This article has a talk page!This page details pre-release information and/or media for Mario Kart 7.
Mario Kart 7's development dates back to the conceptualization of the Nintendo 3DS, starting off as a proof-of-concept 3D version of Mario Kart Wii for the Wii.
Though reception was positive, the game proved to be divisive over time surrounding the directions the game took and the lack of several features from previous games.
Development Timeline#
- circa. 2008 or 2009
- A modified version of Mario Kart Wii is created to demonstrate stereoscopic 3D within Nintendo.
- 2010
- Early 2010 - Mario Kart 7 begins development with only 8 people on the team.
- May 31 - The E3 2010 screenshots get taken.
- June 3 - An E3 2010 autodemo is built.
- June 14 - At E3 2010 Mario Kart (working title) is revealed to the public for the first time.
- Late 2010 - Retro Studios joins the project to assist course design.
- 2011
- January 6 - The game is shown again at Nintendo World 2011, although it still closely resembles its presence at E3 2010.
- June 2 - The E3 2011 screenshots gets taken.
- June 7 - At E3 2011 more of the game is revealed to the public.
- December 1-3 - The game gets released.
Early Development (2008/2009)#
In spring 2008, after finishing work on Mario Kart Wii, series producer Hideki Konno was asked by Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto to take over development of the codename CTR project that would later become the 3DS. At the time, 3D was not a goal for the project.
In circa. 2008 or 2009, the team was experimenting with adding stereoscopic 3D to the system. Most of Nintendo was hesitant to try stereoscopic 3D again after the failure of the Virtual Boy, so to convince the rest of the company, Konno had Nintendo EAD's hardware team (comprised of only Takao Sawano and Hitoshi Yamazaki) connect a Wii to the 3D LCD screen and modify Mario Kart Wii to display in 3D. After demonstrating this to the skeptics within the company, Konno successfully convinced them to add 3D to the system.
While there is no direct connection between this experimental prototype and Mario Kart 7, it's likely that the prototype inspired some elements of the game.
2010#
Early 2010#
Sometime in early 2010, the project began development. The team originally had only 8 people, as most of Nintendo EAD Group 1 was busy working on Nintendogs + Cats, on account of that game releasing sooner.
May#
Pre-E3 2010#
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The playable build from the show floor was recovered from an early 3DS console among many other E3 builds and released on October 25, 2025, although below is a slightly earlier build.
Logo
- This logo is a placeholder from Mario Kart Wii.
Screenshots#
All of these screenshots from this build date back to May 31, 2010.
The E3 2010 Press Kit has some screenshots of this build that are shown below.
Wuhu Loop/Wuhu Island Loop
Pre-E3 2010 |
Final |
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*The jump ramp and the coin are missing.
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2011#
Nintendo World 2011#
Demo Sequence#
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While the build may look like the demo built on June 3, 2010, there are some differences.
- The copyright text has been changed to "2011", due to the demo being built a year after.
- There's no "Thank you!" message at the end of the preview.
June#
E3 2011#
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Logo
- This version is a lot more cyan than the E3 2010 logo and the final logo.
- The trademark symbol is taller here like the final.
Videos#
- The title screen can be seen and is very different.
- The music for the character selection screen is from Mario Kart Wii.
- The stats don't show up.
- The shadow on the character boards on the bottom screen is to the right, in the final it is to the left.
- There are item boxes now.
- The timer only shows up after finishing the race, in the bottom right corner, with a different font and a translucent black background.
Gameplay
- The demo included the spiny shell with wings in the item roulette. In the final, it is replaced with the wingless version.
- Several ramps in Rock Rock Mountain are not present. Additionally, there are more coins in the first turn before the cave, and the coin placement near the boulder area is different.
- The coin placement in the pier of Cheep Cheep Lagoon is different, and there are no Crabs in the cave.
- The Screaming Pillars in DK Jungle do not have the occasional scream. The coins just before the red flower are Item Boxes in the demo. There is an additional DK Barrel in the second turn leading to the red bouncy flower, and the bridge before the jungle area lacks guardrails. Also, there are no Frogoons in the jungle area. In the music, the organ was louder.
- The music for the character selection menu, the results screen and final lap sound effect were all taken from Mario Kart Wii.
- There were two laps instead of three, and Lakitu says Final Lap instead of 2/2.
Daisy Hills
E3 2011 |
Final |
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*"King of Speed" sponsors can be seen. Rock Rock Mountain/Alpine Pass
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