Online Battle Mode Removed From Mario Kart DS

Those of you intending to put some serious hours in to the Battle Mode of the forthcoming Mario Kart DS will now have to find some like-minded friends, with Nintendo admitting today that Battle Mode will not be playable online.

The revelation arrived in an interview with French website Puissance-Nintendo, where the game's producer, Hideki Konno, confessed that Battle Mode will be restricted to wireless LAN play only.

Having said that, Konno did at least assure the site that four-player head-to-head racing will still be present and correct, with an Xbox-Live-esque service allowing players to manage buddy lists and quick race against anyone. The same service will also store racing stats, meaning players of similar abilities will be able matched together to avoid humiliating thrashings.

There was also a new power-up revealed; a squid that allows players to temporarily cover their main rival's playing screen with ink. We'd rather have online Battle Mode personally, but there you go.