funny and brilliant!

Check it out!



Latest Trailer for The Super Mario Bros Movie Has Dropped

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image source: Universal

Back in early October we all went a bit nuts at The Super Mario Bros. Movie teaser trailer.

The movie starring Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario is coming out in April next year, so there is still a way to go. But don’t fret, as the latest trailer has dropped, which we get to hear Chris’ (terrible) accent voicing Mario and also that of his brother Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day).

The latest trailer shows many connections to all kinds of Super Mario games, from Donkey Kong and Super Smash Bros. to Mario Kart – yes, Mario Kart!

Now stop reading and hit play, lets-a-go!



Top 20 Best-Selling Video Game Franchises of All Time

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It is always a humbling experience when seeing these ‘best selling’ lists related to video games. This time, it is the franchises – the heavy lifters of their respective publisher’s bottom line.

No surprise who is on top, by a massive margin – Mario, Nintendo’s crown jewel. Mario has been a juggernaut franchise for decades! Any game containing the Italian plumber (formerly Jumpman) is almost a guarantee to make bank for Nintendo, from the Super Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Sports and Mario Party series, to Mario RPG! When looking at the list, Mario is in some good company with other massive Nintendo franchises, like the Wii simulation series and of course, The Legend of Zelda. The Wii series was a surprise, as we would have expected Donkey Kong or Metroid to be up there too.

Looking at the chart, you will notice a mixed bag of game franchises that started in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, with Minecraft being the sole representative for the 2010s! No wonder we keep seeing Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto games being made on new generation systems, they sell like hotcakes. Not content with being the biggest pop culture entity, Star Wars has done quite well in the video gaming realm too. Great to see Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog up there and the many sports titles we have enjoyed (and still enjoy).

See any surprises?

(click to enlarge)

data source: Wikipedia



Using A Real Car As A Mario Kart 64 Controller

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There are some cool and crazy mods out there, and then there is this one!

Let’s face it, not everyone is a fan of the N64 controller, so what does one do to compensate for this deficit? If you are Dan Hlavenka, you grab your dad’s Chevrolet Volt and hack a Raspbery Pi with a CANbus (PiCAN2) shield that plugs between the OBD-II port and a laptop with tools and a N64 emulator. Once all the controls are mapped and setup, you use the real Volt’s steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals to play one of the best N64 games ever!

Pfft, who needs the N64 controller when you can use a real car instead.


video source: Gordon Hlavenka

[source: technabob]