Mario Kart Wii is a multiplayer-oriented racing game from the Mario Kart franchise for the Wii console, developed by Nintendo EAD. Mario Kart Wii retains the traditional item-based weaponry familiar with the franchise, where players can select a Mario franchise driver and themed vehicles. As with most racing games, the overarching goal is to place first among other competitors, through the usage of such items and taking the fastest routes to secure the leads. Several new key elements introduced to Mario Kart Wii include increasing the number of racers to 12 racers from 8 racers from previous entries in the series, as well as introducing a new type of vehicle to the franchise: bikes. The game takes advantage of features unique to the Wii, most notably its motion control capabilities. A Wii Wheel is included in most Mario Kart Wii packages, though the game is still compatible with other controllers such as a regular Wii Remote held sideways, the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Nintendo GameCube controller, and the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro. Additional game modes are also present such as the traditional Grand Prix, Versus, Battle, and Time Trial modes.
This game requires 23 blocks of storage on the player's Wii system to save game data. Also, the game data cannot be copied onto another Wii. This makes it the only game in the Mario Kart series where data cannot be transferred between consoles. The game also includes its own Wii Channel, called the Mario Kart Channel, which allows players to play in special tournaments and trade their racing profile with other players around the world. This channel uses 74 to 88 blocks (depending on the game's region), but unlike the game data, players can copy the channel onto their SD cards.
With over 37 million copies of the game sold, Mario Kart Wii is the second best-selling Wii game (after Wii Sports) and the best-selling Mario game for the Wii console.
