Mario Kart Wii uses Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to support a wide amount of options online, including leaderboards, downloading and uploading ghost data, friends' status, records, and multiplayer modes, both Battle and Versus.
All online options can be viewed from the Mario Kart Wii channel without accessing the game. The tournament mode can by accessed through Wi-Fi.
Mario Kart Channel[edit]
Internet access is not required to access the channel, but is required to download the channel, which takes up approximately 70 blocks of memory. You will also need internet access in the channel for the Time Trial Ghost download. A unique feature to the Mario Kart Wii channel is the notification of messages and challenges through a blue light on your console. If you choose to accept a challenge, you usually have to play with specific conditions. You have to use the Wii Wheel for certain challenges and the GameCube controller is not available unless you're playing the game.