The most basic premise of console multiplayer is the idea that everyone has a level technological playing field, but as the above video demonstrates, Mario Kart 8 is no longer the untouched, pristine walled garden its creators intended.
Though this clip is described as “very basic stuff” and “a proof of concept,” YouTube user MrBean35000vr is able to alter the game’s soundtrack, rename tracks and alter the Wii U system’s menu font. According to the video’s description, all of this is possible thanks to a recently-discovered browser exploit combined with new code that allows the user to alter any data the game places into the Wii U’s memory.
Though this hack allows for a huge amount of control over Mario Kart 8, and may even have potential as an online cheating method, MrBean35000vr claims fans of Nintendo’s latest mascot racer have nothing to fear. “None of this is in any state to be released at present, and it’s unlikely that we ever will in the interest of preventing cheaters,” reads a notice in the video’s description, which is followed by an emoticon with its tongue hanging out – the hallmark of online sincerity.
