Mario Kart 7 Gets A Patch Ten Years in the Making

You read that right; Nintendo has released a Mario Kart 7 patch. This is the first update for the Nintendo 3DS game in over ten years because Nintendo’s gonna Nintendo. 

Here are the full patch notes for the latest Mario Kart 7 update, as well as the first patch from May 2012:

Ver. 1.2 (Released December 13, 2022)

General

Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

Ver. 1.1 (Released May 15, 2012)

• An update has been made available to eliminate shortcut exploits in the Wuhu Loop, Maka Wuhu, and Bowser Castle 1 tracks when they are played in the Online Multiplayer Mode.
• The update is required to play the game’s Online Multiplayer Modes. However, the tracks in Single-Player and Local Multiplayer Modes will not be affected by this update. Players can continue to play in these modes without installing the update.

There are theories online that this random Mario Kart 7 patch is for glitches that speedrunners have exploited. The original update directly addressed “shortcut exploits,” so this tracks, but it’s puzzling why Nintendo would take a decade to address further exploits. 

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Additionally, there has been a security exploit on several other Nintendo titles that needed to be fixed. Given Mario Kart‘s wild popularity, particularly Mario Kart 8, it’s no surprise that with people still playing the Nintendo 3DS game, Nintendo would want to address such an issue.

Here’s how you’ll enable the newest Mario Kart 7 patch:

Complete these steps

1. Perform a system update to ensure that you have the most up-to-date version.
   • The system will need to have a menu version of 4.1.0-8U or higher to use the Mario Kart 7 Update.
2. Return to the HOME Menu, and select the Nintendo eShop Icon.
3. Once the Nintendo eShop loads, select Mario Kart 7 Update.
   • If you are unable to locate this icon on the main page of the Nintendo eShop, you can Search for Mario Kart 7 Update to find it.
4. Select Mario Kart 7 Update, then select Tap Here to Download to download the update to the Nintendo 3DS system.
5. Once the download is complete, exit the Nintendo eShop and begin Mario Kart 7. You should now be able to use the Online Multiplayer mode.
   • When Mario Kart 7 is launched, Ver. 1.2 will appear in the lower-right corner of the Online Multiplayer icon if the update was successful.