Nintendo has enjoyed its first all-format chart-topping release in the UK since Pokemon White back in 2011, with the results now officially published and showing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at the top. On the one hand it's rather staggering to see that statistic is a thing, but it's a welcome landmark for the Switch to deliver following the kart-racer's record-breaking launch in the US.
MK8 Deluxe saw off a multi-platformed rival in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, though to be fair it's been shown you can win a whole race in the time the sniping game takes to load a level on console. It's a terrific achievement, especially when you consider that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild missed out when the Switch launched, coming just behind PS4 exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn at the time despite also benefiting from those Wii U sales.
BoTW is still going strong, however, assisted last week by some Switch hardware restocks at UK retailers. It's been holding a top 10 place since launch but moved up five spots to 5th place last week; it's mostly due to the Switch version, too, as it's third in the single-format chart while the Wii U iteration isn't even in that top 40.
Moving back to the all-format results we still have 1-2-Switch hanging around in the top 40, settling down in 27th place. Above that is newcomer Puyo Puyo Tetris, claiming 18th place in the all-format chart with the Switch version taking 26th place in the single-format stakes.
The 3DS also has some runners in the lower reaches of the top 40 with evergreen titles. For the first time in a while both Pokemon Sun and Moon make the cut, with Sun in 29th and Moon returning in 39th. Mario Kart 7 is also continuing its comeback, settling in 32nd place this time around.
A pretty good week from Nintendo's perspective in the UK. There are a couple of major Switch retail titles on the way in May along with Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia on 3DS, so there's the potential for solid momentum as we head towards the June release of ARMS.
[source chart-track.co.uk]
Comments 65
Britain's Next Top Model...
I mean , Britain's Next Top Switch Games is ...
...
...
MARIO KART 8 DELUXE !!!
Bravo, Nintendo !
WELL DONE NINTENDO!
Quality shines through!
this is the real rooftop party game to rule them all.
An excellent week all round for Ninty
What was the game back in 2011? Mario Kart 7?
Seems the PS4 version of Puyo Puyo Tetris didn't even chart at retail. The hell is going on there? Isn't it cheaper?
@Nik-Davies Pokémon White, as noted in the article. Not even MK7/8 or Pokémon XY, OR/AS or S/M did this.
Somehow.
@Nik-Davies the article says Pokemon white
Well finally gave in and ordered my copy today. Just hope it keeps it up, but i have already seen more tv adverts on MK8D that i ever did on any of the Wii U games.
KEEP IT UP NINTENDO!
Looks like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just geared into 1st place!
A Nintendo game on the top position in the UK charts?
Damn, Nintendo truly has a worldwide hit here. For a Nintendo game to chart like that in the UK, it has to be a masterpiece, considering just how difficult is that market for Nintendo.
Truly, both BotW and MK8D are set to be beasts. The Switch has had quite the strong start!
Good news for MarioKart 8 Deluxe all around then, with 45% of Switch owners in the US buying it.
Hopefully this will give Nintendo a strong messages that decent ports of their WiiU games will sell!
@BLP_Software Well while it's fantastic that MK8 Deluxe got first, its competition isn't really anything special. Meanwhile with lots of the other strong Nintendo sellers there were huge exclusives for non-Nintendo systems or huge multiplatform games released nearby. For example if Horizon Zero Dawn and Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 swapped release dates, BotW would've got first in March meanwhile MK8 Deluxe would got second this week.
Smash Bros and Kirby please next. The Wii U Kirby game was released on the wrong system. Need to be released on switch.
Switch is killing it worldwide.
@Grumblevolcano I wasn't saying anything about MK8 I don't care where it charts. It's a one off and whatever, as I said on PS.
My question is what the actual hell happened to the cheaper version of Puyo Puyo Tetris on a system that has a higher install base, for it not to rank on PS4 at all, and make it so far in the charts based solely on the more expensive version?
I think it's likely that it's just a relatively quiet week for games, but it's still an impressive headline.
I haven't yet picked up a copy, and I think my girlfriend's gonna need one too. Can't wait to get this game.
@BLP_Software PS4 owners have actual games to choose from and not scraps. They're not forced into buying everything (all 1 of 7 games) just to have something to play.
@UK-Nintendo @BLP_Software Yep. Whoops. First sentence. I had only just woken up
Guess you can never underestimate the power of Mario Kart, I've been playing it nonstop since I picked up my copy.
A Nintendo release at first place in the UK? What's next, an Xbox game topping the Japanese charts?
I had almost given up hope for Nintendo in the uk, but some good tv adverts are appearing in between the big programmes. It appears to be working.
@Menchi187 We aren't forced into buying everything either. We don't get told what to buy. This isn't the USSR.
I would have expected it to at least sell more than Minecraft or DQ Heroes 2 at retail. But it didn't. Its the cheaper version too. That boggles the mind.
As I said, MK8D being up there? Fluke. Quiet week. You'd think in that quiet week Puyo Puyo tetris would, being cheaper and having a large possible install base on PS4, would sell at least to chart 20th on PS4.
This has been a really good year for Nintendo!
Weekly charts like this aren't the best sign of success, as they depend heavily on the popularity of other releases around the same time, and there simply wasn't anything else that was new out that could compete with a Mario Kart game this time... sure, being top of the charts will give it a bit of extra attention, but we really need to see figures in order to properly gauge how well it done.
They deserve the success. Its not a lazy port. As well as battle mode ive noticed loads of cute little improvements
10/10 EASILY
Captain Toad port next please 👍
I know people bag on it for being a port but it's more like a GOTY edition with all the DLC packed in. Those versions sell well for people who missed it the first time round. MK8 had an incredible attach rate and I figure this game will, too. It's also out in the first two months of the Switch's lifecycle so this could end up being one of the top sellers like Mario Kart Wii was.
@Menchi187
PS4 owners have actual games to choose from and not scraps. They're not forced into buying everything (all 1 of 7 games) just to have something to play
I see. So PS4 owners such as myself, who bought Puyo Puyo on Switch.... that kind of throws a wrench into your theory. Sounds slick, but holds no weight
@BLP_Software The switch version is a special edition with a slip case and really high quality metal key chains. That might have something to do with it.
Haven't picked this up yet - waiting for stock of the Switch ;c
@faint Not in the UK it isn't. It's a case with the art on the outside and technical support on the inside. That's it.
@BLP_Software wait what?
@faint My copy arrived. Shrink wrapped. All good. Full price. Doesn't come with a cover. No keychains. Just the game and a nice white interior for tech support.
@BLP_Software 😳 that sucks. The packaging is nice enough to excuse the cost in the us but you guys clearly got screwed by Sega. The us edition even has art on the inside.
@BLP_Software Mine came shrink wrapped too, can't 100% remember the inside but I recall seeing controller configuration guides. No keychain but I bought it at a superb deal of £30 via Very so I'm chuffed to bits.
ARMS was part of the deal so it too will be £30
Very happy to see Nintendo having a successful launch.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is fantastic and a perfect complement to Breath of the Wild
Long overdue success for Nintendo.
@Outspoken @faint Deep Silver published it. Says so on the box.
Exterior art is fine. Inside is white with Koch Media tech support text.
All this MK8 talk has got me to dust off my Wii U copy and actually play it. Seems I've only done 3 of the 50cc cups since buying it when it released in 2014! I'll always have a soft spot for MK on the SNES and GC, but so far I'm enjoying it. I've never done a 200cc Mario Kart before, so that will be interesting 😀
@BLP_Software sega published it in the us.
@faint Well, mystery solved. Deep Silver strikes again.
Still wating for my coppy to tern up from the Nintendo UK store..
@faint @BensonUii
Here's what we got in the UK.
https://twitter.com/BritishPlaying/status/859399991516909568
@BensonUii Yeah, but the interior is the most depressing thing you've seen in your life.
@ricklongo Ohhh my. Xbox topping the japanese charts.....if that ever happens i will know that hell has finally frozen
Switch version of Wii U games will provide Nintendo funds to make new games and make more Switch consoles.
@BLP_Software part of the game's appeal beyond the already familiar formulae is local co-op, I suppose. And Switch provides it out of the box; with PS4's dominance of online multiplayer, a lot of the install base might have to pay extra for the second DualShock 4 to ensure even TWO players - whereas Switch owners would only pay that extra price if they fancied UP TO FOUR.
This game is so good in handheld mode,fell asleep with it in my hands Friday and Saturday...oops.
@Menchi187 Switch has roughly 40 games in every region already (and I'm only counting the eShop presence without stuff like Skylanders). You speak like most people would even have the money to buy them all out of sheer "desperation", let alone not be sitting in front of a diverse genre library as it is. Anyone "desperate" for a racing game after their Zelda would have had FAST RMX long ago, by that logic - so how does it explain the sales of what fans claimed was just a redundant Wii U port?
Sure it's a quiet week, but if NOA PR is anything to go by, it's also the fastest selling in the franchise. Sounds like a bona fide hit to me.
It's not hard to see why, as switch appears to have snagged some lapsed Nintendo gamers who have fond memories of MK (as 'noob' comments above show).
For my part, I never picked it up for my wii u but got this on Saturday and am really enjoying it so far. The baby mario track in particular is an absolute blast online.
@BLP_Software Personally I think Tetris has always been a better portable game. It's more expensive on Switch but your not restricted on how and where you play it. People will say it's because we don't have much choice when it comes to what we buy but I am already in the position of having too many games to play properly.
@Menchi187 Have you never experienced a hardware launch before......?
@BLP_Software I think the easy answer is that the Nintendo crowd is more into games that conjure up retro nostalgia, and Tetris on a Nintendo system just feels right-- probably as a result of it coming packed in with the Gameboy. Not sure how much of it is that, but I feel like any game going for a distinctly retro style or in a long-running retro IP should know they probably have an audience on Nintendo hardware. To that end, aside of weird licensing issues, I'm still puzzled as to how The Disney Afternoon Collection isn't seemingly coming to Switch and/or 3DS; that's almost too obvious of a fit.
@timson72
Eh ?!
Fallen asleep by playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe ?
LOL
@JaxonH If only it even sounded slick in the first place! I already have 12 games for my Switch with my 13th about to be Tumbleseed today. Heck, with the way the UI is, I can't even see all of my games at once anymore! Also, by a quick look on the eShop it appears there's currently 47 titles available, and plenty more on the horizon. Sure, a number of those are ports and re-releases, but such is the nature of console launches.
Furthermore, based on some simple counting, the Switch actually has more games available for purchase right now, 2 months into its life cycle, than the Wii U did at the same time, and no colossal game droughts on the horizon, unlike the Wii U. A big improvement, to be sure! Not that it was hard to improve on the first couple months of the Wii U's life, but still!
Oh wow, that Puyo Puyo Tetris box is so disappointing. And I banged on about how awesome the boxes were in a feature too!
@Anti-Matter it was very late
@ricklongo
It will NEVER ever happened.
Some Japanese people today. (Especially Tokyo people) still treat foreign peoples like Strangers.
They will probably respond like this when they asked about xbox1 :
"Xbox1?? Nani sore wa ?? (Xbox1 ?? What is that ??) "
"Xbox1 ga hoshikunaiyo (I don't want xbox1) "
" Kirai desu ! (I hate that !) "
" (Nintendo/Sony looks better than Microsoft) "
" (I'm not really interested / fond with Western Stuffs) "
"(Western people are weird IMO) "
"( I Love my Nintendo/Sony machines. I don't think I need xbox1)"
"(I don't really trust Microsoft)"
"(Xbox1 looks weird.)"
"( I don't like Console video games very much because I mostly play outside or at my local Arcade Game Centre)"
"(I prefer smartphones rather than xbox1)"
"Xbox1 wa Takai desu (Xbox1 is Expensive)"
@Menchi187 don't know where you have been but the switch has twenty games that are rated over 80 on metacritic
http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/release-date/new-releases/switch/metascore
It then has another 15- add tumbleweed to that today and that's 36 games and not 7. There are quality games being released for the console every week.
"Mario number one!"
Great MK8D sales. It sold better than MK7 and MK8 at launch.
Do note that Pokemon Sun/Moon would have confortably topped the UK sales charts if the two SKUs were combined as one SKU by GfK. Sun/Moon sold 290,000 copies at launch in the UK, a record for Nintendo.
Thats good. Hope Nintendo continue aggressive marketing strategy with Splatoon 2 and new Mario as well. Fifa 2018 can sell few units in UK too.
This is so impressive. Well done to Puyo Puyo Tetris too, especially as many will have opted to buy it digitally (like me) because for once it's cheaper as well as the convenience for a game of this nature.
The year is 2103. The UK's charts have just been released for this week. Mario Kart 7 has once again made it to the top 40, with an impressive 34th position.
@David_Dudeney
You should have been looking at the UK charts in 2007-2009, when Brain Training would never leave the Top 10...
Hurrah, influx of Wii u ports incoming. Starting this E3. Super smash, Mariomaker, etc. No new games, those are for losers (sarcasm, sarcasm)!
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