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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Mario Kart ever

Mario Kart Wii got hit with a Blue Shell and now Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is in the lead.

Sam Chandler

November 4, 2021 6:45 PM

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Mario Kart is one of Nintendo’s most recognizable franchises that has been around for just about 30 years. The game continues to do impressive numbers, and now, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has become the best-selling Mario Kart title ever, outperforming even the Wii’s own entry in the series.

Nintendo released its Q2 2022 earnings report on November 4, 2021, and part of this process involved updating the sales figures of all of its hardware and software. One statistic that has stood out is that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch has sold 38.74 million units. For the longest time, Mario Kart Wii was the highest seller in the franchise, sitting at 37.38 million units sold, but it has now been surpassed.

What’s rather interesting about this is that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe isn’t technically exclusive to the Nintendo Switch like Mario Kart Wii was to the Wii. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe started its life as Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, where it sold 8.46 million copies. In saying this, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe does feature several new additions that were not present on the Wii U version including a revamped Battle mode, new characters, the ability to carry two items at once, and more. It's important to note that the Wii U sales of Mario Kart 8 are not factored into the unit sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch.

With the release of the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sales figures are sure to continue to increase as the install base grows. On the topic of the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, its release and sales figures were not calculated into the recent stats of the Nintendo Switch lifetime sales, which has just surpassed 92 million units sold. The reason for this being that Nintendo’s Q2 2022 earnings report does not include October.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe becoming the best-selling Mario Kart in the series isn’t the only impressive piece of news surrounding Nintendo’s software. The earnings report also revealed that the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD managed to sell 3.6 million units since launch. Shareholders will also be pleased to hear that Nintendo raised its profit guidance. Stop by the Shacknews NTDOY and Nintendo pages for the latest on the finance side of the video game industry.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler