Hideko Konno talks Mario Kart

By Ellie Gibson Published 8 November, 2005

And his crazy Rev wok game.

Mario Kart DS producer Hideko Konno has revealed a few more details of the game, including news that there are secret characters to unlock and stars to earn if you're proper-good.

Speaking to weblog Games|Life, Konno said: "As you're playing for a while, maybe if you beat some staff ghosts in the time trial mode, you'll get stars next to your user name. You can get up to three, and you have to do quite a bit to get those three stars. Once you've done that you'll see them online.

"Other players will say, "Wow, that guy must be really good because of [those stars] he has."

Konno also offered some handy tips on becoming Mario Kart champion: "There are secret characters that people are going to get, and some of them have better attributes. But mostly, if you feel the pressure of online matchups, you'll perform better if you keep a cool head.

"Don't change your race style just because you're online. The fundamentals haven't changed."

Konno reckons Mario Kart DS is the best game in the series so far - even better than the legendary SNES version, a particular favourite of his.

"If you look at the volume of Mario Kart DS, in every aspect of the game... I think we've done it. We've surpassed Super Mario Kart," he said.

So what's next for Konno and his team? Why, something next-gen, of course: "We're pretty much just working on Revolution stuff right now. We have to continue working on DS stuff, but mostly we have to create something big for Revolution.

"What's got me thinking about new ideas is the controller," Konno went on, waving his wrist around for emphasis.

"Did you see the Tokyo Game Show video? We actually have things using the movements you saw. Like the cooking game. We have this game with a big wok that you use to cook Chinese food, and it's really interesting to have the meat and vegetables frying in there, and use the controller to flip the food around without it spilling out of the pan."

Game|Life was at pains to stress that this crazy wok game is "not at this point a retail product but a creative in-house experiment," however. You can read the full interview on the Game|Life website.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (20) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Dizzy #1 6 years ago

    Wok game? Great ;) If it is anything like the daiko drumming game I am sure it will be fun.

  • jmctavish #2 6 years ago

    Brilliant! "Ken Hom's Stir Fry Simulator"

  • elvenearth #3 6 years ago

    If only you could eat the master of a meal that you had created

  • DaM #4 6 years ago

    /cue "Wokking the Dog" Korean cookery book joke....

  • tengu #5 6 years ago

    He woks the wok, but does he tok the tok?

  • trevd72 #6 6 years ago

    Super Mario Stirfry

  • smelly #7 6 years ago

    Well more interesting than endless racing games :-)

  • richardiox #8 6 years ago

    Wokarina Of Time?

  • mattigan #9 6 years ago

    I REALLY want Mario Kart DS, more than any game of recent years. This is really sad I know, but this is one of the games I finally got broadband for (along with PGR3 and X360 in general).

  • Tonka #10 6 years ago

    Ah finally. The FPC (first person cooker) game of my dreams. Yay!

  • justMe #11 6 years ago

    Nothing sad about that mattigan, Mario Kart DS = online game of the year, imho.

  • #12 6 years ago

    Wokka wokka!

  • Carlo #13 6 years ago

    Secret Characters? Hey, do ya think Master Chief will be in this too!?!?!?!?

  • caligari #14 6 years ago

    ENOUGH of the Wok jokes guys...it's like being in a Jim Davidson Yarmouth pier show!

    As for Mario Kart, I had originally pre-ordered the awesome hot rod redDS bundle over at Lik-Sang, until some helpful peeps directed me towards Video Game Plus. I've been bugging them for a few days, and they confirmed that they will be selling it at a cheaper price...aaaaand I've just bored myself from talking gah gah.

  • Harmonica #15 6 years ago

    "..and stars to earn if you're proper-good."

    *wince*

    nekotcha, you have a point. Of course we can pray for some vague balancing miracle..
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/05 @ 18:30

  • mal #16 6 years ago

    Psssh! This is Nintendo we're talking about. They may have an abysmal release schedule and treat Europe like dirt, but if there's one thing they know how to do it's to make a balanced game.

    Anyway, SMK has already been surpassed - by MK:SS. It's got all the characters and the circuits. I just can't remember if it's got the feather bonus when you're playing the original tracks.

    /goes to play some more MarioKart to check

  • mattigan #17 6 years ago

    "nekotcha, you have a point. Of course we can pray for some vague balancing miracle.. "

    I think there is a player matching feature of some sort being implemeted, so if you've got 3 stars then you only play others with 3 stars.

    "Anyone remember TT from Diddy Kong Racing? And the way he had to be banned from multiplayer games?

    Yes I do, and I also remember what you had to do to unlock him (beat his ghost on every track in the entire game!!!!), if there is a similar character in MK:DS you can bet your ass I will be using it in multiplayer if I manage to unlock it. I beleive that the character you use will also become a badge of honor in multiplayer Net races.

  • KraftWerk #18 6 years ago

    w00k!

  • Repsode #19 6 years ago

    To think, a videogame that might just improve you in something you could use in real life. If you fancy yourself a top chinese chef.

    Is the games industry so weak now that I'm interested in a Wok simulator. Maybe i should try a new hobby.

  • Carlo #20 6 years ago

    Jaspoid, I used the name 'Master Chief' to pay homage to our favourite Forum Troll...