Nintendo's financial briefing earlier today signaled a lot of new directions for the company, but of course it had to give some indication that its bread is still buttered with console franchises. To that end, it announced that Mario Kart 8 will release for Wii U this May.

The presentation was given to Japanese investors, but it called this a "global launch" so we can expect it stateside in May as well. We were pretty impressed at E3, and it even made the list of Andrew's most anticipated, so we all know what he'll be doing come spring-time.

Oddly, though, much of Nintendo's presentation on Wii U strategy involved making the GamePad a more integral part of the experience. Mario Kart 8 has been emblematic of the GamePad not living up to its potential, as the touchscreen is simply used as a car horn.