Hideki Konno Talks About Mario Kart DS.

Nintendo Co. LTD producer Hideki Konno recently had himself a little chat with IGN about the upcoming DS version of Mario Kart. He revealed several things, ranging from his love for on-line games to the Battle Mode option for Mario Kart DS.

On which of the previous Mario Karts had been most influential in designing Mario Kart DS, Hideki replied;

"All of them are. We've put in "nostalgia" courses from every Mario Kart game, and each of those games were equally influential in the Nintendo DS version."

Asked about how long he wanted to produce an official on-line Mario Kart game he said the following;

"I love online games, and I want as many people to enjoy my games as possible. I'm very excited for the online support on the Nintendo DS. Up until now there have been many obstacles on getting online. And like Halo, they've sold many copies of that game, but only a small portion plays it online...and most of those people are hardcore gamers. With Mario Kart I want everyone to go online, and the technology and time is right for that to happen."

On there possibly being anything new to the design in Mario Kart DS?

"Yes, with each version of Mario Kart, the gameplay evolves, and that's the same for Mario Kart DS. Super Mario Kart offered two player racing, and Mario Kart 64 had four players. So with the WiFi we can not only get eight players into the race, but with the game sharing function of the system, eight players can get into the race with only one copy of the cartridge."

On what to expect of the famous Battle Mode this time round ?

"Unfortunately we were unable to have battle mode ready for E3, but there will be a battle mode in the final Nintendo DS game. In the past, battle mode has been multiplayer only, but in Mario Kart DS we will have a battle mode that single players will be able to enjoy."

If the touch screen capability came into play during the development beyond the basic map abilities?

"It could have been possible to put more functions onto the touch screen, but because Mario Kart is a very busy game, it would get too confusing to require players to focus on that screen. But instead of being preoccupied on the best way of doing touch screen, we instead focused on the wireless aspect of the gameplay. We had an idea to let players place their bananas anywhere on the track instead of just behind the kart, and when we put that idea in and tried it out, it was too confusing because the game is already busy enough."

And finally on what aspect of Mario Kart DS he's most proud of?

"Even though the GameCube game could do eight player using the broadband adapter, the Nintendo DS game is eight player compatible right from the start, it's all ready to go. And not only this, but with four player WiFi, you can play with friends or strangers, and it opens things up for other people."