Nintendo sold 1.2 million copies of 'Mario Kart Deluxe' in three days
Nintendo is celebrating a successful launch for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
The game -- which, it's worth noting, is a souped-up re-release of a 2014 Wii U game -- sold 459,000 units. That figure that includes both cartridge and download sales, and only covers the April 28 launch day.
In the three days since launch, roughly 45 percent of Switch owners have picked up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. With roughly 2.7 million consoles sold worldwide, that means around 740,000 more copies of the game sold between April 29 and May 1.
The launch marks Nintendo's best to date for the Mario Kart series, which is consistently one of the top titles across all the company's hardware. Mario Kart Wii was the previous record-holder, with roughly 433,900 launch sales.
It's helpful to look at previous Mario Kart performances to really appreciate how things are going here.
As of March 31, 2016, the Wii U version of Mario Kart 8 had 7.5 million copies sold, or 58.6 percent of all Wii U console owners. At the time, it was the top-selling game for that platform.
The 3DS game, Mario Kart 7, reached 13.3 million units sold -- accounting for 22.5 percent of all 3DS owners. As of that same March 31 date, it was the second-highest selling 3DS title (h/t Game Informer).
If we go even further back, to Nintendo's Wii era: 36 percent of console owners picked up Mario Kart Wii.
All of which is to say: the success of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe isn't a huge surprise, but its record-breaking status bodes well for Nintendo's Switch prospects moving forward.
The pace of console sales so far has already supplanted Xbox One as the #2 console on the market. With major releases like Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey on the horizon, Nintendo looking at a strong launch year for its new hardware.
Topics Gaming Nintendo Nintendo Switch
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
