Mario Kart DS - Reception

Reception

Mario Kart DS was released by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in North America on November 14, 2005, in Australia on November 17, 2005, in Europe on November 25, 2005, in Japan on December 8, 2005, and in Korea on April 5, 2007. Nintendo later revealed that Mario Kart DS would also be sold bundled with a new red-colored Nintendo DS starting on November 28, 2005, along with "a checkered-flag wrist strap, and racing-inspired decals to customize new red handheld". The game was considered to receive "universal acclaim" by Metacritic, where it received an aggregated score of 91%. Praise focused on the game's graphics and gameplay, while criticism targeted its repetitive single-player mode. Mario Kart DS received Editors' Choice awards from GameSpot and IGN. The game was nominated by GameSpot for several Best of 2005 awards, including Best Multiplayer Game, Best Driving Game, and Best DS Game, winning the last one. The game received G-Phoria's Best Handheld Game award. IGN gave the game the awards for Best Racing/Driving Game and Game of the Year for 2005.

Several reviews praised the game for living up to the standards set by its predecessors. Finding the game's online shortcomings annoying, GameSpy still believed that the single-player mode and local wireless gameplay more than made up for them. Nintendo World Report noticed that "the best features of past Mario Kart games are back" and work well with the new features in Mario Kart DS, calling the end result "the most impressive game to ever hit the Nintendo DS and also the best game in the Mario Kart series". X-Play shared this sentiment, and remarked that the game shattered all of its expectations, making it the "best kart racing game ever released—handheld or otherwise". GameZone also believed that Mario Kart DS "lives up to its legacy" with its inventive courses, "stellar" multiplayer, and "more replay value than any other racer in its class". Alejandro K. Brown of CBS News appreciated the game's unique use of Nintendo DS features, such as its microphone and wireless connectivity.

Finding it hard to imagine how Nintendo could make a Mario Kart game better than Mario Kart DS, IGN lauded Mario Kart DS's gameplay and depth in its design. GameSpot called the game a "significant step forward" for the Mario Kart series, partly because it is the first in the series to feature online play. Game Revolution remarked that the game "goes the distance" with its single-player and multiplayer modes. 1UP.com complimented the "surprisingly compelling package", describing it as a "portable racing game on par with anything ever to appear on a console". Video game magazine GamePro was pleased with the variety of racers, courses, modes, and multiplayer options offered, toting the game as a "must play" for any Nintendo fan and a requisite for any Nintendo DS owner to purchase. Computer and Video Games described Mario Kart DS as the "most complete" Mario Kart game, despite a few graphical shortcomings. Eurogamer enjoyed the game's multiplayer mode, calling it "genuinely practical to play with other people". British publication GamesTM criticized the game for being simply a "polishing of the Mario Kart concept and little else", and video game website Nintendophiles was disappointed with the "fairly repetitive" single-player mode and the "cheap computer players".

The game was the first for the Nintendo DS to take advantage of the console's Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection feature. By the end of its debut week in the United States, 112,000 people purchased the game, of which 52,000 of them had logged onto Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to play against other people over the Internet. Mario Kart DS was the best-selling handheld game in its debut month of November 2005 in the United States. It was the 10th best-selling game of 2008, and the best-selling Nintendo DS game of that year. In Japan, the game sold 224,411 copies in its first week. Mario Kart DS sold 3,112,363 units as of July 2008, and 3,224,996 copies as of January 2009, making it the sixth best-selling game for the Nintendo DS since the console's release. As of March 2012, Mario Kart DS has sold 22.57 million units worldwide.