Well firstly I hope it's not called Mario kart wii u, in terms of ideas for the gamepad apart from a map all I can think of is maybe a review mirror, this next one maybe to difficult to pull off and probably would be to demanding on gameplay is use the gamepad to fire green shells like you do with the ninja stars, any other ideas?

Hey! It's my turn to be player 1!!

Level1Death actually presented a brilliant name for the next Mario Kart: Mario Kart U-Turn.

I really like the idea of a rear-view mirror.

But I think the more interesting question is how the gamepad might be used for asymmetrical gameplay. What if the player using the gamepad could place obstacles and hazards on the track while three or four others try to race with Wii remotes or Pro controllers? Or maybe a "Mario Chase" type mode where the gamepad user can see an entire battle map, while his/her opponents can only see a small section?

My idea was you have your general Mario GP which is traditional.

Then you bring back a new version of the Double Dash mode from the GCN version with a new twist.

Two racers per kart, but the racer in the rear has control of a water canon that can spray other racers and perhaps do other things like open up short cuts by spraying certain things. Weapons are also managed by the person in the rear.

So the person using the pad can hold the Wii U tablet in front of their face and use the gyros to spin it around to see other racers coming up from behind or the side and spray them with water or hit them with a weapon.

The other player on the TV is driving the kart with the Wiimote/Wii wheel/nunchaku.

I actually have thought a lot about this because I am a Mario Kart nerd. In my opinion, the Wii U would be perfect for the first real sequel in the series: Double Dash 2.
It would simply work awesome. Like aiming with the gamepad while the other guy drives. Sure, it would change the game a lot (again) and probably not feel like Mario Kart. But it's time they change something (and I don't mean adding gliding and under water...).

They will most likely go with a standard Mario Kart, though, and call it MK U...

I'd also love an Arcade Pack that combines MK Arcade 1 and 2. But that will never happen and doesn't use any gamepad ^^

a mirror that will give you live reviews XD

me would like to see 5 players at the same time rather than just 4 in races as well as in mp modes with ides like chase me but with karts and deeper and wider ideas!

I like the name Mario kart u-turn, and also the double dash idea sounds good, some sweet ideas

A rear-view mirror would be a reasonable use of the UPad, especially in single-player or online, but I don't think it's the best choice as a "standard", especially due to the asymmetry issue.

So here's some ideas that come to mind. First, for "regular" matches, the best use would have to be as an extra screen (for up to 5 player local multiplayer). For four-player multiplayer with the UPad not used, the best use of the UPad would have to be for the map, positions, etc, to keep them off the main screen.

But it's the "special" modes that are more interesting in terms of ideas.

Idea 1: U and Me mode - Two player battle mode (playable online), where one player controls the kart and is on the TV, while the other player uses items and can either use gyro control to have a VR display type setup or analog control for less effort. Could even include special items designed for this mode, such as a manual-control shell. Think of it as an evolved version of Double Dash.

Note: simple "shoot shells like you shoot ninja stars in Nintendo Land" is a bad idea - it's gimmicky and would involve using that format for no other reason than that you can. As Jim Sterling has pointed out, gimmicky use of touch and motion feels like they're still tech demos. Nintendo Land is effectively a tech demo, so it's fine, but otherwise, don't include it unless it improves the game.

Idea 2: Mapmaster mode - up to four players on either battle maps or regular races, while a player using the UPad controls the map, rather than a racer. Their goal? To help the computer racers/battlers to beat the real players. By having the computer able to be set to three difficulties, the difficulty for the mapmaster can be adjusted (inversely - better computer makes it easier for the mapmaster).

Idea 3: Hidden Obstacle mode - Single-player mode in which the player must keep track of both the TV and UPad screens, as different obstacles will show up on each screen. It's part of the kind of Challenge mode that was found in Mario Kart DS.

Are you guys aware of the figurative meaning of a U-turn? :P

*ahem*

One thing that greatly decreases the amount of possible gameplay improvements offered by the Wii U game pad is the fact that it gives the pad user an unfair advantage over the other racers. So while I like the ideas such as being able to shoot the green shells in any direction, it doesn't make much sense to give such a great advantage to pad users. What we are left with is basically just team battles and new modes, as far as pad-advantages goes.

Using it as a rear mirror seems like the most logical choice for basic races. All other players will have the ability to press a button to look behind themselves, which is pretty much the same as shifting focus from one screen to another. Not to mention how looking behind you is a rather uncommon/pointless thing to do in games like Mario Kart anyway. Additionally, putting the map on the Wii U pad doesn't make much sense. Having it on the main screen makes it easier to see it without loosing focusing on the road. Same thing goes for making the pad screen an item button. So those aren't even considered advantages in my book

And then we also have the obvious, "additional screen for five player mode" and, "use the pad a a steering wheel".


As for the new modes specifically designed around the Wii U pad, I'm confident Nintendo will come up with something good. I have already shared some ideas for F-Zero, but that's about it as far as my imagination goes :)

I just hope they include something fresh. MKWii was too much of a retread to me. A mario chase type mode with one player having an advantage vs all others would be fun. And give me lush mushroom kingdom HD visuals.