First kart racing videogame with anti-gravity driving

When Vicarious Vision's Crash Nitro Kart rolled into the kart-racing scene on 11 November 2003, it was the first game in the genre to feature anti-gravity racing. The gameplay mechanic allowed racers to drive upside down at seemingly impossible angles. Anti-gravity racing was later popularised over a decade later in Mario Kart 8 released for the Wii U on 21 May 2014.

Mario Kart 8 was the first game in the Mario Kart series to introduce anti-gravity racing as a full gameplay mechanic, meaning that drivers could race along walls and vertical surfaces. Anti-gravity racing was briefly shown in the Rainbow Road course in Mario Kart DS, but this is the first time it was used as a major new gameplay feature.