ABOUT BIKES: 2008

R15
Summary
R15 is the first model for the Indian market designed in the true supersport image and featuring a high-level balance of enjoyable running performance on winding roads. Packed full of state-of-the-art technologies, R15 boasts performance worthy of a supersport model and a body design that evokes the image of the YZF-R series and gives visual expression to the quality of its ride.
R15 is powered by 149.8cc Fuel Injected liquid cooled engine that will be producing an almost impossible 17bhp with maximum torque of 15 Nm at 7500rpm; which makes it like the most powerful bike under 200cc range and has a 6-speed Transmission. Yamaha is showcasing its potential for India with some real performance.
R15 has India’s first 150cc 4 valve engine with forged pistons, Deltabox frame & 6speed gear box. It’s overall length is 1995mm, overall width is 670mm and its wheels base is 1290mm. Since sporty YZF R15 is shorter too and its height is just 1070mm. YZF R15 features F 80/90 -17 inches tyres in the front and 100/80-17 inches tyres in the rear. Both the tyres are tubeless.
Design & Styling
The “R” Design: This characteristic of motorcycles designed by Yamaha as represented by the R series reflects the philosophy running through these models — expressing performance visually.
For example, YZF-R6 shows a strong body line that springs up in a single line from the rear axle to the pivot and then to the head pipe. This is a visual expression of the straight shape of the Deltabox frame. These elements are a visual expression of “frame rigidity.” Viewed from the side, the shape created by the side panel and the upper surface of the tank creates an impression of the center of gravity shifting to the front tire.
This is a visual representation of how the front tire grips the road in its sporty running performance. Needless to say, YZF-R1, with its athletic build, is also a visual expression of performance. A characteristic of the R series is that, when you view the machine, you get a sense of its concept and performance.
This philosophy has been fully transmitted to YZF-R15. An important point to note is that this motorcycle is not a scaled-down version of YZF-R1 or YZF-R6. YZF-R15’s design is based on having an excellent engine cooling method.
The shape of the cowling around the radiator area was determined so that the shapes of the air intake area and the rear outlet area where the air is scooped out are optimized to improve radiator efficiency. As for the outlet area, the mid-cowl area was designed using sculpturing 3D methods to create a three dimensional shape with a sense of volume. rst for the Indian market.
When viewed from the front, it gives a sense of volume that seems well beyond its 150cc displacement. This does not simply mean that it is voluminous, but that it is grounded in the Art of Engineering which transforms function into art.
Engine
YZF-R15 is equipped with this all-aluminum cylinder called the DiASil Cylinder and a forged piston, the same type of piston used in Yamaha’s supersport bikes. The fact that both the piston and cylinder of YZF-R15 are all-aluminum ensures excellent heat dissipation, eliminates heat-induced engine power loss, and helps improve fuel

Mario Kart Wii (マリオカートWii, Mario Kāto Wī?) is a kart racing video game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. It is the sixth installment in the Mario Kart series (excluding the two arcade games) and the second Mario Kart to use Nintendo's free online service. The game was released worldwide throughout April 2008. Every copy of the game is packaged with the Wii Wheel accessory, which is designed to house the Wii Remote to allow more intuitive and conventional steering. Mario Kart Wii was the Launch title for Club Nintendo Australia.
Changes from the predecessor include motorbikes and support for up to twelve racers (excluding Mario Kart: Double Dash's LAN connection). Like other games in the Mario Kart series, it involves various characters from various Mario games racing each other on tracks themed from locations in the Mario series. Support for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection allows racing against other players from around the world, and online competitions and results are available by installing the Mario Kart Channel to the Wii Menu.[6]
Mario Kart Wii was first shown at E3 2007.[7] It has been received positively by both critics and fans. While not revolutionary, the online capability and the large number of tracks, characters and karts has been praised.[8][9] It has had a very successful launch in every region, and sold over a million copies in both Japan and the United States in less than a month.[10][11][12]
Contents[hide]
1 Gameplay
1.1 Game modes
1.2 Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
2 Playable characters
3 Development
3.1 Audio
4 Reception
5 Release delays in New Zealand
6 References
7 External links
//

[edit] Gameplay
Mario Kart Wii is a kart racing video game. The player(s) chooses a character from a roster consisting of up to 24 characters, separated into three different weight classes. A character's weight decides the available types of karts and/or motorbikes, as well as their performance on the tracks.[13] Each vehicle has seven different parameters which decides its characteristics: speed, weight, acceleration, handling, drift, off-road and mini-turbo.[13] While motorbikes can perform wheelies for a speed boost, they have a limited turning ability for the duration of a wheelie. Karts cannot do wheelies, but can get better boosts on drifting, giving both karts and motorbikes their own advantages and disadvantages.[14] The 50cc mode features karts, the 100cc mode features motorbikes, and the 150cc mode has a mix of both. However, all modes can eventually be made available by completing certain elements of the game, and be used with both karts and motorbikes
The players then race across various tracks. Each track has a unique shape, as well as different obstacles and hazards to avoid. The game includes 32 different tracks (16 new and 16 remakes of tracks from previous Mario Kart games), and up to 12 characters can participate in a race.[15] There are also ten battle courses, five new and five remakes of battle courses from previous games. The tracks are generally wider in Mario Kart Wii than other games in the series, as they are designed to have twelve racers on them instead of eight.[16] Players can obtain items by driving through item boxes, which can be used for either defense, offense or for powering up the engine. While most items have appeared in previous iterations, new ones have been introduced, such as the Mega Mushroom, which allows the character to grow to an enormous size and flatten opposing characters.[17] Also featured is the ability to slipstream.[8]
The primary control scheme is the Wii Wheel. In addition to the Wii Wheel, four other control schemes are present: the Wii Remote alone (tilted on its side), the Remote with the Nunchuk attachment, the Nintendo GameCube controller, or the Wii Classic Controller.[18] The ability to "snake" in previous Mario Kart games, which creates speed boosts by repeatedly drifting, has been greatly reduced in favor of a new speed boost system based on how long the player actually drifts and the angle at which they drift.[19]

[edit] Game modes

Mario driving a kart in one of the first pictures released of the game.
In Grand Prix mode, which unlike previous iterations of Mario Kart is available only in single player, the player races in a series of Grand Prix Cups against computer-controlled competitors. Each Cup consists of four three-lap races. Each Cup may be raced at 50cc, 100cc, or 150cc, which determines the speed of the race. At the end of the cup, the player is awarded a trophy based on their finishing position (Bronze, Silver, or Gold) and a rating based upon how well they raced (in ascending order: E, D, C, B, A, one star, two stars, three stars). Mirror Mode, which is all eight cups in a mirrored manner at 150cc, can be made available by completing certain elements of the game. In Time Trial, players try to finish a course in as short a time as possible. Like in previous games, the fastest time will be saved as a ghost, a copy of the player's performance which can be raced against. By beating staff ghosts, "expert staff ghosts" are made available. Beating them, in turn, makes certain vehicles and characters available. Versus mode entails one to four local players racing head-to-head in a single race on any course either with or without AI players.[8]
The game also features Battle mode, consisting of Balloon Battle and Coin Runner. The players are split into two teams randomly, and start on one of the ten battle courses. In Balloon Battle, each player has three balloons attached to their kart. Every time a player is hit by an opposing player, a balloon is lost, and the score for each team is altered accordingly. If a player loses all three balloons, they are given three new balloons and are restarted on the course. When the time limit is reached, the team that popped the most balloons wins. In Coin Runner, coins are scattered over the battle course. If a player drives over a coin he or she will pick it up, but being hit by an opposing player will cause him or her to lose coins. The winning team is the team that is holding the most coins when the time limit is reached. Both of these modes support one to twelve players; any slots unfilled by players may be filled by AI players, however this option can be disabled. Both battle modes are automatically set to three minutes and the time cannot be changed.[8]

[edit] Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

Every copy of the game is packaged with the Wii Wheel accessory.
Mario Kart Wii allows players to race against each other through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This features online racing and battle modes, supporting up to twelve simultaneous competitors. There are three options: worldwide, regional and friends. The first two options match the player against those of a similar rank, either from around the world or their surrounding geographical region, and the third option lets the player race against listed friends. The maps are decided by a voting system where the map is randomly selected from the maps voted for by the players, where each vote increases the probability of the map being chosen. When playing online for the first time players are given a skill rating of '5000' and based on wins and losses, this increases or decreases to rank the player's skill level. The game features online text chat between players where users are able to select from a set of predetermined phrases when playing with friends.[20][21]
The game has the option of installing the Mario Kart Channel to the Wii Menu, which presents the current regional and worldwide rankings, as well as the option of sending or downloading saved time trials (ghosts) using WiiConnect24.[6][22][23] The Kart Channel also offers worldwide tournaments from Nintendo.[24] The channel, which can be run independently of the game, enables a user to see if any members of their Friend roster are currently online, and to participate in a race or battle with them.[25] When waiting for an online race to start, the player will watch the current race if there is one running.[26]

[edit] Playable characters
See also: Mario Kart Playable Characters
Mario Kart Wii features 24 (26 counting the two outfits available for the Mii, the digital avatar created by Nintendo) selectable characters, more than any of its predecessors. 12 characters are available from the beginning; the other 12 and the two Mii variants become available after finishing certain elements of the game. The cast of characters includes 19 returning characters from Mario Kart and six newcomers. This installment's newcomers are Baby Peach, Funky Kong, Miis, Rosalina, Dry Bowser, and making her first appearance in the Mario series, Baby Daisy. There are eight characters of each weight class. The Mii's weight class depends on the Mii's height and weight, and their favorite color affects the color scheme of their clothing.

[edit] Development
At E3 2007 Media and Business Summit, Mario Kart Wii was officially announced for the first time along with its online-enabled features and the first footage of the title was shown.[7] During Reggie Fils-Aime's presentation, he unveiled the new entry via a trailer that showed off some gameplay, showing some of the new characters and tracks for the first time. The trailer also showed that the game would include up to 12 simultaneous racers, and also that the dual-character component of its predecessor was removed; each character was riding solo on his or her respective kart. Additional details of the game were later released in conjunction with the Nintendo Fall 2007 Conference held on October 2007, where it was revealed that it would include motorbikes and the Wii Wheel. New gameplay footage from the game was also shown, and the release date was revealed to be set for spring 2008.[27]
Hideki Konno, producer, had wanted to include online features like the ranking system and saved time trials (ghosts) sharing already for Mario Kart DS, but had not been able in order to get that game completed in time for the 2005 release. Now, for Mario Kart Wii, these features could be implemented. The developers also wanted to avoid races becoming more and more deserted as they progressed, as was the case in Mario Kart DS, thus altering the online matchmaking to allow players to join a race once it's finished for participation in the next one up.[28] Konno had been proposing ideas involving BMX ever since Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, but the ideas had so far been rejected. This time they were able to put the motorbikes in, "making the world of Mario a little more for boys" as Miyamoto, general producer, put it.[28] The game was called Mario Kart X internally for a while, before deciding on Mario Kart Wii.[28] Miyamotos inputs were limited to new aspects of play such as the Wii Wheel and battles over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.[28] The designers tested roughly 30 different prototypes with different shapes, colors and weights, before deciding on the final Wii Wheel design.[28]

[edit] Audio
The music is composed by Asuka Ohta and Masato Mizuta, who used new interpretations of the familiar melodies from earlier games as well as entirely new material.[29] The music speeds up and becomes more dramatic as you enter the last lap of a race. The speaker on the Wii Remote is frequently used during gameplay, as sound effects like crashes and warning signals are emitting from it. It was during the extensive testings of the different Wii Wheel prototypes the developers decided that it would be good to have the voice actors playing the game during recording sessions.[28]

[edit] Reception
[hide] Reviews
Publication
Score
Edge
6 of 10[30]
Eurogamer
8 of 10[31]
Famitsu
37 of 40[32]
GameSpot
8.5 of 10[8]
GameSpy
4.5 of 5[33]
GameTrailers
8.4 of 10[34]
IGN
8.5 of 10[9]
Nintendo Power
9 of 10[35]
NGamer
88%[16]
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler
Score
Metacritic
82% (70 reviews)[36]
Game Rankings
82% (60 reviews)[37]
Mario Kart Wii has been received positively, especially praising the online capability and the large number of tracks, characters and karts. Joe Sinicki of Blast Magazine comments: "While it still does suffer from some of the problems of the older games, Mario Kart Wii takes the simple and accessible formula set by its predecessors and tweaks it enough to make it feel fresh and fun, creating one of the most entertaining and rewarding gaming experiences in quite some time."[38] Official Nintendo Magazine UK claimed that the Wii Wheel worked very effectively and loved the different multiplayer modes.[26] GameSpot editor Lark Anderson complimented that the game is easy to jump into for players of any skill level and that motorcycles provide a great alternative to go-karts[8], and IGN commented that "Nintendo has delivered one of the best console Karts in years".[9] Plugged In stated that the racing is easy to do and that "the Grand Prix Cup events and several team battle modes keep things interesting".
NGamer, however, claimed that the tracks are too big for local multiplayer matches. Also, IGN criticized the rubber band AI in the 150cc races of the Grand Prix[9] and NGamer UK was disappointed that Battle mode can now only be played in teams; no free-for-all option is offered which removes the 'last man standing' element of previous Mario Kart Battle modes. Reviewers such as GameTrailers and IGN also commented that it is easy to fall from first place to last by being continuously attacked by several weapons, many of which are unavoidable, leading to a certain amount of luck in racing. This makes it more accessible for beginners, but can be discouraging for skilled players.[34][9] GameSpot also noted that "nostalgia doesn't save most of the classic courses from being boring".[8]
Mario Kart Wii had a successful launch and sold 300,000 copies on the launch day in Japan alone, compared to Mario Kart DS which sold 160,000 copies on its first day and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! which sold 180,000 on its first day.[10] Three days later it had sold a total of over half a million copies in Japan.[39] In the week ending May 4, 2008, Mario Kart Wii had sold over a million copies in Japan alone, less than a month since its release in the region.[40] In the UK, Mario Kart Wii was the best-selling video game in the week ending April 12, 2008, having "the eighth biggest opening sales week in UK software history," according to ChartTrack/ELSPA.[11][41] The game dwarfed all other five Mario Wii games released up until then for the Wii combined when comparing first week sales.[11] In the United States, Mario Kart Wii sold 1.12 million copies in April 2008, according to the NPD Group. This puts Mario Kart Wii at #2 of the best selling video games of April in the US, behind the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV and ahead of the PlayStation 3 version, both released in the same week.[12]

[edit] Release delays in New Zealand
In New Zealand the game's release has been continually delayed, pushed originally from 24 April 2008 to 29 May 2008, and subsequently to an estimated date of 20 June 2008. EB Games in New Zealand sold limited stocks of the game from the original release date, having secured stock directly from Australia. The local distributor Softprint Interactive, did not make any formal explanation behind the reasons for the continued delays, but it was soon revealed that Softprint had gone into receivership [42].

[edit] References
^ Mario Kart Wii - even more details (Cube controller support?, tracks, ghosts, online leagues, and more)- What are you waiting for?. GoNintendo (2008-02-06).
^ Nintendo - Games - Mario Kart Wii
^ Mario Kart Wii at Nintendo Australia
^ Nintendo speeds into spring with Mario Kart Wii. Nintendo of America. Nintendo (2008-03-12). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
^ The Classification Board and Classification Review Board
^ a b Mario Kart Wii Detailed news from 1UP.com
^ a b E3 2007: Not Your Father's Mario Kart. IGN (2007-07-18). Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
^ a b c d e f g GameSpot Mario Kart Wii Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
^ a b c d e Mario Kart Wii Review - wii.ign.com. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
^ a b Mario Kart Wii Sold 300,000 Copies?. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
^ a b c UK CHARTS: Mario Kart Wii smashes records as it hits No.1
^ a b Brendan Sinclair (2008-05-15). NPD: US game revs spike on 2.85M GTAIVs. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
^ a b Guides: Mario Kart Wii Guide p.6. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
^ Guides: Mario Kart Wii Guide p.10. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
^ Mario Kart Wii Weapons Website. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
^ a b Ngamer — Review: Mario Kart Wii. NGamer. Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
^ Nintendo. Mario Kart Wii Courses Website. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
^ Mario Kart Wii - UK Press Release from Nintendo. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
^ Snaking Removed From Mario Kart Wii. GoNintendo.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
^ Nintendo Announces Worldwide Mario Kart Tournaments. 1UP.com.
^ Matt Casamassina (2008-02-27). Mario Kart Wii Text Chat Details. IGN.
^ Mario Kart Wii allows for 12-player online racing - Joystiq
^ Mario Kart Wii Detailed news from 1UP.com
^ Nintendo Announces Worldwide Mario Kart Tournaments. 1UP.com.
^ Wii.com
^ a b Mario Kart Wii - Nintendo UK product information page. Nintendo.
^ Nintendo Conference 2007 Fall. IGN (2007-10-11). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
^ a b c d e f Iwata asks: Mario Kart Wii. Wii.com (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
^ Mario Kart Wii Info. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
^ Review: Mario Kart Wii - EDGE magazine. Future Publishing. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
^ Mario Kart Wii Review. EuroGamer. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
^ Famitsu Mario Kart Wii Review. Famitsu. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
^ Mario Kart Wii review at GameSpy. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
^ a b GameTrailers Mario Kart Wii Review. GameTrailers. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
^ Nintendo Power (Future US), April 14, 2008
^ Mario Kart Wii. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
^ Mario Kart Wii Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
^ Mario Kart Wii - Blast, The Online Magazine. B Media Ventures. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
^ Media Create Japan: Mario Kart debuts at over half a million copies sold. Qj.net. Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
^ Michael McWhertor (2008-05-08). Ain't No Stopping Mario Kart Wii In Japan. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ British Sales Charts. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
^ Brianemone (2 June 2008). NZ - The Land with no Nintendo (HTML). Geekpulp.

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