- Gamecube controller support is official - you can now use one of 4 control types for Mario Kart Wii: Wii remote exclusively, or the Wii Remote with the Nunchuk, or the Classic Controller and of course, the Gamecube pad.

- Although it may seem like something you already know, but it's official that EVERY copy of Mario Kart Wii will ship with a Wii Wheel. Whether or not you can buy a cheaper copy of the game and not buy the Wii Wheel is unknown.

- The Wii remote control setting has dead zones, ala Excite Truck, but after a couple of minutes you'll be fine with the controls. Tester prefer the Wii Wheel to other control types.

- The opening roster of characters is 12. Each starting character has 6 types of vehicles to choose from at the start: 3 go-karts, and 3 motor cycles.

- The starting 12 are: Baby Mario, Baby Peach, Toad, Koopa, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Wario, Waluigi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser.

- 50CC races are strictly kart exclusive, 100CC races are motorcycle exclusive; 150CC races allow for the mix of karts and motorcycles.

- Motor Cycles are harder to turn, but are easier to pull of boosts with. Also, by flicking the Wii remote up, your bike will preform a wheelie. How wheelies are to be pulled off with GC or Classic controllers has yet to be confirmed

- Snaking has been made more difficult thanks to a new boost technique. Players no longer gain a boost through power-sliding, but instead, earn a boost while you're turning a corner and not repeatedly tapping left or right on the joystick.

- Flicking the Wii remote while in the air will preform pull off a canned trick animation, and when the kart lands on the ground it'll boost your vehicle a little bit.

- All retro tracks have been improved to match the power of the Wii, but still retain their original form.

- The unlocked retro tracks are: Peach Beach and Waluigi Stadium (From MK: DD); Yoshi Falls and Delfino Square (From MK: DS); Mario Raceway and Sherbet Land (From MK: 64); Shy Guy Beach (MK: SC); Ghost Valley 2 (SMK)

- The unlocked new tracks are: Luigi Circuit, Moo Moo Meadows, Mushroom Gorge, Toad's Factory, Mario Circuit, Coconut Mall, DK Summit, and Wario's Gold Mine.

- Bullet Bill item from Mario Kart DS makes a return.

- All traditional items return. (I.e, Red Shell, Banana, Green Shell, Blue Shell)

- New items include; A POW block with players will have to either jump up at 3 time or 'spin out of' before you get rid of it. And a cloud that'll give your player a boost of speed for as long as you hold it, but it has the side-effect of zapping your kart with lightning.

- The D-pad (Wii remote controls) will shoot and aim items.

- When players try and attack your kart, a warning icon and sound (from the Wii remote) will tell you of where the item is coming from, giving you the heads up before you get hit.

- Up to 12 players can play online with 2 or them racing from the same Wii.

- Mario Kart Channel will be included on the disc - not a new Wii channel - and it's used for players to check up on rankings and times, to upload and download ghost racers.

- Downloadable content though the Mario Kart Channel. Challenges, like the ones from Mario Kart DS, will be made available weekly.

- 4 Profiles per game, each marked by individual Miis.

- Game will carry a huge achievement counter: Distance traveled, Total Race and Battle count, how much you've used the Wii Wheel, how many tricks you've pulled off, favorite character, favorite vehicle, favorite course, and favorite stage. Nintendo WFC friend race win/losses. Ghosts sent and ghosts received.

- "VR Rating" and "Battle Rating." - Tracks how many Wi-Fi races you've played and your Wi-Fi Battle mode win/loss record. It'll also track how many first place appearances, percentages of times in first place, how many times you hit someone, how many times you've been hit, your ghost race wins/losses, and how many tournaments you've played.