Nintendo has revealed that its Wii U racer Mario Kart 8 sold 2.82 million copies worldwide during its first month of release.
The title launched at the end of May, and by the close of June it had shifted almost three million units all over the globe — an impressive achievement when you consider the relatively modest number of Wii U consoles out in the field at the moment.
"A few design oddities aside, this joins the list of must-have Nintendo games on the Wii U," is what we said in our 9/10 review. "It’s an accomplished effort that pushes the franchise forward. In years to come the debates over the best Mario Kart games in the series will, inevitably, feature this as a contender."
What do you think of Mario Kart 8's robust commercial performance? Can it sell even more copies as 2014 progresses? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Comments (36)
Seems impressive. How does that compare to earlier iterations?
Totally well desserved. It's awesome when a game is really really good and it sells well too. Holiday 2014 is going to be crazy good for MK8, I'm totally confident about that. Mario Kart is a franchise that has long legs on every Nintendo console it gets released so MK8 is no exception.
Whoah!
June has 30 days, not 31.
@StarDust4Ever
Hahaha! This is gold!
I just don't think it is very good there is no interesting tracks. (Like say Burning Depths or the Nights one from All Stars Racing Transformed where if you lose it is guaranteed to be your fault).
Local Multiplayer it is 30fps in 4 player. (F-Zero GX got that right on much less powerful hardware).
It is a bit less boring using the Wii Wheel but that is about it.
There is two 7/10 reviews on Nintendo World Report that are pretty close to what I think.
I wonder how many brought a Wii U after Mario Kart 8 specifically because of the game.
@StarDust4Ever I thought that was the joke.
The free bonus game promotion did it's part too, for sure.
It's maybe the best Mariokart ever. I haven't stopped playing! Well deserved
@unrandomsam I'm assuming F-Zero GX had lower resolution textures, did not have Full HD visuals and other bells and whistles. Don't forget, it's not only the strength of the hardware, but also the load it has to bear that drives the FPS count.
Well, I didn't expect this.
This is the best Mario Kart ever made to date. It brings my family together
@River3636 Bingo. Me, my partner, my 3yr old son and 6yr old daughter all play it, same for SM3DW. I have my two nephews with me at the minute, and all the kids are playing. That's the Nintendo magic right there, long live Nintendo!
Good News man! Now imagine what happens when smash comes out......
Given the most recent financial update, which lists current Wii U hardware sales at 6.68 million, this means that 42.2% of all Wii U owners as of June 30 own the game. That is insanely good!
Good old reliable Mario Kart. Am I the only one that was worried for a while there?
@Yoshis_VGM
Yeah, you're right. That's an insanely impressive attach rate.
@Poki Free Super Mario Kart & Wind Waker HD made me buy digital version of Mario Kart 8 at Release. Nintendo should do same deal for Smash Bros U so it would sell like hot cakes.
I know people who have bought Mario Kart 8 and redeemed the code for the free game before getting a Wii U. A dozen and one and counting.
Time for DLC. Not the Benz, more tracks. The WiiUs best selling game + DLC = more money.
@Nomad The WiiU isn't even remotely "out of the woods" yet.
Impressive sales when u look at the comparison of console to game sales lol!
The original wii 100 million consoles 30 million copies of mario kart
The wii u 6 milliion consoles 3 million copies of mario kart 8....
@Poki Sure did
Mario Kart 8 did awesome so lest hope nintendo keep releasing great games like this and sales will boost for the WiiU!
The fact that it has sold to 1/3 of the audience of Wii U owners makes me wonder how it will do come the holiday season.
The Wii U is a lot like the GameCube which us hardcore fans should appreciate as its loaded with software we want unlike a bunch of shovel ware and odd mario games like Sports Mix and Sluggers.
@Noelemahc F-Zero GX sacrificed background details to get that 4 player mode to 60 FPS. MK8 could have done the same as many of the superfluous details do not get noticed in the heat of a race and many tracks would still look good.
I would love for additional tracks as DLC
Let me tell you! When we are playing 4 player mk8 at my house, all people do is complain about 30fps! It's tough sitting through 2-3 hour play session discussions of frame rates. In fact, in 2 player we have counted frames many times and have frequently had gaming sessions ruined over that missing 60th frame!
Great news for mario kart.
Good news for Nintendo! Maybe we could get that DLC a lot quicker!
@3DSfan134 Hoping for some characters. While I love the game, some of the characters on the roster seemed...unnecessary.
But it won't sell, Polygon told me so!
Bought it on the release day. No regrets. Absolutely stellar game.
Wow I don't have MK8 but this is impressive.
@Daisaku36 That article was so unbelievably wrong its just funny to think about ^^; July's sales have not been counted yet but 8 has probably already tripled Polygon's estimated 1.2 million sales
@unrandomsam
Yeah, tracks are too easy and boring. Mario Kart used to be quite hard. Now it's: do a drift boost, drive a long straight road, do a drift boost etc.
And that's why they should erase pretty backround stuff for the multiplayer, to make it run smoothly. Gameplay over graphics after all. Always.
Tap here to load 36 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...