Mario Kart

Even back in the early ’90s, Mario Kart was one of the hottest games you could get to scratch that crazy kart-racing itch. Super Mario Kart became an instant success after it debuted in 1992 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. So, naturally, other game developers tried to replicate it on other platforms.

Emora Kart, launched in 1994, is the closest we got on Macintosh.

Later distributed with a 2002 copy of MacLife magazine in Japan, Emora Kart looked pretty fun — even in black and white — and it’s obvious where it got its inspiration. You can play this retro racer now in your browser (or download an original copy for free).

We’ve been itching to get a taste of online multiplayer inside Mario Kart Tour since the game made its big debut last September. And the wait is almost over — even for those who don’t have a Gold Pass.

A second multiplayer test “is on the way,” Nintendo says, and this time anyone can take part.

Mario Kart Tour’s next update will help racers get into the holiday spirit with “a flurry of fun.”

Its upcoming winter tour will bring the snow-covered DK Pass track from Mario Kart DS, plus a number of festive unlockables. You’ll be able to enjoy it starting tomorrow, November 19.

Mario Kart Tour’s first beta test kicked off this week. Nintendo asked testers to refrain from posting images and videos online, but that was never going to happen. And that’s great for those of us who didn’t get beta invites.

Screenshots and clips of the game have now started popping up all over the place. There’s a lot to be excited about if you’re a Mario Kart fan, but it’s not all good news.

Nintendo has finally kicked off its first Mario Kart Tour beta test.

A lucky few have received invites to play the game early ahead of its public release this summer. Nintendo hopes the test will help “improve the quality of the game” before every Mario Kart fan gets their hands on it.

You’ll have to wait longer to get your hands on the very first Mario Kart game for Android and iOS.

Nintendo has confirmed that the launch of Mario Kart Tour has been pushed back to this summer. The much-anticipated title was originally scheduled to arrive by the end of March, but Nintendo says it needs more time to “improve quality of the application.”

It is Nintendo’s second big delay in just one week.

Nintendo has told us very little about Mario Kart Tour since it was announced for iOS back in January. But there’s one important piece of information that the Japanese company has confirmed this week: The game is still on track for an early 2019 release.

Fortnite’s exciting new Playground mode finally relaunched this week, giving new players the chance to learn the game outside of Battle Royale matches. But you don’t have to use it for practice.

The beauty of Playground mode is that you can do almost anything you like in it — including making your own Mario Kart clone. Check out this amazing track built in Tilted Towers.

Nintendo’s upcoming Mario Kart Tour game will be “free-to-start” on mobile, developer DeNA has confirmed.

Much like Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem Heroes, you’ll be able to enjoy the game without coughing up any cash, though optional in-app purchases will provide some advantage.

Apple’s got big plans for iOS 12, and we’ll tell you all about them this week on The CultCast. Plus: New details tell us more about 2018’s iPhone X Plus; Nintendo says a new Mario Kart is coming to iOS; Apple works to bring iPad apps to Mac; and don’t miss our review of the Elgato Stream Deck, a must-have accessory for you Twitch, Mixer and YouTube streamers.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off any hosting plan.

Nintendo finally gave in and started developing games for mobile devices last year, and now Sony is following suit.

The Japanese electronics giant today confirmed it will bring more than five PlayStation games to Android and iOS before March 2018.

Star Wars and Mario Kart don’t seem to have much in common at first glance, but when you mash the two mega-universes together at hyperspace speeds, the results are more than super.

Dark Pixel created an incredibly fun new video called Star Kart that imagines what it’d be like if Mario and his pals cruised around the Star Wars galaxy in your favorite spaceships, complete with all the banana peels, golden mushrooms, turtle shells and wacky racing the Nintendo game is known for.

Watch Bowser and Baby Bowser try to take down Mario and the gang as they race from Tatooine to Hoth — and then ultimately the Death Star:

Hell just froze over.

Nintendo has finally given in to the fact that smartphones have dealt its handheld gaming business a huge blow; the only way they’re going to stay relevant is to release their immensely popular gaming characters and game franchises onto the devices we all have in our pockets.

Whether you’re a Nintendo super fan or just looking at the gaming history this venerable Japanese company represents, you’ll be excited for this new era in which Nintendo partners with social and free-to-play juggernaut DeNA to bring it’s valuable content to mobile devices.

Even though Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata insists that the company has no intention of porting existing games to mobile devices, he said nothing about not brining the incredibly popular and cash-generating characters and franchises that have become synonymous with the company, and with video gaming in general.

Here, then, are ten of our top wishes for the characters and franchises Nintendo should bring to the iPhone or other smartphones.

Nintendo has always been adamant it wouldn’t develop games for smartphones and tablets, but it has finally given in.

Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong and other popular franchises could soon be coming to Android and iOS after the Japanese company confirmed it will be developing new titles for smart devices with the help of game developer DeNA.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is one of my favorite Sega games on iOS, and it’s making its way to the Mac thanks to Feral Interactive. The game will be available to download from the Mac App Store tomorrow, April 4, with support for Game Center and iCloud game syncing.

The App Store has had its fair share of apps and games that attempt to replicate a hit title that isn’t available on iOS — like the numerous Super Mario clones we’ve seen over the years. But MineKart 64 is a little different. It takes not just one, but two hit titles — Minecraft and Mario Kart — and fuses them together.

It’s literally Minecraft kart racing — what could be more enjoyable than that?

Only it’s not that at all. It’s actually a complete scam that you should avoid at all costs.

We’re all fans of Mario Kart and many of Nintendo’s classic titles. But as much as we’d love to see them arrive on iOS, we don’t care much for shameless clones. We’ve seen countless Super Mario clones in the App Store, but Mole Kart is a Mario Kart ripoff that shares more than just a few similarities.