The Morning After: Celebrating 30 years of ‘Mario Kart’

Released in 1992, a few years after the Super Nintendo console, Super Mario Kart was an odd proposition: Nintendo mascot Mario, his friends and enemies all get in go-carts, racing around flat, pseudo-3D tracks. It all seemed so silly, but Super Mario Kart was a critical and commercial hit, and became a formative gaming experience for many of us. 

As we shake our heads in disbelief that it’s already been 30 years, we’re sharing some of our memories of a game that’s now older than a lot of our readers – and even some of our writers.

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

More than 3,000 cinemas across the country are participating.

On September 3rd, to coincide with a newly announced National Cinema Day, more than 3,000 theaters across the US – including chains like AMC – will offer discounted $3 tickets. All the major film studios are participating, as well as more than 30,000 screens. The promotion comes at a time when the movie industry is still dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19. The pandemic saw movie studios like Universal significantly shorten theatrical windows, and many chains, including Regal Cinemas, struggled to stay open.

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The new tier may arrive in some markets as early as this year.

Netflix’s incoming ad-supported tier could represent a significant discount on some of the company’s existing plans. According to Bloomberg, the streaming giant is considering a monthly price between $7 and $9. The company’s current “Basic” plan starts at $10 per month. Bloomberg reports that Netflix wants to avoid many of the complaints that frequently come up with other ad-supported streaming services.The company plans to show only about four minutes of ads every hour of streaming, while other reports suggest it won’t show ads during kids’ content.

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Probably for a lot of money.

Corsair

When it comes to gaming monitors, you have to decide between a flat or curved display. Usually. Now Corsair is developing a monitor that can be manually bent and straightened. The Xeneon Flex is a 45-inch prototype with a pair of handles on its sides that allow you to adjust the curvature of its display panel up to a maximum of 800R. For now, the monitor doesn’t have a release date or price tag.

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It looks like the tier will carry a ‘Friends and Family’ branding.

Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox Game Pass Ultimate family plan could allow you to share the subscription with your buddies. Frequent Microsoft Store leaker Aggiornamenti Lumia shared an image that indicates the tier will carry a “Friends and Family” branding. In the two regions where Microsoft is currently testing Game Pass Ultimate family plans, you can share your subscription with up to four other people, as long as they’re in the same country.

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Its best buds yet.

The $230 Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are Samsung’s best earbuds yet, and it’s not even close. Thanks to a huge improvement to sound quality, better noise cancellation and a host of handy features, this is the most well-rounded true wireless product from the company so far. But even with all of its gains, the best is still reserved for the Samsung faithful, which means these are only a truly great option if you already own a Galaxy phone. Read on for why.

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