It will likely surprise no one that Mario Kart 3DS will have online races, as the feature really helped with the popularity of Mario Kart DS despite its clunkiness.

Something new and unexpected that will be included in Mario Kart 3DS when the sequel releases this holiday season, though, is support for double the players — up to eight gamers will be able race each other.

Nintendo’s Hideki Konno talked to JC about Mario Kart 3DS’ online multiplayer, and said: “Our goal right now is to have the same number of players for both local wireless and multiplayer over Wi-Fi.” The company wants to first make sure that it will still run at 60 frames per second in both 3D and 2D modes while online.

[Update: I’m a doofus and forgot Mario Kart DS has 8-player local races — it’s been a while! Anyway, forget all this and watch the MK demo track after the break.]

Preorder: Mario Kart 3DS

Find: Nintendo DS/3DS release dates, discounts, & more

See also: More E3 trailers and news

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