The blue Spiny shell that has been penalising skilled drivers since Mario Kart 64 may receive some sort of rebalance for the upcoming Mario Kart 3DS. Kotaku spoke to long-time Mario Kart veteran Hideki Konno:
"Going back to the blue shell, it sounds like maybe you have some issues with it. I think in our next Mario Kart, we'll be looking at the balance and I think we'll come up with some answers and some solutions to make the game fresh and exciting as we move forward."
Konno also commented on the reason for bringing in the blue shell:
"Fundamentally we're always playing while we're making adjustments [to the games]. We usually have some sort of theme to direct what we're looking at. With {Mario Kart Wii}, it was to create a race where, up until the finish line, you didn't know. We wanted to create a race where everyone was in it until the end."