'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' Becomes Fastest-Selling 'Mario Kart' Game Ever
Nintendo Switch titles continue their hot streak as "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" follows the success of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." The arcade racing game became the fastest-selling title in the "Mario Kart" franchise history, according to Nintendo.
Nintendo of America has just confirmed that "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" has set launch sales records in the United States, going past previous records set by earlier "Mario Kart" titles. According to the company's press release, the sales figures as of Tuesday, May 2, made it the fastest-selling game in franchise history.
"With more than 459,000 combined packaged and digital sales in the U.S. on launch day alone (April 28), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch system is the fastest-selling game in the long-running Mario Kart series," the press release said.
The announcement also mentioned that the new game has surpassed the record previously made by "Mario Kart Wii," which debuted in the U.S. in 2008 and sold 433,900 games during its launch.
This figure also meant that almost half of Nintendo Switch owners have gone out and bought the game, the announcement noted. "The solid sales numbers for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe equate to an attach rate of 45 percent – meaning nearly one in two Nintendo Switch owners in the U.S. purchased a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the first day it was available. To date, more than 2.7 million Nintendo Switch systems have been sold globally," the statement by Nintendo of America stated, as quoted by Nintendo Life.
Last Sunday, April 30, "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" grabbed the top spot as the number one game in the United Kingdom, smashing several other records in the process, according to Games Industry. It's also the first time an unbundled game by Nintendo reached the top spot since 2011 when "Pokémon White" for the DS claimed that title. "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" also becomes the first Mario game to get to number one since "Mario Kart Wii."