<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
is	O
a	O
kart	O
racing	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
EAD	O
in	O
cooperation	O
with	O
Retro	O
Studios	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
in	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
the	O
previous	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
series	O
,	O
players	O
participate	O
in	O
racing	O
on	O
various	O
Mario-themed	O
tracks	O
,	O
playing	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
seventeen	O
different	O
Mario	B-Application
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
supports	O
both	O
local	O
and	O
online	B-Application
multiplayer	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
eight	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
critical	O
and	O
commercial	O
success	O
,	O
with	O
it	O
going	O
on	O
to	O
be	O
the	B-Device
best-selling	I-Device
game	I-Device
on	I-Device
the	I-Device
Nintendo	I-Device
3DS	I-Device
,	O
with	O
approximately	O
19	O
million	O
copies	O
sold	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
carries	O
on	O
traditional	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
gameplay	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
race	O
against	O
each	O
other	O
in	O
go-karts	O
across	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
tracks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
tracks	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
various	O
locations	O
in	O
the	O
Mario	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
but	O
two	O
tracks	O
are	O
set	O
on	O
Wuhu	O
Island	O
location	O
from	O
the	O
Wii	B-Application
Fit	I-Application
and	O
Wii	B-Application
Sports	I-Application
Resort	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
traditional	O
button	O
controls	O
,	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
can	O
be	O
played	O
using	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
gyroscope	B-Application
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
action	O
is	O
viewed	O
in	O
first	O
person	O
and	O
the	O
player	O
steers	O
the	O
kart	O
simply	O
by	O
tilting	O
the	O
entire	O
game	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
most	O
gameplay	O
occurs	O
on	O
the	O
top	O
screen	O
of	O
the	O
3DS	B-Operating_System
hardware	O
,	O
the	O
bottom	O
screen	O
shows	O
an	O
overhead	O
map	O
of	O
the	O
race	O
course	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
these	O
power-ups	O
include	O
the	O
series	O
staple	O
items	O
Koopa	O
Shells	O
,	O
Banana	B-Operating_System
Peels	O
,	O
and	O
Super	O
Mushrooms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
,	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
karts	O
are	O
fully	O
submersible	O
thus	O
adding	O
fully	O
under	O
water	O
track	O
segments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
features	O
sixteen	O
playable	O
Mario	B-Application
characters	O
,	O
including	O
Wiggler	O
,	O
Honey	O
Queen	O
,	O
Lakitu	O
,	O
and	O
Metal	O
Mario	B-Application
,	O
who	O
are	O
new	O
to	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Mii	O
characters	O
saved	O
in	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
Mii	O
Maker	O
,	O
bringing	O
the	O
total	O
to	O
seventeen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
introduced	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
customize	O
vehicles	O
prior	O
to	O
races	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
offers	O
32	O
different	O
race	O
tracks	O
,	O
which	O
consist	O
of	O
16	O
new	O
tracks	O
and	O
16	O
tracks	O
remade	O
from	O
prior	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
features	O
four	O
single-player	O
game	O
modes	O
:	O
Grand	O
Prix	O
,	O
Time	O
Trial	O
,	O
Balloon	O
Battle	O
,	O
and	O
Coin	O
Runners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Grand	O
Prix	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
races	O
against	O
seven	O
computer-controlled	B-Application
opponents	O
in	O
one	O
of	O
eight	O
different	O
cups	O
,	O
each	O
featuring	O
four	O
tracks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
player	O
has	O
SpotPass	B-Device
enabled	O
on	O
their	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
,	O
they	O
will	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
download	O
ghosts	O
from	O
other	O
players	O
and	O
can	O
race	O
against	O
up	O
to	O
seven	O
other	O
ghosts	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
play	O
online	B-Application
via	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Network	I-Application
,	O
participating	O
in	O
races	O
or	O
battles	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
seven	O
other	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
EAD	O
began	O
development	O
on	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
in	O
early	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
to	O
have	O
hang	O
gliding	O
and	O
submersible	O
karts	O
came	O
during	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
previous	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
game	O
,	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
Wii	I-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
gameplay	O
mechanics	O
implemented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
first	O
publicly	O
announced	O
at	O
E3	O
2010	O
under	O
the	O
tentative	O
title	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
3DS	I-Application
and	O
then	O
shown	O
again	O
at	O
E3	O
2011	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
for	O
a	O
late	O
2011	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
Nintendogs	B-Device
+	I-Device
Cats	I-Device
was	O
scheduled	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
first	O
,	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
was	O
given	O
lower	O
priority	O
and	O
only	O
eight	O
staff	O
members	O
were	O
assigned	O
to	O
begin	O
work	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
it	O
was	O
time	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
producer	O
Hideki	O
Konno	O
realized	O
that	O
there	O
was	O
not	O
enough	O
staff	O
available	O
due	O
to	O
many	O
other	O
titles	O
being	O
developed	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
including	O
The	B-Application
Legend	I-Application
of	I-Application
Zelda	I-Application
:	I-Application
Skyward	I-Application
Sword	I-Application
which	O
had	O
its	O
production	O
extended	O
into	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
finish	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
time	O
for	O
the	O
2011	O
Christmas	O
season	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
consulted	O
with	O
Retro	O
Studios	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
just	O
finished	O
making	O
Donkey	B-Application
Kong	I-Application
Country	I-Application
Returns	I-Application
,	O
to	O
co-develop	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retro	O
started	O
work	O
on	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
in	O
December	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
focused	O
on	O
producing	O
the	O
classic	O
racing	O
courses	O
,	O
remakes	O
of	O
courses	O
from	O
the	O
earlier	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
titles	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
learn	O
both	O
"	O
lessons	O
about	O
the	O
development	O
process	O
[	O
for	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
games ]	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
about	O
what	O
makes	O
a	O
good	O
course	O
from	O
a	O
design	O
perspective.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
soundtrack	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
both	O
Kenta	O
Nagata	O
,	O
who	O
worked	O
on	O
the	O
previous	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
titles	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
64	I-Application
and	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
:	I-Application
Double	I-Application
Dash	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Star	B-Application
Fox	I-Application
64	I-Application
3D	I-Application
composer	O
Satomi	O
Terui	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
discovered	O
that	O
three	O
race	O
tracks	O
(	O
Wuhu	O
Island	O
Loop	O
,	O
Wuhu	O
Mountain	O
Loop	O
and	O
GBA	O
Bowser	O
Castle	O
1	O
)	O
had	O
contained	O
glitches	B-Error_Name
that	O
allowed	O
players	O
to	O
skip	O
over	O
a	O
significant	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
track	O
,	O
often	O
exploited	O
as	O
a	O
cheat	O
during	O
online	B-Application
play	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
update	O
to	O
fix	O
it	O
in	O
online	B-Application
play	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
May	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
has	O
received	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
scored	O
it	O
a	O
9/10	O
,	O
praising	O
"	O
a	O
handful	O
of	O
incredible	O
innovations	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
multiplayer	O
,	O
particularly	O
community	O
features	O
and	O
customizable	O
racing	O
rules	O
,	O
but	O
criticizing	O
the	O
small	O
roster	O
of	O
only	O
17	O
characters	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
Wiis	I-Application
25	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Giant	O
Bomb	O
scored	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
3/5	O
,	O
noting	O
"	O
your	O
enjoyment	O
of	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
will	O
likely	O
hinge	O
on	O
your	O
continued	O
appreciation	O
of	O
[	O
the	O
series' ]	O
formula	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
awarded	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
the	O
IGN	O
's	O
Editors	O
 '	O
Choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
"	O
Best	O
3DS	B-Operating_System
Game	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Best	O
Driving	O
Game	O
"	O
at	O
GameTrailers	O
 '	O
2011	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
Awards	O
,	O
but	O
lost	O
both	O
respectively	O
to	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
3D	I-Application
Land	I-Application
and	O
Forza	B-Application
Motorsport	I-Application
4	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
Spy	O
awarded	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
the	O
"	O
Best	O
Game	O
of	O
2011	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
Digital	O
Spy	O
readers	O
 '	O
awards	O
of	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Edge	O
awarded	O
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
as	O
the	O
best	O
portable	O
game	O
of	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mario	B-Application
Kart	I-Application
7	I-Application
sold	O
3.48	O
million	O
units	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
as	O
of	O
August	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
been	O
nominated	O
for	O
"	O
Favorite	O
Video	O
Game	O
"	O
twice	O
in	O
the	O
Kids	O
Choice	O
Awards	O
,	O
but	O
lost	O
to	O
Just	B-Application
Dance	I-Application
3	I-Application
in	O
the	O
2012	O
edition	O
and	O
Just	B-Application
Dance	I-Application
4	I-Application
in	O
the	O
2013	O
edition	O
.	O
</s>
