Nintendo announced today that Mario Kart 8 has not only sold 1.2 million units worldwide during its first weekend on the market, but that the latest entry into the company’s evergreen franchise has cemented its place as the Wii U’s fastest-selling game.
In response to the game’s hasty start, Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aime, spoke of his delight for the early success and claimed that the best days for the Wii U remain ahead.
“The early response to Mario Kart 8 demonstrates that the best days for Wii U are still ahead. This year’s E3 is just days away, and it will be all about the future games for Nintendo platforms. This milestone is a great place to start!”
Prior to release, Nintendo pegged the game as a long-awaited catalyst for Wii U sales and, according to figures published by GfK, it appears that forecast is off to a good start. Upon launch, Mario Kart 8 helped boost sales of Nintendo’s flagship console by over 600%, with hardware bundles accounting for a whopping 82% of the game’s total sales to date.
Nevertheless, the company still faces a series of challenges with its struggling system going into E3. Given that Mario Kart 8 is exclusive to the Wii U, it’s almost inevitable that the game’s performance will be handicapped by the console’s meagre install base. On the contrary, Mario Kart Wii is one of the best-selling games of all time thanks to the Wii’s unprecedented success, itself shipping over 33.5 million copies.
As a franchise, though, Nintendo confirmed that the Mario Kart series has sold well in excess of 100 million units, and for our thoughts on its latest outing, you can read our glowing review.