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Several sequels to Super Mario Kart have been brought out for successive generations of Nintendo consoles, each receiving commercial success and critical acclaim.

The first of these, Mario Kart 64 was released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64 and was the first Mario Kart game to feature fully 3D graphics.

Although reviewers including IGN and GameSpot felt that the single player gameplay was lacking compared to its predecessor, the simultaneous four-person multiplexer modes – a first for the Nintendo 64 – were praised.

The second sequel, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001.

It was described by GameSpot as more of a remake of Super Mario Kart than a sequel to Mario Kart 64 and featured a return to the graphical style of the original.

As well as featuring all new tracks, players are able to unlock the original SNES tracks if certain achievements are completed.

Mario Kart: Double Dash !!

was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003.

Unlike any other Mario Kart game before or since, it features two riders in each kart, allowing for a new form of cooperative multilayer where one player controls the kart's movement and the other fires weapons.

Mario Kart DS, released for the Nintendo DS in 2005, was the first Mario Kart game to include on-line play via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

It went on to become the best selling hand-held racing game of all time, selling 7. 83 million units.

Mario Kart Wii was released for the Wii in 2008 and incorporates motion controls.

Like Mario Kart DS, it includes on-line play ; it also allows racers to play as user-created Miis ( after unlocking the Mii character ) as well as Mario series characters and comes packaged with the Wii Wheel peripheral, which can act as the game's primary control mechanism when coupled with a Wii Remote.

Mario Kart Wii went on to be the worldwide best-selling game of 2008 ahead of another Nintendo game – Wii Fit – and the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto IV.

Two Mario Kart arcade games have also been released, Mario Kart Arcade GP in 2005 and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 in 2007.

Both were developed jointly by Nintendo and Namco and feature classic Namco characters including Pac-Man and Blinky.

The most recent entry in the series is Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS, which was released in December 2011 and introduced aerial and aquatic racing to the series, as well as customizable karts.