The hard part is just about over, and the developers have done their job making a game that is so aesthetically pleasing that it is making people second guess just how powerful the Wii U is. Nintendo magic is what they call it. They have been squeezing blood from stones for years so it really isn't a surprise, at least to me, on how good this game looks. It has especially made me excited to see the finished product of Smash Bros, and I would give my left nut for a glimpse of Zelda U! All this being said it really doesn't matter how good the game looks if Nintendo doesn't show it off to the world in big fashion. Wii U marketing has been anemic at best, and this has to change starting with Mario Kart 8. They need to shove this down people's throats like Ron Jeremy in a 80's style porno. They need a blitzkrieg advertising campaign like they haven't had in years, and as many tie ins as they can possibly muster. I want to go to bed thinking about Mario Kart, and wake up with morning wood from having dreamt about it all night! This is, quite possibly, the last line of defense to save the Wii U from complete obscurity. God save the Queen, and God bless America, but thank God for Nintendo!

Agreed, the game looks way better than expected!! Cannot wait

Agreed, and I'm sure Nintendo knows MK8 is their last chance aswell. Maybe I'll actually see a Wii U commercial on TV for once!

Prediction : Reggie will be playing this game with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show with no more than a week from the launch.

I'm not sure what to expect from Nintendo in terms of marketing. I myself do intend on hosting a big MK8 party and hosting multiple others in the weeks following.

I'm even thinking about doing a Mario Kart flash mob at a local go-kart track.

If we want to MK8 to do well, we have to be ready to share it with our friends, family, and coworkers. Nintendo's ad dollars matter -- but I think how we bring it into our communities matters even more.

Are people really using Mario kart to second guess the power of the wii u. I mean the wii had a pretty respectable version of mario kart and that had a gpu of 12 gflops. Cartoon graphics are always easier to produce than realistic graphics. We have seen so many wii u games that have failed to achieve realistic graphics to the same standard as 360 or PS3.

It's like zelda windwaker on gamecube. An uprezed version on wii u still looks pretty respectable but you take a gamecube first person shooter and uprez that on wii u people would be laughing their heads off at wii u performance.

People seem to confuse artistically beautiful games with technically impressive games a lot of the time.

Don't get me wrong the new Mario kart looks brilliant but what is it actually achieving on screen.

Destructoid are stating its confirmed to run in 720p so its hardly that impressive. Although again I don't see why such a game with cartoon graphics, with low cpu requirements and 32MB of embedded high speed memory can't run this at 1080p.

http://playeressence.com/mario-kart-8-is-stunning-and-fierce-in-hd-says-destructoid-confirmed-to-run-in-60fps-720p/

I will have a serious discussion with Iwata if Mario Kart 8 doesn't sell a lot.

They should market and commercialize EVERYTHING about the Wii U. It could give Nintendo a huge boost but nintendo is terrible with advertising and will probably mess it up.

No one is second guessing how powerfull the wii u is. everyone always knew it was very powerfull.

if MK8 helps the WiiU out, Xbox ones going to get mighty lonely on the weekly graphs.

Because it's a game with awesome and highly demanding graphics, regardless of your tries of making it look bad.