Nintendo Mario Kart 7 Shorcut Glitch Finally Patched

Nintendo confirmed today that it is releasing a mandatory update for 3DS owners that will prevent players from using the game-crippling shortcuts that players have been exploiting in online matches of the game Mario Kart 7. Three shortcuts have been identified and Nintendo modified the software in such a way that anyone trying to use them will not be able to.

It became a huge issue when the game was released. There are areas within the race tracks that allow players to essentially skip more than half ot the course. The shortcuts were so extreme – and unintentional – that anyone using them has been considered a cheater. It was a big headache for Nintendo because the way the system originally worked, there was no way to patch individual 3DS games over the Internet.

However, a firmware update for the device went live earlier this year that modified the 3DS's inner workings and made such a feat possible. This issue caused many to draw comparisons between Nintendo and Sony/Microsoft yet again, noting that Nintendo is far behind when it comes to things like online connectivity in the gaming environment.

[via Wired]