Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sells 459,000 copies in the US on launch day, fastest-selling Mario Kart game

In its first day on the market, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold over 459,000 copies in the U.S., Nintendo announced today. That figure accounts for combined packaged and digital sales.

Nintendo says that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is now “the fastest-selling game in the long-running Mario Kart series.” Mario Kart Wii previously held the record with about 433,900 copies in 2008 during its first day.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe currently has an attach rate of 45 percent. Nearly one in two Switch owners in the U.S. bought a copy of the game.

Today’s full announcement:

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– With more than 459,000 combined packaged and digital sales in the U.S. on launch day alone (April 28), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch system is the fastest-selling game in the long-running Mario Kart series. The previous record holder for the highest first-day sales in the franchise was Mario Kart Wii, with U.S. sales of approximately 433,900 when it launched in 2008. The solid sales numbers for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe equate to an attach rate of 45 percent – meaning nearly one in two Nintendo Switch owners in the U.S. purchased a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the first day it was available. To date, more than 2.7 million Nintendo Switch systems have been sold globally.

The solid sales numbers for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe equate to an attach rate of 45 percent – meaning nea …
The solid sales numbers for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe equate to an attach rate of 45 percent – meaning nearly one in two Nintendo Switch owners in the U.S. purchased a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the first day it was available. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has also received more perfect review scores than any other Mario Kart game ever. With a current Metacritic score of 93, the critically acclaimed title is the highest-rated game in the series in 15 years – tying the overall review score of Mario Kart: Super Circuit for Game Boy Advance.

To continue this strong momentum into the summer, a series of great games will launch for Nintendo Switch over the next few months, including Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition (May 11), Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers (May 26), ARMS (June 16) and Splatoon 2 (July 21).

Source: Nintendo PR