The Mystery Behind Mario Kart 7’s Strange Update
When people talk about Mario Kart in 2022, most people are talking about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Switch. This is what Nintendo is focusing on by adding new courses and game elements such as customizable items , so it’s strange to see a new update for a Mario Kart game that isn’t Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Even stranger, Nintendo’s latest news is about Mario Kart 7 , a game released on the Nintendo 3DS over 10 years ago.
Nintendo quietly released a new patch for Mario Kart 7 on Tuesday, December 13, and players don’t know what to do with it – partly because Nintendo isn’t letting anyone know it’s actually in the update. According to the official release notes, Mario Kart 7 version 1.2 addresses “several issues” to “improve gameplay”. What this means, one can only guess.
And guess what, they have! Twitter user OatmealDome suggests that the update fixes a serious security vulnerability found in other Nintendo games such as Splatoon 2 and Animal Crossing , as it is possible that Nintendo is reusing the same code for its own games.
As Nintendo Life points out , the update could also have something to do with Nintendo’s plans to shut down the 3DS eShop next year. It’s not clear what the reason is, but it could be something that Nintendo wanted to update before the March 27 online store closing date, after which you won’t be able to install these updates at all.
Regardless of the reason for the fix, Nintendo requires you to have it in order to continue playing online and in local multiplayer.
Interestingly, this patch is only the second in the history of Mario Kart 7 . The last update came out over a decade ago on May 15, 2012, fixing shortcut exploits. The update was required for online multiplayer, but not for single player or local multiplayer:
- An update has been released to address shortcut exploits in Wuhu Loop , Maka Wuhu , and Bowser Castle 1 tracks when played in online multiplayer.
- The update is required to play online multiplayer game modes. However, this update will not affect tracks in single player and local multiplayer modes. Players can continue to play these modes without installing the update.
How to install the Mario Kart 7 update
To install Mario Kart 7 version 1.2, make sure your 3DS is fully up to date, or at least running menu version 4.1.0-8U or higher. From there, go to the online store and search for Mario Kart 7 Update . Select ” Click here to download ” and wait for the update to install. Once you’re done, you can download Mario Kart 7 and you’re done.
[ Nintendo Life ]