Nintendo has posted new information about the online portion of Mario Kart on Wii.
As depicted in the screenshots to the right, players will initially be given three options - race with your friends, random players from the world, or strangers from your home area if you're particularly xenophobic.
You'll then be either assigned into an existing room or one will be created for you should you wish to play in private. If you join a group when matches are taking place, you'll view the it as a spectator and experience the fun of watching other people enjoy themselves.
The pre-match room looks quite a bit like the Forecast Channel, showing where in the world everyone is. The limited chat functionality we reported last week takes place here, giving players the option to vote on the track selection and suggest whether they want a play Battle Mode or Grand Prix.
Nintendo has also given out some information on the Mario Kart Channel, which will let you check on Mario Kart data without having the disc in your system.
Through the channel you can see your own statistics for each track and compare yourself to both players worldwide and your friends, who are all represented by Miis.
You can race against the best players' Ghosts if you're a glutton for punishment, or take on Ghosts of rivals whose ranking is closer to yours.
All in all, it sounds exactly like what we expected and hoped for. Nintendo has promised to update its website regularly, so if it's anything like the Smash Bros. build-up, expect another wave of information tomorrow.
source: http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=183942
