“Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” has been getting ahead on both sides of the Atlantic. Image: Nintendo via AFP Relaxnews
The Nintendo Switch console’s second major game release, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe”, has become the franchise’s fastest-selling title in United States history and the United Kingdom’s first number one Mario game since 2012.
Having launched with “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” as its main attraction, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” is Nintendo Switch’s second high-profile game release in as many months.
Debuting April 28, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” broke two records previously held by the racing franchise’s all-time best seller, 2008’s “Mario Kart Wii”.
Its first day at retail saw it become the fastest-selling “Mario Kart” title of all time in the U.S.
Nintendo of America reported day one sales of 459,000 copies, compared to the 433,900 day one sales of “Mario Kart Wii” just over nine years before.
Nintendo further specified that 45 percent of total Nintendo Switch owners have bought a copy of “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe”, according to its data.
The figure is unusually impressive, even if it can’t match the attach rate of “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, a title so essential that, according to a Nintendo financial report delivered at the end of April, the Switch version had been bought more frequently than the Nintendo Switch itself.
In the U.K., “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” was also well received at retail, becoming the week’s best-selling video game according to tracking firm GfK Chart-Track.
At the end of what might otherwise have been a fairly quiet week on the release calendar, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” finished ahead of fellow new releases “Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3” and “Little Nightmares”, as well as perennial favorite “Grand Theft Auto V” and a selection of big releases from the past six months or so: “Lego Worlds”, “Ghost Recon: Wildlands”, “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare”, “FIFA 17” and “Horizon: Zero Dawn”.
Climbing to fifth in the all-formats chart was none other than “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, a feat attributed to a boost in Switch sales encouraged by the arrival of both “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and replenishment of console stock in the region. JB
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