Nintendo placed big hopes on Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U, since the company did not reach predicted numbers on the consoles sales in 2013. Mario Kart 8 is available as a stand-alone product and a Wii U deluxe bundle. Over the opening weekend, the game hit 1.2 million units sold.
The amount of games sold makes Mario Kart 8 the fastest-selling game for the Wii U to date. The game released to raving reviews and is one of the few Wii U games to receive a Metacritic score of at least 85. The game currently has a metascore of 88 and a 9.3 user score.
Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aime, had the following to say about the launch:
“The early response to Mario Kart 8 demonstrates that the best days for Wii U are still ahead. This year’s E3 is just days away, and it will be all about the future games for Nintendo platforms. This milestone is a great place to start!”
Mario Kart 8 released on May 29th in Japan, and on May 30th in Europe and the Americas. Previous games in the series have sold more than 100 million units combined, including for the Wii and DS consoles.
