Prerelease:Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

This article is a work in progress.
...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

This page is loooong...
Consider grouping related content into additional subpages to ease readability.

To do:

September 24th 2003 - (Items) Final batch of new screenshots. Will have to be thoroughly checked for differences, otherwise don't include them.
Nintendo: Le Magazine Officiel Numéro 14 has some high quality captures of the E3 demo. Scan these and include them in the E3 gallery.
Nintendo's official European website has high quality prerelease screenshots which appear to be used for the international manual. Mention it somewhere, and if it has nothing of value, add it to the misc links.
Nintendo's official strategy guide also used an early version of the game. Link a scan, and if it's not of any value, add it to the misc links.
There's a hints PDF from Nintendo's official website. Although it's not very useful, it does have some prerelease screenshots. Find its source and link it somewhere.
The official North American website uses screenshots/videos from a build made between the US/EU kiosk demos. Might be the same one used for Gamer's Summit. Link it somewhere if it has nothing notable.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s progress to store shelves had been quite the odd one out compared to the rest of the series. From two years of near deafening silence to fans having a say by criticizing the game's slow speed, a lot was altered in the months leading up to the game's completion, which seems to have been for the better.

Timeline

2001

May 16 - A Mario Kart game is announced to be in development, under the working title "Mario Kart for Nintendo GameCube".

2002

February 22 - Shigeru Miyamoto brings up that drastic changes that are coming to the game.
May 30 - Shigeru Miyamoto reveals that the game could've showed up at that year's E3.

2003

April 23 - The game is revealed as Mario Kart: Double Dash!! to the public in Famitsu Magazine.
May 17 / May 19 - The game is playable at E3 2003.
June 12 - The E3 demo is replayed at some press-only events in the UK and France.
August 12 / August 17 - The E3 demo is replayed at SICAF 2003.
August 20 / August 24 - A brand new demo of the game is playable at Toy Test 2003.
August 21 / August 24 - The new demo is playable at the Games Convention 2003 (GC for short). The E3 LAN demo is replayed.
August 27 / August 29 - The new demo is playable at ECTS 2003. The E3 LAN demo is also playable one final time.
September 10 - The North American kiosk demo is compiled.
September 15 - The European kiosk demo is compiled.
September 17 / September 18 - The game is playable one final time at Gamers' Summit 2003 (NGS for short) before release.
October 3 - The European release is completed.
October 4 - The official North American website (www.mariokart.com^[1]) goes live.
October 6 - The North American release is completed.
October 9 - The Japanese release is completed.
Mid-October - The official Japanese website^[2] goes live.
September-November - The official European website^[3] goes live.
November 7 - The game is released in Japan.
November 14 - The game is released in Europe and Australia.
November 17 - The game is released in North America.
November 20 - The game is released in South Korea.

Sub-Pages

To be created at a later time. Don't create them yet.

May 2001 / May 2002
It's a bird, it's a plane!!

March 2003 / May 2003
Double Dash is in the news!!

E3 2003
It's Double Dash at E3!!

August 2003 / September 2003
Now with improved speed!!

May 2001

On May 16th 2001, during a pre-E3 presentation dubbed "The Nintendo Difference", Nintendo showed off a reel of upcoming games, one of them being a Mario Kart game under the working title of "Mario Kart for Nintendo GameCube". The footage was only a few seconds long showing a simple tech demo of Mario and Luigi driving separately in karts, using their models from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Nothing else was revealed during the presentation, other than showing the public a Mario Kart game was in development for the GameCube.

After E3 2001 concluded, the same footage was downloadable from Nintendo's official E3 website.^[4]

February 2002

In an article published on February 22nd 2002 on Ananova^[5] about plans for the GameCube's release in Europe, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that Mario Kart for Nintendo GameCube had drastic changes incoming, suggesting that Sonic the Hedgehog might be a playable character.

Miyamoto is currently working on the update of Nintendo classic Mario Kart for the GameCube. He said: "The situation is that we are having a series of meetings about Mario Kart for GameCube and we have come to the point where we will be making some drastic changes to the last games. Sonic the Hedgehog might be one of the drivers!"

May 2002

In an article published on May 30th 2002 by Nintendo World Report (formerly known as Planet GameCube^[6]), Shigeru Miyamoto reveals the game could've been shown at E3 2002 (which was held from May 22nd to 24th), but they wanted to focus on games out and released before E3 2003. No screenshots were revealed either, as it would've revealed what type of game it is, suggesting a two-player-in-one-kart gimmick was already implemented and experimented with.

During the Nintendo developer's roundtable last week, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that the new Mario Kart game is moving along very well. He said it could have been shown in playable form during this year's E3, but Nintendo wanted to focus only on their games due out before E3 2003. Miyamoto also explained that no screenshots of Mario Kart have been shown because they would reveal what kind of game it is.

March 2003

Screenshots

The game was officially revealed as Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in Famitsu Magazine on April 23rd. The screenshots seen in the article were later included in the E3 2003 Press Kit^[7]. A French press kit ^[8] was sent out about a month before the game released, which dates these screenshots from March 31st, 2003.

Gameplay Differences

A scan from a late April issue of Famitsu Magazine.

The game's early logo, which was used for early promotional material around that time. This logo uses most notably blue lines and a blue tint for its Double Dash!! subtitle. This specific rip originates from the kiosk demos.

The early speedometer from this era, now used to promote the game's European release date. Sourced from an ad featured in Nintendo Official Magazine UK^[9].

All of the character's positions seen in these screenshots are incorrect - for example with the first screenshot, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are 7th but show up as 4th on the HUD.
The screenshot featuring Peach Beach in a multiplayer match shows two Koopa Dashers with Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas, though it's more likely that this is the result of an error made with debug mode, which allows you to use the same characters in a single race.
In the screenshot for DK Mountain, Bowser has a Chain Chomp item, which is impossible to obtain in the final game unless the player robs the item from them. This might be a leftover from when special items were tied to item boxes, and not players, which is supported by footage from before E3.
In some cases, characters don't seem to hold onto items when they're slipping.

Visual Differences

The entire HUD got a facelift.
- The font for the position numbers and time are more playful and out of proportion, lacking outlines and using different colors for some of the numbers.
- All of the character portraits are different and taken from an angle closer to their noses. These portraits could be seen as far as some late pre-E3 b-roll, whereas in the E3 demo they were replaced with portraits that match those seen in the final game. The Wii menu (only in v1.0) and Mario Kart Wii contain these early portraits of Mario and Paratroopa in varying degrees of quality.

The bezel for these character portraits also has a different color; yellow for the front and blue for the back. Because of this, the portraits appear to be bigger, when they're in reality the same size.
The speedometer is completely different, having a silver bezel and a visible arrow to show what speed you're at.
The item roulette is on the top middle of the screen.
The lap counter doesn't exist.
The minimap is less visible.
Assuming this is the North American version of the game, apostrophes are used (00'00'00) instead of colons (00:00:00) for the game's timer, a change that wouldn't be made until late in development. Only the Japanese version uses apostrophes. This styling was later used in Mario Kart Arcade GP.

The miliseconds timer only has two digits (:00) instead of three (:000).
- In Versus races, the position of the player is on the top of their screen, not the bottom.
All the minimap icons are just numbers of the position they started in instead of the character's faces.
- The positions of the minimap icons are also completely wrong.
Some of the textures on the characters are lower quality. This is especially noticeable on Mario's eyes and Peach's face.
The Koopa Dasher has a big N on its kart, likely standing for Nokonoko, the character's Japanese name.
Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa don't have their eyes as wide open, almost making it look like they're always sad. Other closeups in footage also show this.
The icon for the banana peel looks different and more stretched. This is only in a few screenshots though, as one of the screenshot uses its final design.
It's possible Bowser's Shell didn't have its item icon implemented when this build was created. In one of the screenshots for Mushroom City, even though Bowser Jr. is holding onto Bowser's Shell, the item roulette shows a banana peel.
Long spark trails emerge when the player performs a slide.

Luigi Circuit

A different skybox is used. Many other courses seen in prerelease material leading up to E3 also use this skybox.
Arrows are missing on the road.
The Luigi sign was originally a simple pipe.
Some bushes near the left corner of the course are missing.
The part of the course where you'd be sent in the air off a boostpad has a slight curve instead of a solid wall.
The bumpers have less shadow.
The Mario Kart trails lack an oval around them.

Peach Beach

Not only is the skybox different, but also the clouds placed on a separate layer are different as well.
The green warp pipe is missing, instead being blocked off with wooden bars.
The grass near the water has several flower beds.
The sea is of a much brighter color.
Blue cargo ships are present near the starting area and near the rocks. Both were removed from the final game, with a 2D texture of the ship being present in Mushroom Bridge.
Daisy's Cruiseship isn't present.
All of the billboards use a Nintendo logo. This billboard can still be seen during the Award Ceremony and in the North American kiosk demo.
Cataquacks lack shading.
The ramp found on the beach near the tree is turned the other direction. It seems like you could've gone back to the right of the course at first.
The texture on the rocks is different, lacking stripes.
No item boxes are present under the rocks.

Waluigi Stadium

The course formation is quite different.
- An extra mud puddle is present on the right.
- There's no hill with a gate on the left.
The texture for the walls is the same texture for the top of the mud.
The eyelids on the arrows are separately colored.
The fireballs on the fire rings use a different texture.
The course's banner ends with an S, reading out in full Waluigi Stadium instead of Waluigi Kart in the final game. Interestingly the Waluigi Stadium sign did appear in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (and by extension, Mario Kart Tour) version of the course.
The monitor's bezel uses a different and brighter texture.
The background audience is completely different, showing all of the game's playable characters instead of enemies and other non-playable characters.

Mushroom City

The course's minimap extends the inaccessible roads a bit more.
Arrows are present on the road.
A fence can be seen on the right near the start of the course, something that was removed pretty late in development.
Some of the buildings on the side of the road are less varied.
Two Wiggler Wagons are present, while the final game only has one driving around on the course.
All the billboards use different textures.
The road has characters that read "A0" instead of "100".
The side of the road that slows you down uses a different texture.
There's no animated sign.
The bumpers on the road lack a shadow.
An extra building is present in the background.

DK Mountain

The flyby section on the minimap is slimmer.
The Mario Kart sign uses a simpler font.
The grass near the side of the road is less varied.
One of the plants near the finish line were changed to bushes in the final game.
An extra type of hanging plant is present near the finish line. Its texture is still present in the final game.
Some of the textures for the plants are more stretched.
The item box placement near the start of the course are more up ahead.
The grass on the side of the mountain is a bit shorter.
None of the fences have bolts or stripes.
Some hanging plants are present that don't exist in the final game.

May 2003

B-Roll Footage

All of the footage here was taken somewhere before E3 2003. Some of the footage here was released before the start of E3, while the rest was used after the event.

NMI E3 2003 Recap

An E3 2003 recap tape given to Nintendo's Merchandisers Inc. (NMI) shows snippets of a trailer for the game that can be seen in higher quality on a DVD titled Best Buy Upcoming Attractions Volume 1^[10]. The game's showcase starts at 2:50, however, at 3:05 is six seconds of b-roll that appears to predate the build that was seen in Famitsu Magazine. It's unknown when this b-roll was exactly taken.

General Differences

The HUD has a few differences from the March 2003 screenshots.
- Instead of the HUD showing a speedometer on the bottom right, a mirror showing a front view of the kart is seen instead.
- Rather than the minimap being barely visible, there is no minimap at all.
The character portraits don't rotate when characters switch positions.
The Chain Chomp (which is assumed to be an item in this case) appears to have something on the end of its chain other than a regular player, which might be a steel ball.
The kart's exhaust clouds use a more cartoony look.
Mario's feet are clipping through the DK Jumbo's back.
Even though Mario is holding a banana peel, no item roulette display is present at all.
Stars emerge when the player falls back on the concrete after getting hit buy a powerful item.

Luigi Circuit

There's less bushes around the pipe on the left.
There's more trees present on the right of the course.
One of the mushrooms seen on the top of the hill are shaped different.
The buildings at the starting line uses a simpler texture.
The item box placement in the curved section is more spread out.
There's no boost pads on the curves.
The replay camera angle is placed on the left of the course instead on the back.

Peach Beach

The replay camera doesn't resemble anything seen in the final game.

E3 Presentation Reel

This is the video shown at the E3 2003 presentation, showing a reel of upcoming titles for the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. Some gameplay is shown here that closely resembles what was shown in the screenshots from March, though some parts (such as the lack of boost pads in Luigi Circuit) point that this might still be earlier than that. Footage starts at 0:06.

General Differences

The START text originally read GO. Different variants of this early starting prompt can be seen in other b-roll footage as well, with this one using a simpler font while stars emerge from the back instead of stripes.
The sound effect that plays when GO appears sounds a bit different.
The HUD during coop shows less information, still lacking the lap counter, but also lacking a minimap.
No sound effect plays when the player crosses the line and finishes the race.
When a player finished the race, the camera goes to a completely different angle while a black bar appears and the text GOAL (without an exclamation mark) slides per letter on screen with more squish and stretch effects.
Even though it's very quiet, the music after finishing up a race does not match anything heard in the final game.
The sound effect for driving into a question mark block is completely different, using a harsh pitching sound.
The item roulette flashes each item on screen instead of scrolling them down.
The item icons for the Blue Shell and Bob-omb are completely different. The Blue Shell closely lines up with the Red and Green Shells, while the Bob-omb uses a more crude model. This exact same icon was also used in prototype builds of Mario Kart DS.

Luigi Circuit

Some of the replay cameras are different.
- The first camera is placed slightly higher.
- The second camera is taken from a different angle, capturing the front of the car instead of its side.

Peach Beach

One of the Cataquacks near the end of the course is green, whereas it's red in the final game.
The grass up on the cliff uses a different texture, mainly the drop shadows having a white outline.
The texture for the cliffs themselves have a different pattern.
Some extra props, such as a second parasol and a tent are present on the left near the starting line.

Mushroom City

There's no arrow signs at the start of the course.
Some of the walls around the area use different textures.

DK Mountain

All of the prop plants that normally aren't present during a Versus match are all here.

Notes

As similarly seen in the screenshots from March, two karts with Koopa Troopa's and Paratroopa's can be seen driving around.

Various E3 B-Roll Footage

Several preview videos and trailers using different cut up versions of the same b-roll footage exists in different forms and were spread online around E3 and near the game's release. Without the inclusion of duplicate clips, this footage runs for about 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Note that some of these trailers have an early rendition of the game's opening theme with slightly different trumpets, drums, and lack of the Mario Kart theme that would be present in each new installment from here on out. This early rendition was also included in later b-roll material and the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Bonus Disc for the main menu.

Prerelease	Final

The first video was sent to the press to be used for previews, as well being shown off on displays at E3, with this specific rip originating from a DVD titled The Future of Video Games 2K4 GameCube^[11], showcasing a large list of upcoming GameCube and Game Boy Advance games. The footage starts at 2:20, with the first portion of the video including gameplay from E3. Gameplay from Luigi Circuit, DK Mountain and Waluigi Stadium are featured.

The second video originates from media.nintendo.com^[12], and was generally used by other gaming websites to repost this footage under their name. Gameplay from Luigi Circuit, Mushroom City and DK Mountain with clips from Versus races are featured.

The third video is a portion of a CNN News broadcast covering E3, which includes some replays of already played races. Replays from DK Mountain, Peach Beach and Waluigi Stadium are featured.

The fourth video originates from the Best Buy Upcoming Attractions Volume 1^[10] DVD. Even though the DVD released somewhere around September, its trailer reuses and includes various b-roll footage from all the sources above. This is not the case for 0:08 to 0:13 however, which appears to be from a later build than the other material shown in the trailer. Gameplay from Luigi Circuit, DK Mountain, Mushroom City, Peach Beach and Waluigi Stadium with a clip from a Versus race are featured.

Gameplay Differences

The kart you're controlling starts in 2nd place instead of 8th.
Tire tracks appear on the road when turning or drifting.
The player's POV is shorter. While this was also a thing in prerelease material that predates this, here it's more noticeable.
The speed coming from the speedometer, despite the karts moving slower, are much higher than they are in the final game when using the same characters and karts on the same track. The maximum speed for some of these are as follows:

	Prerelease	Final
Mario & Luigi Red Fire Casually driving	79 mph	49 mph
Mario & Luigi Red Fire Using a Mushroom item	113 mph	63 mph
Donkey Kong & Diddy Kong DK Jumbo Getting shot out of a cannon	372 mph	195 mph
Baby Luigi & Luigi Red Fire Using a Chain Chomp item	119 mph	70 mph

All players use a punching animation when hitting the other player instead of tumbling. While this animation is used, it only plays when stealing an item from someone in Coop or when two karts are driving right next to each other.
Karts using the Star item can still take damage from a Lightning item. They won't turn small, but their voice pitch will change and their kart will spin.
As seen very briefly in a segment from DK Mountain, Bowser Jr. and Diddy Kong can be seen driving the DK Jumbo. It seems like debug mode was used again, as one heavy character is required to drive the DK Jumbo.
In a very brief segment in Waluigi Stadium, Daisy (driving along with Bowser) can be seen pulling out Triple Green Shells, a special item exclusive to Koopa Troopa in the final game. This supports that special items weren't originally tied to players, but to specific item boxes.

Visual Differences

The title screen is completely different, sporting a different blue logo, text, copyright font and different backdrop that would be used for the game's box art. Note that this layout isn't one-to-one with what was shown at E3.
The course intro has some differences in terms of graphics and text placement.
- All the text is smaller.
- The graphic for the Mushroom Cup is different, being more circular on the bottom.
- There's no space between "Grand" and "Prix".
- The engine speed and lap amount are on the top.
- The lap text is read differently; whereas the final game reads it as "Laps: 3", this footage reads it as "Lap 3".
- There's no course count on the top right, though this was also missing in the North American kiosk demo.
There's no transition between the course intro and start of the race, only a hard cut.
None of the UI has a unique animation for coming on-screen. Most elements just fade in.
No numbers appear on screen during the countdown.
Parts of the UI got a bit of an overhaul compared to the footage shown during the reel at E3.
- The font used for the player's position and time is now the same as the final game. The only differences are the tints of colors seen in the screenshots from March, and the lack of black outlines.
- The speedometer now takes the design of a gold outlined mushroom for its backdrop rather than a generic speedometer. When reaching faster speeds with a boost pad, speed item or cannon, the speed arrow will start spinning around.
- The font used for "GO" now also uses the font in the final game, but now has a rainbow colored outline with dots on it. The stars that pop out from behind also seem to be more polished.
- The screen momentarily goes white when the race begins.
The player's position doesn't appear on screen with the rest of the UI. It only appears very sudden when the race begins.
The size of the minimap is slightly smaller. This is not the case during a Versus race.
No pointer is present for the controlled player(s) on the minimap.
The character portrait(s) don't spin when taking damage from an item.
- They also don't turn smaller when hit by a Lightning item.
Everything on course goes fully black when everyone gets struck by lightning instead of going only partially black.
Diddy Kong's animation for getting shot out of a cannon is slightly different. Here, he holds onto his hat.
No text reading "SPECIAL" appears when the player receives a special item.

Audio Differences

Almost all of the car engine sounds are different.
No sound comes from the players when they perform a boost at the start.
Sounds from the boostpads or DK cannon can be heard during a replay.
The race finish whistle sounds different, having an echo of sorts that the sound in the final game lacks.
A bunch of characters use different audio clips.
- Bowser's audio for getting hit isn't only delayed, but also sounds completely different, sounding more like a reptile.
- All of the voice clips for Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa sound more bird-like.
- Daisy sounds different when taking damage, in which she sounds similar to Peach.
- Diddy Kong's voiceclips were reused from Diddy Kong Racing.
Mario's voice, while most are present in the final game, are used for different scenarios.
- When Mario switches characters, he says "Yahoo!" instead of "It's-a Mario time!". Mario also chants something unknown after switching, which appears to have been reused for Mario Superstar Baseball.
- When Mario takes damage from an item, he screams "Nooo!", a sound effect that is only used when falling off the course.
No music plays when using the Chain Chomp item.
Diddy Kong does not use any sound when getting blasted out of a cannon.
Mario doesn't play a sound effect when taking damage.
The sound effect for throwing an item is deeper in pitch.

Luigi Circuit

The course's banner is visually completely different. A similar course banner exists in the files of the North American kiosk demo, though it differs slightly from the preview footage. In the footage, Luigi is rendered smaller.
The Mario Kart banner at the finish line uses a different font and has two Luigis on each side.
No confetti or fireworks show up during the course intro.
The zeppelin seen in the intro flies in a different direction. It also has a different texture reading "Luigi Circuit" instead of "Luigi Grand Prix".
There's no bushes near the prop mushrooms.
All of the rails are not only different, but also bigger and wider.
Some of the extra hills on the left near the finish line are missing.
One of the boost pads was moved.
The zeppelin at the finish line is a bit bigger.
The score prop sign reads "Luigi Circuit" instead of "GRAND PRIX" in all capitalized letters.
The sign on top of the building also reads "Luigi Circuit", which was replaced with "SUPER MARIO".
Four of the shown replay cameras are different.
- The first camera that's only used to start the race is on the right instead of the left.
- The second camera found near the Chain Chomp is more upclose to the kart.
- The third camera found after the curve is completely different, in this footage being directly behind the player instead of the side of the road.
- The fourth and final camera found near the finish line is placed in the middle of the track, whereas the final is more off to the side to get a view from the kart's rear.

Peach Beach

The Mario Kart text at the finish line uses a different font. While this was also a thing in other preview clips showcasing Peach Beach, it's more noticeable here.
The side of the wall near the finish line lacks corner stones.
One of the billboards near the side of the houses is completely different, reading "PEACH BEACH" with Peach striking a different pose.
Two of the replay cameras are different.
- The first camera in the section with drivable water is completely different. Instead of viewing the kart from the top far away to get a better view of other karts as well, it views the kart from the side up close.
- The second camera near the rocks is closer to the kart.
The item boxes under the rocks are in a straight line instead of scattered around.
The boost pad lacks wooden bars.
The water lacks a white outline.
One of the billboards near the finish line has a Nintendo logo on it. This billboard wasn't fully removed from the final game however, as it can still be seen during the Award Ceremony. It's also present in the North American kiosk demo.
Palmtrees are present behind the billboard. These actually still exist in the final game, though they've been disabled.
The window placement on the red building is different.
The grass near the finish line has its flower beds placed in different spots.
Some of the hung up flags have different textures, mainly with the red, blue and green flags lacking figures.
No Piantas are present at the finish line.

Waluigi Stadium

All of the rails are different. Four different rails can be seen near the starting line, and are therefore readable. Most of them were swapped out.
- The first bumper reads "FLOWER PARTS".
- The second bumper uses the Game Boy Advance logo.
- The third bumper reads "Luigi TIRE".
- The fourth bumper reads "Wario Kart". Only the rail's text was used, though the design got a complete makeover.
Three of the shown replay cameras are placed in different positions.
- The first camera found at the finish line is placed downwards, giving the racers more view on the side.
- The second camera found near section with overlap is more up close.
- The third camera found near the firebar section is more upclose to the kart.
The item boxes near the finish line have a chance of being a double item box. In the final game, they're set to be a single item box only.
Only one arrow is present on the side of the track after passing the bridge.
The animations for the fireballs are different, omitting flames instead of the fire rotating.
Each of the firerings have 9 fireballs instead of 7.
Each of the firebars have 12 fireballs instead of 9. These early variations are still present in the final game, though have been disabled.
Even though it only appears for a few frames, the Mario Kart sign is completely different, using a unique font with yellow text instead of the default Mario Kart logo.
The fake Piranha Plants don't have their mouths animated. In the final game, they aren't animated on the multiplayer version of the course.

Mushroom City

All of the cars seen driving around look completely different, both from their textures and models.
- As for the model, it's modeled different from the front and has a higher roof.
- The yellow car was originally beige.
- The red car was originally green.
- As for the blue car (which can be seen up close), the front originally had a star for the car logo, the text "POW" uses white letters and stripes on a black background, vents can be seen on top and the glass colors were a bit brighter.
Some of the light up signs around the course show powerups instead of arrows.
The few light up signs that point where you're supposed to go have narrower arrows.
One of the buildings after the intersection is different, instead showing a more generic building instead of one with a round roof.
The texture for one of the drivable sides of the road uses a different texture. On this texture, light emerges from the bottom.
After the intersection, arrows are present on the road next to the "180" road sign.
Another drivable side of the road has a purple texture with a similarly colored sideline.

DK Mountain

The course banner is different, having the "MOUNTAIN" text stretched in a weird perspective, Donkey Kong's thumb overlapping the "DK" text and lacking the cannon behind his back.
Despite DK Mountain showing that it's part of the Mushroom Cup, this is actually just a quirk caused by the course being selected in debug mode, or the course being selected from a limited main menu, as seen in the kiosk demos.
The prop banner pointing to the cannon is completely different, using a different render for Donkey Kong and reading "DK Mountain" instead of "DONKEY★CANNON".
The smoke omitting from the volcano shows less red smoke.
The textures used on the rocks are applied in different ways. This is noticeable from the rock cracks.
There's no fences around the top of the mountain.
The sun isn't present.
The eyes on the palmtrees are smaller and almost invisible in this footage.
The wooden planks on the bridge are more separated from each other.
The grass walls have their textures placed in different spots.
The textures between the cliffs are completely different and almost blend in with the bridge.
The Mario Kart banner at the finish line is different, using a more generic font and less bright colors.
The item boxes found near the beginning of the course are further ahead in the race. There's also 5 of them instead of 4.
The textures on the rocks are all in the same color of gray, whereas in the final game the cracks in the rocks are tinted dark blue, with all of the rock dents being tinted lightgray.
The path on the rocks has a different texture, most noticeably lacking a yellow tint to separate from the rocks with different pebble placement.
Some of the trees that aren't supposed to be visible during Versus mode are visible here.

Notes

The item roulette scrolling is now present.
Luigi Circuit now has its bumpers on the curve.

Misc Pre-E3 Footage

Various videos released closer to the game's release contain clips from what appears to be a build predating the E3 demo. These clips were mixed together with E3 b-roll or clips from September, and can be found on the Best Buy Upcoming Attractions Volume 1^[10] DVD (only between 0:08 and 0:13), a video found on kiosk discs that game with a demo of the game (except for 0:40 and 0:42) and a supposed trailer from the same time period. An alternate cut of the kiosk demo video mixed with footage from the trailer can be found on Nintendo - Who Are You?^[13], a DVD sent to members of Nintendo Merchandisers Inc. that briefly explains their new "Who Are You?" advertising campaign, though most of the footage is covered up by a speaker.

Visual Differences

Much like the title screen and other prerelease material that was shared around, the autodemo also uses the game's early logo.
A lap counter is now present, though still lacks extra lines sliding away from the numbers.
The text "GO" now uses the final game's font colors, though stars still emerge from the back, now emerging one by one instead of simultaneously in a circle.
The speedometer has been finalized, though still fades in like any other UI element.
Player pointers have now been added to the minimap, though the colors for the text are completely different. This also applies to player boxes on the character select screen.
- Player 1 is yellow instead of red.
- Player 2 is lightblue instead of blue.
- Player 3 is purple instead of green.
- Player 4 is green instead of yellow.
The player's character on the minimap is now obscured by other players.

Luigi Circuit

The bumpers are completely different. Although this could also be briefly seen in other footage, it's readable in this footage.
- The first bumper has three fireballs.
- The second bumper has a star coin with the text "ONE STAR".
- The third bumper has a Red Shell with the text "SHOT!".
- The fourth bumper has a yellow bomb with the text "BIG FIRE!"

DK Mountain

Many of the plants on the left in DK Mountain are placed in different spots. Originally, many of the bushes were occupied by one of the unused hanging leaves.
The non-animated palmtrees are a lot bigger.
The "Wario Racing" sign is missing.
The fences on the top of the mountain lack a red bar.
The holes in the mountain rocks are better visible.

Mushroom City

The Mario Kart sign is completely different. There's two Mushrooms in between the text.
The stars on the road are better visible.
Arrows and different route stripes are present near the finish line.

Notes

Once again, just like the screenshots from March and the E3 presentation reel, Koopa Troopa appears more than once during the race. Unlike other clips, two portraits of him are now visible on the HUD.
The HUD fonts (time and player position) now have a thick outline, matching the final game.
The lap counter is now present.
The item roulette is still centered on the screen.
The clouds in the skybox have been finalized.
The zeppelin at the finish line of Luigi Circuit changed size, now matching the final game.
Arrows are now present on the road in Luigi Circuit.
The Luigi sign in Luigi Circuit is now present.

E3 Demo

Part of the LAN booth. Sourced from Eurogamer^[14].

Another photo of the booth, with the version of the game without LAN play being playable in the back. Sourced from www.mariokartdoubledash.co.uk^[15], a now defunct fan website.

A photo of a pamphlet with the game's controls, still using the game's early logo. Sourced from IGN^[16].

A recording of the E3 "Game Over" screen. Sourced from YouTube (17:56).

As the game was prominently shown off during E3 2003's presentations and previews, a demo was playable on the show floor from May 17th to May 19th. One GameCube system was set up on a podium for everyone to watch^[17], and another GameCube system was set up for regular play with up to four other people - with one of them controlling the game with the Logitech Speed Force Steering Wheel, while next to it was a station set up with eight separate GameCube systems hooked up with a Broadband Adapter for LAN play. This demo features accessibility to 50cc, 100cc and 150cc, 16 playable characters, Grand Prix and Versus modes, and three courses: Luigi Circuit, DK Mountain and Mushroom City. The LAN booth was locked at 100cc in Versus mode, randomly cycling through one of the three playable courses. After finishing a course, the game would briefly boot you out with a screen prompting the player to buy the game when it comes out.

IGN^[18] and www.mariokartdoubledash.co.uk^[19] reported that this exact same demo was shown again at some UK and France press-only events on June 12th in an attempt to gain feedback about the game in a less crowded environment. South-Korean gaming news site Ruliweb^[20] released their own direct capture footage, reporting that the demo was playable at SICAF 2003 from August 12 to August 17th. Although the Games Convention 2003 and ECTS 2003 showed off a brand new demo, IGN^[21] and footage from both events show that the exact same E3 LAN demo was used from August 21st to August 24th, and August 27th to August 29th respectively, where four GameCube systems were set up instead of eight.

Visual Differences

Menu & Interfaces

As mentioned earlier, the title screen is completely different, using the game's early logo, different "PRESS START" text, a different front for the copyright and a different backdrop that was used for the game's box art. This version of the title screen matches with the one found in the kiosk demos. Pressing start immediately boots you to the player selection.
Instead of the menu title staying stationary, it scrolls from left to right.
Each selectable option has a curve instead of a sharp turnaround.
- These options are also colored red instead of blue.
The player selection screen has numerous differences.
- The text asks "HOW MANY DRIVERS?" instead of "HOW MANY PLAYERS?".
- The rings behind the player text for the non-selected options are the same size as the one that's selected.
- All GameCube controllers are spaced differently.
The mode selection screen has numerous differences.
- For singleplayer races, to be expected, Time Trials aren't available.
- For multiplayer races, the game skips over the VS. or Coop selection screen. Battle Mode also isn't available.
- The mode's icon is covered by the text, taking the place of where the ring is supposed to be.
- The mode doesn't have to be selected first to choose a class.
- The Grand Prix flag has a black line instead of a faint white line following with each wave.
- There's no crown around the Grand Prix flag.
- The Versus icon is completely different; instead of showing four character icons bumping into each other, here it's a simple spike spinning to the left.
- The default cc class is 100cc instead of 50cc.
- The cc class icons are completely different; instead of mushrooms, it resembles an engine. With each higher selected cc class, the engine increases in size.
Much like the previous two menus, the character selection screen has numerous differences as well. It has some resemblance to the character selection screen in the North American kiosk demo.
- The top reads "SELECT CHARACTER" instead of "SELECT CHARACTER COMBINATION".
- All character portraits scroll in from the left and right instead of a zoom-in.
- The character boxes are bigger and closer to each other.
- Character portraits are dark unless they're highlighted by a player. When a character is selected, their portrait stays bright instead of going dark.
- Yoshi & Birdo swapped places with Donkey Kong & Diddy Kong.
- The infobox is smaller and lacks scanlines.
- There's no prompt to randomize your character and kart by pressing L and R.
- There's no character name, statistics about speed, acceleration or weight, or an icon representing who takes the driver's wheel.
- The text for selecting a kart is different, reading "Select Kart" instead of "CHANGE KART" with a different font.
- All selected characters and karts aren't 3D animated models. All of them are static 2D images, with some characters (such as Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Wario and Bowser) striking a pose that would be reused for the course banners in the final game.
- The characters and kart - except for Versus races - stand in a spotlight.
- For the Versus character selection screen, the text "WAIT A MOMENT" is followed by four dots while using a different font.
- The "OK?" prompt is smaller and on the bottom left.
The cup selection screen also follows the trend of having many differences.
- The menu itself is for this demo's purpose a lot simpler, only allowing you to pick between three courses.
- The menu title reads "SELECT COURSE" instead of "SELECT CUP", as there's no cups to select here.
- All of the available courses have different previews and banners that doesn't resemble anything to their final counterparts, with the exception of DK Mountain, which has its text in a weird perspective and lacks the DK cannon. The banner for Luigi Circuit seen here matches the one found in the North American kiosk demo.

In-Game

The Versus text in the course intro is more to the right.
- The intro also still uses the cup's icon instead of a flag graphic.
After the course intro ends, the game fades to white instead of black.
The text "TIME" for the timer is slightly smaller.
During Versus races, no player symbols appear on each corner of the screen.
The countdown still ends with "GO", but now without the stars appearing from behind.
No player pointers are present during LAN play.
All of the course minimaps no longer lack a finish line indicator. However, the white triangle that points to it is not present yet.
Just like previous prerelease footage, the player's position is on the top of each screen instead of the bottom. New UI elements have been added on-screen for each player.
- The lap counter is now present, but occupies the player's position would be in the final game.
- The item roulette is right below the player's position.
There's no border around the 4th player window when only 3 players are on the course.
Kart exhaustion looks a bit different. The smoke trail is shorter, and the smoke is better visible.
A bug is present in which, after getting struck by a Lightning Item, the particles coming out of a kart's exhaust no longer turn correctly with the kart, resulting in exhaust and sparks either coming out sideways or from the opposite side of the exhaust. Growing back to normal size corrects this.
Item boxes in Versus races are exactly the same as those seen during singleplayer races. In the final game, the borders and question mark are on a transparent layer, changing color depending on the orientation of the item box in Versus races.
The item icon for Bowser's Shell is rendered from a different angle.
Characters on the back of the kart do not have an animation for leaning left or right quickly, resulting them to just snap in position.
When using a Star item, instead of yellow sparkles flying off the back of the kart, a circle with sparkles and a rainbow effects spawns in the center of the kart.
The underside of Daisy's dress lacks a texture. Everything is black instead.
Waluigi does not move his jaw when placing an item behind him.
After completing a race, each letter of the "GOAL!" text slides on-screen with colored lines following. The text is also a bit bigger, and lacks an exclamation mark.
The speedometer and lap text don't disappear after a race's completion.
There's no front view of the kart after completing a race. Instead, after showing the back of the kart for a few seconds, the camera immediately snaps to the next camera present on the course.
After completing a race, all of the player's lap times immediately appear on screen. The times drop down instead of scrolling in.
The player's total time does not move to the left. Because of this, all of the lap times appear underneath the total time.

Gameplay Differences

Although DK Mountain and Mushroom City are listed to be part of the Mushroom Cup, this is not actually the case. Because the course is selected from a menu with limited options, the course will appear as if it's part of the Mushroom Cup. This quirk can also be seen in the kiosk demos with Mario Circuit.
The course intro plays during a regular Versus race. Normally, these only play during LAN play.
All of the characters in LAN play have their position, selected players and selected karts preset as opposed to being randomized. These presets are as follows:

Position	Kart	Players (Front & Back)
1st	Red Fire	Mario & Waluigi
2nd	Heart Coach	Peach & Paratroopa
3rd	DK Jumbo	Donkey Kong & Luigi
4th	Goo-Goo Buggy	Baby Mario & Bowser Jr.
5th	Turbo Yoshi	Yoshi & Daisy
6th	Wario Car	Wario & Diddy Kong
7th	Koopa Dasher	Koopa Troopa & Baby Luigi
8th	Koopa King	Bowser & Birdo

The kart speed for every character is much slower. While this has been a thing in footage predating E3, it wasn't until now that this became a talking point for the press and E3 attendees that got to play the demo. Nintendo had promised sometime after the event that the kart speed would be improved^[22]. These changes were also mentioned in an interview with Kiyoshi Mizuki from Nintendo Official Magazine.

Mainly in order to intensify the sense of speed, we have adjusted the speeds of karts, positions of camera and drift behaviours. We, the development teams, make much use of the feedback from people outside of Nintendo.
―Kiyoshi Mizuki^[23]

Players cannot perform a boost when drifting with the L and R triggers. They can only slide their kart around tight corners.
During a 3 player Versus race, the 4th window makes use of the preset camera angles instead of having a camera that always follows the player.
- The camera is also set to only focus on player 1, regardless on what position they're in.
Karts have extra "bounce" when falling off the road with speed.
Peach & Daisy's special item was originally the Golden Mushroom.
Characters hang shorter on the edge of the kart after taking heavy damage.
No lap time flashes on screen after completing a lap.

Audio Differences

A majority of the characters, except for Mario, Luigi and Donkey Kong, only use one sound effect for every action in-game. Some of these sound effects aren't present in the final game.
- Peach says "Hey!".
- Daisy plays a grunt, something also heard in some of the game's trailer b-roll.
- Yoshi plays a sound effect from Super Mario World heard when he is rescued from an egg or riden.
- Birdo plays the same sound effect as Yoshi, but in a different pitch.
- Baby Luigi says "Hey!".
- Koopa Troopa says "Woah!", something also heard in some of the game's trailer b-roll.
- Bowser plays a generic growling noise, something also heard in some of the game's trailer b-roll.
- Bowser Jr. plays a very low pitch growling noise.
- Waluigi says "Wah!".
Characters that do have more than one sound effect have some differences too.
- Luigi says "Ha!" instead of "Hi-ya!" when throwing an item.
- Donkey Kong has more generic monkey noises.
- Diddy Kong has less monkey-oriented noises.
No extra sound effect plays when an item from the roulette has been selected.
Characters don't say anything when using a Star item, jumping back on the kart after heavy damage, or getting blasted out off a cannon.
- There's an exception for Mario, who will play audio after getting blasted out off a cannon.
Unlike other characters, Mario continues to play his audio after taking heavy damage, even after jumping back on his kart.
The invincibility theme sounds very different. The iconic main tune of the Star power-up isn't present, but the backing instruments are, which includes extra bongos and a guitar not heard in the final game. The overall track is also 8% slower.
The final lap theme ends shorter.
The music does not go up in pitch during the final lap.
The goal whistle is higher in pitch.
Characters do not chant after the end of a race.
No music plays for the race results.

Luigi Circuit

The zeppelin is present on the multiplayer version of the track.
One item box is missing on the right near the end of the finish line.
One of the track bumpers blocking the finish line has five arrows instead of four. This difference also exists in the North American kiosk demo.
The sun lacks its eyes and a yellow tint.
Some of the replay camera angles are different.
- The first camera found at the finish line during the countdown has been altered since some of the pre-E3 b-roll, now having a view from the left, but still placed further away from all the racers.
- The second camera found near one of the pipes is completely different. In this demo, the camera takes a first-person perspective of the player. The other half of the camera found in the final game is used when the player gets near the Chain Chomp.
- The third camera found near the curve zooms out on the kart. This doesn't happen in the final game.
Lakitu appears on the left after completing a lap.

DK Mountain

The players' starting position is flipped.
The moving trees play their animation faster.
Just like Luigi Circuit, the sun lacks its eyes and a yellow tint.
The shadow placement at the finish line is different.
The dirt path is more saturated in its colors.
Camera glare is briefly present after getting shot out of the DK cannon.
Karts aren't immediately tilted in a different angle once shot out of the DK cannon.
The smoke pattern for the volcano is different and lacks other colors than red. This early pattern can also be seen in the course preview in the kiosk demos.
No birds are flying on the way to the top of the volcano.
Extra cracks are present on the volcano cliff.
- Minor differences to the crack placement can be seen on the top of the mountain's track too.
Many of the course's props exclusive to the singleplayer version are present in the multiplayer version.
- Extra non-moving trees and plants are present on the final road toward the finish line.
- Steam emerges from the background volcano's.
- The extra volcano seen when going down the course's mountain is present.
- The first and third boulder sections are present.
- A 5th item box is present on the final row of item boxes before the finish line.
The portion with the 2nd boulder lacks the mountain's grass texture.
The side of the road has a different texture. Instead of grassy "bubbles", they're curved.

Mushroom City

The sign reading "Go!" in the final game was originally a flag with a thinner arrow.
The finish line on the road is longer.
Almost every building and different textures.
- The mushroom-textured buildings in the final game look more generic.
- The buildings with stars for windows in the final game look more generic too.
- The building with a Mario Kart sign is here just a brick wall.
Instead of there being a red Koopa shell sign, here it's a warning symbol.
The "Ribbon: Birdo Watching!" signs are missing.
The red Nintendo banner is completely different; it lacks lighting, mushrooms, and has a blue Nintendo logo.
The arrow sign seen when taking a right turn is just one sign, lacking extra billboards.
Several drivable sides of the road use different variations of textures.
- The road present under the bridge uses a completely different texture.
- The road with a gray brick texture in the final game uses a mix of bright and dark spots.
- The road that traffic can't reach uses a gray texture with hearts.
All arrow bumpers lack a silver outline. Because of this, all of them line up perfectly.
An extra building is missing near the end of the track.
The unused item generators are present. However, none of the footage shows how they function.
The arrow signs, although now resembling what they look like in the final game, are still red instead of orange.
The Wiggler Wagon drives in the opposite direction.
The turnaround to the finish line lacks any and all flower decorations or mushroom textures.
The hole in the bridge section lacks striped walls, instead just being separated by white lines.

Notes

The course intro screen still resembles what was seen in some of the game's trailer b-roll.
The UI still fades in as seen in the game's trailer b-roll.
- Character portraits also still lack an animation for switching positions.
The player's POV remains unchanged.
Apostrophes are still used for the timer.
Minimaps during singleplayer races are still smaller compared to the final game.
All character portraits have now been finalized, though still show up with yellow and blue bezels in-game.
Characters now tumble when another car drives into them.
Special items now work how they're supposed to in the final game, tying them to characters instead of item boxes.
- Text now also appears when the player obtains a special item.
The Koopa Dasher still has an N on its kart.
Various different textures in Luigi Circuit have remained unchanged from the game's trailer b-roll.
The item box placement in DK Mountain at the start of the race has been finalized.
The "DK Mountain" sign is still present.

Gallery

Sourced from Gamesradar^[24] and UveJugeos^[25]. Note that these screenshots are all from portions of Gamesradar's preview footage, either in higher quality or portions that were cut out from the video.