Mario Kart 8 sales surpass 1 million in US
Over one million players have felt the cold dead eyes of Luigi on them in Mario Kart 8, Nintendo has announced, revealing the racer has become the second Wii U game to reach the sales milestone in the United States. According to a press release, New Super Mario Bros. Wii U was the first title to sell over one million units in the region.
In a filing earlier this month that showed the company post a $97M quarterly loss, Nintendo said Mario Kart 8 enjoyed a great attach rate with shipments of 2.82 million by the end of June.
"Mario Kart 8 continues to drive momentum for the Wii U platform," the publisher said, claiming hardware sales have increased by "nearly" 60 per cent in the first seven months in 2014, versus the same reported period in 2013. Though official numbers were never revealed, July 2013 was notable for seeing a drastic 34-percent hardware sales slump versus 2012 results.
Nintendo appears hopeful that its 2014 lineup will continue to drive hardware, citing strong exclusives such as Hyrule Warriors (September 26), Bayonetta 2 (October), and Super Smash Bros. Wii U (this holiday). Its "toys-to-life" initiative (otherwise known as Amiibo) could also drive sales, with NFC figurines coming to Smash Bros. and then arriving for games like Mario Party 10 and Yoshi's Woolly World.
Nintendo also added that 3DS software sales have jumped beyond the 40 million unit mark in the United States, including 3.48 million units of Mario Kart 7 and over 4.1 million units of Pokemon X and Y (combined).
According to NPD data provided by Nintendo, "four of the 10 best-selling software SKUs for July" were 3DS exclusives: Tomodachi Life (over 85,000 units), Mario Kart 7 and Pokemon X/Y – proving that the world isn't finished catching them all.
[Image: Nintendo]
