'Mario Kart 8' Demo Hitting GameStop This Weekend

Test Drive Promotion is just that.

We may be just a few short weeks out from 'Mario Kart 8' on the Wii U, but that doesn't mean you have to wait that long to play it. GameStop and Nintendo are letting players get their hands on the racer this weekend, May 17 and 18, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time.

More than 2,700 GameStop stores are running the event. Check here to find a participating location near you.

'Mario Kart 8' marks the first high-definition installment in the long-running series, and also sits in the unenviable position as one of the few potential Wii U savers in the near future. But, for Nintendo, perhaps no other franchise is more suited to raising a console from irrelevancy. Even 'Super Mario 3D World' couldn't bring the console the surge it needed.

Feature-wise, the Koopalings join the fray as seven all-new available racers, and anti-gravity sections of the tracks allow Mario and the gang to hand upside down as they chuck shells and bananas at each other.

'Mario Kart 8,' available exclusively to the Wii U, comes out on May 30.

You can find the latest info on 'Mario Kart 8' linked from our Video Game Release Schedule.

Source: Nintendo