A Demo Of The Failed Mario Kart XXL Pitch Is Now Available Online

The demo for the failed Denaris Entertainment Software Mario Kart Pitch, Mario Kart XXL has finally been dumped online (as revealed in a new video by Hard4Games)

The German company, founded by Turrican creator Manfred Trenz, was working on the project around 2004, in order to pitch it to Nintendo as a potential new Game Boy Advance title. In 2015, a user named Steven SeventyEight published a video demonstrating it in action (reuploaded by BlueYoshi-57EML), but until now, it wasn't possible for players to try the demo out for themselves.

Now, thanks to the archivists at Forest of Illusion, who managed to obtain a copy of the cartridge for the game, you can finally give it a go.

As Hard4Games' video details, the demo is a little barebone. You can't collect any coins and there's no enemy AI. It contains two modes, a video demo that shows off the rotation effects and vertical stages, and a play option where you can explore the level yourself. Interestingly, unlike other Mario Kart titles, you can adjust the camera, allowing you to race with the perspective either directly behind the character or far removed.

Another thing to note is that the game appears to be using a placeholder piece of music taken from the PlayStation kart racer Moorhuhn Kart, which Denaris helped to develop. According to Hard4Games, many people seem to speculate that this tech demo began life as a GBA port for the PlayStation expansion of the game Moorhuhn Kart XXL, which would explain the name, but Hard4Games was able to debunk this, pointing to its real origin as another tech demo called R3d v1.

Obviously, Nintendo didn't pick this tech demo up as history tells us, but as Hard4Games notes, Denaris did eventually get to contribute to a Game Boy Advance kart racer, helping out on the handheld title Crazy Frog Racer.

What do you think of the demo? Let us know in the comments!