Senior communications director says market opportunity for 2014 kart racer greater now than ever before.

The Mario Kart brand is more powerful now than ever before. That's according to Nintendo senior communications director Charlie Scibetta, who told GameSpot today that hopes are high for Mario Kart 8, which was detailed earlier today as part of the latest Nintendo Direct.

"I do think that the power of the brand is more powerful than ever because you have all the people who grew up on it, so you have that carryover; the fact that they still keep playing into their adult years," Scibetta said. "And then you also have kids getting into it and you get them involved too."

Scibetta explained that the key to keeping the Mario Kart brand fresh, relevant, and popular is in making sure the gameplay is innovative and boundary pushing with each new entry.

He said Mario Kart 8 embodies this freshness through features like antigravity, new vehicles like gliders, and 12-player online support. Overall, Scibetta said Mario Kart 8 will carry over legacy features and combine those with new experiences to form a compelling product.

Mario Kart 8 launches exclusively on the Wii U in spring 2014.

Mario Kart 8 has big shoes to fill, as its predecessor, Mario Kart Wii, sold 34.26 million copies as of March 31, 2013.

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