The mascot of Nintendo, Mario, has slowly been integrated into various franchises over the decennia. Mario Kart is one such series, and the latest entry, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, has aged beautifully and grown over the years. It gained immense fame and praise due to its vast improvements over the aged Wii U’s Mario Kart 8.
The title has continued selling like hotcakes even after dominating for half a decade, and it has just broken a new milestone. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has finally rolled over 5 million physical copies in Japan to stand among the giants.
The news was revealed by the latest Famitsu report showcasing the retail sales charts for the week ending December 19th to December 25th, 2022.
Major Takeaway
- The latest Japan sales charts reveal alluring results for the current dominating software and hardware sales in the region.
- Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold over 5 million retail copies in the region after steadily rising against the other prominent franchises.
- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, alongside Splatoon 3, have persisted in looming over the rest of the software charts. Both IPs have sold in huge amounts for the week ending December 25th, 2022.
- The Nintendo Switch family has again towered over the other consoles in the hardware side of things, leaving PlayStation 5 and Xbox out the podium. The PlayStation 5 surpassed the Xbox Series family by a mile last week.
Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe stood in 4th place and marketed a total of 41,887 retail units last week. The sale pushed the entry to sell over 5 million retail copies in Japan, with the figure amassing a higher amount when other regions are counted.
The game often records a high number of sales every single week due to its raging popularity in the region. Super Mario Bros. Ultimate, on the other hand, is standing in 8th place and sold 22,148 copies last week. It is barely ahead of the competition; its total sales figure is towering at 5,065,191 physical units sold in Japan.
The titles mentioned above have taken a long time to sell units in the millions compared to some recently released entries whose total sales are catching up at blazing speeds.
For instance, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have dominated the sales charts for six consecutive weeks now, selling 375,665 retail units alone last week. Their total sales boast a staggering 4,338,931 total copies sold since release. The previous dominator of the top spot, Splatoon 3, is also demoted to second place this time.
Splatoon 3 rolled over 121,173 retail copies last week, selling 3,687,814 units since its eventful release. These juggernauts will soon outperform the current victors in total sales in a few more weeks.
The results are a bit more predictable when analyzing the hardware sales charts in Japan for last week. As usual, the Nintendo Switch family has dominated the competition in the region. The Switch OLED rolled over 97,909 portables, the generic Switch 47,125 units, and the lite version sold 28,049 handhelds last week.
The PlayStation 5 performed heaps better in contrast to the Xbox Series family. The PS5 marketed 64,420 consoles, with the digital edition selling 6,076 units. The Xbox Series X saw a lowly sale of only 35 consoles last week; the Xbox Series S was a bit better, with 875 units sold.
Even the PlayStation 4 sold 3,161 units, which is more than both the Xbox Series versions combined. The absurdly low number of next-gen Xbox console sales this week is unknown, but this is often the case.
It has less to do with stocks, which have reportedly improved by a lot, and more to do with the popularity of PS5 and Switch in the region.
All in all, it is a great accomplishment for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to finally sell over 5 million units. The game is still incredibly fun to play with family and friends. Moreover, it is still receiving love from the developers, like the update to customize the items available for the user to hinder others during the race.
What are your thoughts about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe selling a total of over 5 million physical copies in Japan alone? Do you think Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are going to further dominate the weekly sales charts for months to come? Do let us know your opinions in the comments below.
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