Nintendo today announced the official U.S. release date for Mario Kart Wii: April 27. Nintendo also unveiled that there will be a special Mario Kart Wii channel on the Wii Shop.
Mario Kart Wii will come packaged with the Wii Wheel, making it easy for novices to compete against veterans so no one is left in the dust. In addition, Mario Kart Wii will include online support so that players with a broadband hookup to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection can compete with up to 11 other drivers from around the world.
Mario Kart Wii will include 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous Mario Kart games. For the first time ever, players have the option of racing with either karts or motorbikes. Players can also hit the road as their personalized Mii caricatures in addition to the handful of classic Nintendo characters found in the game. True to the series, the game features tons of racing, plenty of power-ups and oodles of objects for players to use to slow down other drivers. And 10 battle arenas will keep players busy between trips around the circuit.
Mario Kart Wii will also launch with a new channel added to the Wii Menu to enhance game play: The Mario Kart Wii Channel. This new channel will let players compete in tournaments, check worldwide rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data.
The Wii Wheel, included in the package, will also be sold as a separate accessory. If veteran Mario Kart fans are afraid of getting smoked by rookie drivers using the Wii Wheel, though, no worries: Mario Kart Wii supports four different control options (Wii Remote with or without the Wii Wheel, Wii Remote and Nunchuk controller combo, Classic Controller and Nintendo GameCube controller).