Kart racing video games

Overview
Kart racing video games are arcade-like, light, racing games staying far away from the realism of other games like Gran Turismo. They typically involve mascots of a company racing on Karts through creative & wacky levels, hitting each other with weapons along the course. The most famous of Kart racers and inventor of the genre is Super Mario Kart. This genre is a sub-genre of racing video games. Kart racing games are known to have simplified driving mechanics while adding obstacles, unusual track designs and various action elements. Kart racers are also known to cast characters known from various platform games or cartoon television series as the drivers of "wacky" vehicles.

Kart racing games are a more arcade-like experience than other racing games and usually offer modes in which player characters can shoot projectiles at one another or collect power-ups. Typically, in such games, vehicles move more alike go-karts, lacking anything along the lines of a gear stick and clutch pedal.

History
Taito's 1976 arcade game Crashing Race (1976) was the first game to include car combat. Sega AM2's arcade game Power Drift, directed by Yu Suzuki, featured go-kart racing in 1988.

Super Mario Kart (1992) is cited to have popularized the kart racing genre, implementing combat elements within races. The game was also slower than other racing games of the time due to hardware limitations, prompting the developers to use a go-karts theme for the game. Since then, over 50 kart racing games have been released, featuring characters from Nicktoons to South Park.

The Mario Kart series is often considered the primary kart racing series, topping other popular games such as Diddy Kong Racing.