Thirty years ago, Mario Kart changed the racing game.
Three . . . two . . . one . . . go! For 30 years, Mario Kart has made video game racing exciting! The game series features Mario, Princess Peach, and other Nintendo characters zooming over courses on beaches, in lavafilled dungeons, and through scenes from other video games.
Racing games were some of the earliest video games. The first, made in 1973, was called Space Race. It featured white ships on a black background. Since then, hundreds of racing games have been released.
NINTENDO
Nintendo characters Princess Peach, Mario, and Yoshi race around a track in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
In September 1992, Nintendo released Super Mario Kart and changed racing games forever. Players could pick characters from other games to race around fantastic tracks in colorful go-karts. For the first time, racers could grab items like slippery banana peels to send friends spinning off course!
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe—released in 2017—has sold more than 40 million copies, making it the best-selling Nintendo Switch game. With new tracks being made and tournaments being held worldwide, the game shows no signs of slowing down.
