Mario Kart 7 has been met with wide critical acclaim from critics and gamers alike. While the handheld blockbuster offers a fantastic variety of tracks, kart customization options and competitive online play, it's hampered by a track glitch that often ruins online matches.
The track in question -- Make Wuhu (Wuhu Mountain Loop in Aus) -- is plagued by an issue that allows players to drive off the track and respawn further up the track near a checkpoint, skipping over a vast distance. This means that players can essentially simultaneously transport from one end of the track to the other.
Nintendo has sent an email out regarding the glitch, saying:
‘Thanks for your patience in waiting for a response during this busy time of year. We are aware that it is possible to navigate a certain part of the track in Wuhu Island in a way that allows a large part of the course to be bypassed. There are no plans to update the game to remove this shortcut as doing so would create an unfair advantage for the users of the original release of the game. Rest assured your comments have been added to our records for Mario Kart 7.
Sincerely,
Buddy Roemer
Nintendo of America Inc.’
This email would suggest that a game update is not possible, seeing as though Roemer makes mention of a disadvantage to early buyers of the game. This means Nintendo would only be able to change the code in new versions of the games, which begs the question: why can't 3DS games be updated via software downloads? The handheld can of course update games via upgrades and DLC, just as the Wii could, but Nintendo doesn't seem to have truly realised, or acknowledged, the benefit of such a feature.