While you guys are on here complaining, the servers are up and running. The way some of you are reacting to this makes it sound like the servers are offline for days at a time.

That tournament is driving(heh) me nuts. I can't get under 2 minutes, no matter how hard I try. Again, damn those Blue Shells.

ozzsoad

I, and others, are also at work ... so I can't play the game right now.

In short, the servers should work when I want to play, I shouldn't play when they randomly work. If the game doesn't work when I can play, the servers might as well be down for days at a time, as there's really no difference.

I hope I'm not coming across like an a$$, I don't mean to, but just because it's up now doesn't justify the down time in my opinion.

You'd think with some of these AAA games (Mario Kart, GTA4, etc.), that the companies would anticipate that tons of people are going to want to play online right away, and have the servers up and running correctly from the start. Instead of having to slam bang everything together right after release when everyone starts complaining about it. Don't they want us to be happy with our $50-60 games?ItsEvolution

What boggles me is that Nintendo apparently had these same problems with Smash Brothers when it was released.

Granted, I don't own Smash Brothers so I can't speak first hand, but from what I read it was the same issue.

If this happened with their last "big release", why didn't they prepare for it? This is 2008, having accessible working online play isn't an insane thing to expect from a Japanese company as large as Nintendo is.

We're not talking about the release of Mario vs Sonic At The Olympics here, this is freaking Mario Kart, arguably one of the top 5 franchises Nintendo has. For Nintendo to not be prepared for online play is simply irresponsible.

The same thing can be said for GTA being released the same time as Mario Kart, it was bad timing on Rockstar's part.

I really think it's two completely different audiences. I for one don't own any other system besides a Wii ( I may buy a PS3 this summer, but that's only for the Blu Ray player ), so GTA isn't even an option for me. Nintendo can't base their releases around other systems.

HBO is included in my cable package. Earlier this year it went down for a week, Cablevision gave me a credit. Technically I'm not paying extra for HBO as it's part of my package, but since it's something I should have recieved my account was credited. This situaiton is no different.

The long and the short of it : Nintendo made a promise to it's consumer to provide online play, and it's not working properly.

The argument that it's free is a moot point, it's a service they promised to provide.

If you're going to make the argument that people shouldn't complain because they're not paying extra, then theoretically people shouldn't complain if the Grand Prix feature stops working, or maybe the time trials. You don't pay extra for those, if they don't work, that's life ... right? I mean, you paid for the game and the wheel, and technically as long as you own the disc and that plastic circular thing, you got what you paid for ... right?

The problems are sporatic.

This weekend it worked fine for me, Monday it worked fine for me, Tuesday it gave me problems, as it did for a portion yesterday as well. This morning I couldn't get on at all before work, and that's when I started this thread.

I'm sure, or atleast I hope, in time it'll all be ironed out ... sooner rather than later. The problem is, this is a new game that I just bought this weekend. I'm excited about playing it, as I normally am about most new toys. The fact that I can't access what I consider the most desirable feature of the game gets me a little perturbed.

Personally, I think I have every right for being perturbed without being considered a "whiner" or "unreasonable complainer".

I'm not asking for Miyamoto to come and cook me dinner as a make good, I just want to be able to beat some 13 year old in France on Wario's Gold Mine. Of course, if Miyamoto would like to cook me dinner, he's more than welcome.

If I bought a Hungry Man dinner that told me it would provide tasty corn with my meal, and I open it up and there's no corn, I didn't get what I paid for.

I'm not paying extra for said corn, it's included in the price of the meal. The fact that they didn't provide it is strictly on the shoulders of Hungry Man. The statement, "I didn't pay extra for it, it's included in the meal" doesn't justify them not providing it.

WiFi is a feature of Kart, a desirable feature of Kart. I didn't pay $50 for the game and then an extra $10 for online play. I paid $50 for a game that included online play. Nintendo is not allowing us to play online, thus they're not delivering the corn that was promised in my meal.

I don't care what their excuse is. It's a feature that they told me was included in the game, and thus far 75% of the time I try to use it, I can't. I'm sorry, but that's BS.

On a side note, Hungry Man dinners are awesome and I highly recommend them.

Normally I give people the benefit of the doubt.

A few nights ago when Nintendo had WiFi issues I shrugged my shoulders and said, "New game, lots of players, it happens".

Yesterday, I got the error again, got a tad bit annoyed but was able to play online later on in the evening so I didn't care as much. I figured whatever issues were out there were fixed.

Fast forward to this morning.

It's currently 10:16am ET and after 7 attempts I kept getting either error 61010 or 91010, and at the end of the day I couldn't get online. All I wanted to do was play a few races before I left for work, and just couldn't. My internet, modem, and everything was working ... Nintendo wasn't.

I would justify this still if it was 5 or 6pm ET, or even late at night, because those are prime playing times. While I don't have any numbers to back me up, I'm fairly confident that 10am ET is not the heaviest time for online play. The fact that I couldn't get online annoys the hell out of me.

I believe that I should be able to play a desirable feature on a game I paid for whenever I please. Call me a complainer, but that's how I feel.

Now I have to go to work, and I sincerely hope that when I get home tonight Ill be able to kick some heavy duty VR booty.

Adding the word Wii to the end brings class to a title. Think of some of the greatest movies of our time and how much better they would have sounded with the word Wii added to the end of them.

Pulp Fiction Wii

The Sixth Sense Wii

Back to the Future Wii

Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood Wii

The word Wii undeniably makes everything more appealing ...

Since we're talking about young kids, I figured I'd share my story.

When I went to pick up my copy of Kart there were three kids in Gamestop, and they stood in between myself and the elusive Gamestop employee who would allow me to complete a much desired Mario Kart transaction. It was clear from the beginning; those kids were there to fight.

The first kid came at me with speed and determination, he tried to knock me over but I was able to keep my balance by grabbing hold of a rack filled with used PlayStation 3 consoles. I knew that system was useful for something.

Regaining my wits, I grabbed the child by the throat, lifted him in the air, and yelled, "DIE VIGO !!!", because to me all children represent the villian from Ghostbusters 2.

I threw him to the ground and then took a battle ready position, knowing that the other two kids were also going to try and stop me from getting my Kart on.

The next child came at me. He looked like Goldberg the Goalie from The Mighty Ducks, but I wasn't going to let his obscure celebrity likeness stop me from going home and enjoying Koopa Cape.

He ran at me with his arms swinging through the air, he was yelling at a very audible volume. I believe he was speaking in tongues, but I can't be sure, since I don't speak jive.

As soon as he darted my way I juked to the side, sending him face first in a pile of DS games. While he was lying there, bleeding with used copies of Brain Age covering his prone body, I grabbed a DS console, ripped out the sylus, and shoved it in his eye. While doing so I uttered the action movie-esque catch phrase, "You're cramping my stylus."

The line made me chuckle, and made him bleed, which means it was a win/win situation.

All that stood between me and the Gamestop front desk was one final child, this one resembled the pop singer JoJo, which was odd, since he was a young black boy.

Anyhoo, JoJo came at me and quickly lifted me up in the air. I was hoisted on his shoulders and at that moment I saw my life flash before my eyes. In an act of desperation I clutched the XBox 360 display set up, but he quickly pryed me away. I should have been able to hold on for longer ... I blame Microsoft Tech Support.

While on JoJo's shoulders, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Wii Zapper. I quickly grabbed it and used to to whack him in the back of the head, causing him to drop me to the ground immediately.

Dazed and confused he stood up. Zapper still in my hand, JoJo regained his wits and rushed at me like a fat man at Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day. While he was running, grunting like a young Tim "The Toolman" Taylor, I looked him dead in the eyes and said, "I've got your peripheral right here ...", and shoved the Zapper straight down his throat. He fell to the ground instantly, and victory was mine.

I walked over to the counter with my head held high. I looked the cashier straight in the eyes and said, "One copy of Mario Kart Wii please ...". He smiled, looked right back at me, and said, "Sorry, we're sold out".

I left and bought one at Target an hour later.

Real good game, my online code is in my sig.