Mario Kart 8 Sells Over 1.2 Million Units Over First Weekend

This is why you don’t bring the Kart in front of the horse. Nintendo has announced via press release that Mario Kart 8 has sold just over 1.2 million units, dating from its Japan release of May 29th to Sunday June 1st. The sales numbers cover Japan, Europe and the Americas.

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While that number is nowhere near Mario Kart history’s greatest console (Mario Kart Wii at 35.53 million) and handheld (Mario Kart DS at 23.56 million) efforts in terms of units sold, it does suggest that there is a great interest among consumers in the arcade racing game. Seeing how Luigi’s mean-mugging driving antics in Mario Kart 8 have already been making the rounds on the internet for its silliness, that social aspect is sure to help drive the sales of the Nintendo Wii U, as well.

Nintendo has made a lot of concessions and efforts to try to make the Wii U profitable and healthy within the console marketplace. They’ve cut the price of the console and produced a ton of quality titles last year, including Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Wii Fit U, and Super Mario 3D World. With Mario Kart 8 becoming an early success, Nintendo utilizing Skylanders-esque NFC technology and Super Smash Bros coming on its way later this year (and could possibly use NFC, as well), 2014 could see the Wii U becoming a relatively-prosperous year for the console. It’s not likely to outsell the PS4 or Xbox One, but its first-party software remains the platform to beat.

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