So what's the news with Mario Kart 8?

Any news on cheap winnings? I can't tell you the number of times I've lost a cup and didn't unlock that new character or new vehicle, because the AI would get like 3 red turtle shells, lightening, and a blue shell at the final lap of the last race. This was rampant in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 for me.

Has Nintendo said anything?

there has been no info and no direct on mario kart yet.

I'm sure item randomizations will stay the same as in MK7. Yes, it's frustrating to you because you were in first place, but you would not be complaining if you were the one who jumped from third to first in a cup because the person in first and second were bombarded with shells. Some situations feel cheap, but that's Mario Kart. You need skill and luck, and a huge part of that skill is to find a way to get to first with all of those obstacles. I do hope races become a bit more customizable in MK8, to satisfy those who dislike certain items, like the blue shell.

I am guessing that won't change.

I am already mentally preparing myself to go after 3 stars on all the cups. It always drives me crazy when I lose the rank when, on the very last race following three perfect rounds, I am destroyed by the CPUs and their crazy items. =P

I don't mind when it happens on local or online multiplayer matches, I can honestly say that I find that to be rather entertaining and occasionally funny. But against the CPUs, it just drives me mad.

They stated that you're able to customize the appearance of certain items like you can in Smash Bros, so I guess that's a start to improvement! Red shells aren't much of a threat as long as you drag items, take extremely sharp turns, or go to a dangerous path. But don't think that you can customize it exactly like Smash Bros though. Oh, and about the message I sent to all of the GameSpot moderators the other day, I wonder who replied *looks at Pierst179*.

You lose a cup because of the items? What? You could just drag items to protect against red shells and you can always use a mushroom to avoid a blue shell or back up to let the other racers join the fun too. Are you really that weak? I got hit by a blue shell multiple times near the end of a race but still made it and got over a star rank.

Obtaining star ranks are another thing, but if you continuously lose cups "because of items" you just need to try harder. I restarted MKW on the Wii U and I won all 150cc cups without having to try a single one again, items or no items. There are moments when the game seems a bit unbalanced (you don't get hit with items for 2 laps and then you get hit 3 times in a row), but the effect of items on the outcome of the race has really been exaggerated over the years. Even in multiplayer, items only make the difference when the skill level of the competitors is similar. And that's the entire point of them.