August 27, 2014 will be the 22nd anniversary of the initial Super Mario Kart game release (now available for $7.99 in Nintendo eShop for Wii U), the beginning date of the Mario Kart 8 online worldwide “Mercedes Cup” tournament on the Nintendo Wii U and the earliest date that Mario Kart 8 players can download three free Mercedes-Benz cars.

Nintendo and Mercedes-Benz will also host the upcoming online worldwide “Mercedes Cup” tournament (see online tournament section in Mario Kart 8) from Wednesday, August 27 to Tuesday, September 23. Participants will need a broadband Internet connection as well as (obviously) a Wii U game console, the Mario Kart 8 game, and the Mercedes-Benz karts.
Nintendo also has a Mario Kart 8 game update with the following improvements, so be sure you are “up to speed” on your Wii U.
– Drivers will now have the option to display the course map on the TV screen during races.
– The order of the menu after each race will be changed to “Next Race,” followed by “Watch Highlight Reel.”
– The game will remember the most recent kart options that were selected, even if the Wii U system was powered down.
– Users will be able to change options of other players’ Mario Kart TV downloaded highlight reels, such as changing the focus to different characters or actions.
– A score screen will be added so players can see how many coins they’ve collected, the win-loss record of their online battles and their frequently used characters.
– Improved the stability of the online connection to enhance user experience during online battles.