Mario Kart VR: everything you need to know ahead of its London debut

A virtual reality version of Nintendo’s biggest racing game is launching in London next month.

Mario Kart VR has been a huge success in Japan since debuting in Tokyo last July, prompting Nintendo and co-developer Bandai Nambco to bring the arcade racing game to fans overseas.

Unlike Mario Kart 8, which is available on Nintendo’s home consoles, the VR version is a multiplayer-only game and can only be played at dedicated VR arcades.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Players can get behind the wheel of the virtual karts at the Hollywood Bowl in London’s O2 Arena from 3 August, but first need to sign up to grab a spot on the waiting list.

Here’s everything you need to know about Mario Kart VR:

What is it?

Mario Kart VR is a spin-off multiplayer arcade racing game from Nintendo’s massively popular Mario franchise.

However, while the Japanese games giant is the mastermind behind the Mario Kart titles available on its home consoles, developer Bandai Namco has built the VR version of the arcade racer, Alphr reports.

For an immersive experience, players sit in life-size karts equipped with steering wheels. Motion sensors placed on each wrist track the player’s hand movements, while an HTC Vive headset completes the VR package.

According to Engadget, players can race as one of four different characters: Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi or Yoshi.

Races follow a similar format to the regular Mario Kart games, where players use a host of power-ups to attack or defend themself from the competition, the tech site says.

The game is only being launched in London intially, but Nintendo and Bandai Namco plan to take it to other parts of the UK, including Tunbridge Wells and Leeds, at a later date.

Can you buy the game?

Not at the moment. Nintendo’s Switch console isn’t powerful enough to run VR accessories for any game, let alone Mario Kart VR.

However, Nintendo launched a complete version of Mario Kart 8 on the Switch last year. The game includes the tracks and characters from the Wii U version, which launched in 2014, plus all the additional downloadable content.