Mario Kart

People use the name "Mario Kart" when referring to either of three popular video games released by Nintendo:

• Super Mario Kart is the "original" game, released in 1992 for the Super Nintendo game system.
• Mario Kart 64 is the sequel to Super Mario Kart; it was released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64 game system. Several characters were added and removed.
• Mario Kart Super Circuit was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance system. No new characters were added, but several power-ups were changed

The basic idea of all three games is that the characters from the Super Mario Brothers series of video games get together and race go-karts around a variety of tracks. Powerups that temporarily equip the carts with everything from a "turbo boost mushroom" to Koopa shells thrown as projectiles are located around the tracks, and can be used to speed oneself up or hamper an opponent.

The games are particularly popular as multiplayer games - two or four-way challenges are possible.

The newest entry to the Mario Kart Series, Mario Kart: Double Dash[?], is slated to release in the year 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube. Although it, unfortunately, does not include online support, it is the first GameCube game to support LAN gaming, in which up to 8 people may participate in a race.