But that's exactly what it is. In Wii, it's easy to lose first because of the Blue Shells, and thus harder to win.
it's not "harder to win" in the traditional sense. it's more like "I have no idea who will win because I don't exert much control over the situation." I also am skeptical of your claim that it's tough to lose first place in MK64. Whether you're playing with two people and computers or four people, I haven't found that to be the case.