Nintendo’s been banking on Mario Kart to help revitalise the Wii U. It’s one of those games that just has the power to shift Nintendo hardware. And it it looks like it’s done just that, boosting Wii U sales significantly.
According to Nintendo of America’s beefy manmeat executive Reggie Fils-Aimee, speaking to Polygon, Mario Kart’s sublime racing and star-power draw has helped the Wii U’s sales increase fourfold. Yes, Mario Kart has helped the Wii U’s sales throughput quadruple.
"It’s one of the things I have to do with certain media, remind them, look, for us, the drive toward the holiday began a couple of weeks ago with Mario Kart 8," he said. "And that’s off to a fantastic start. For us, on a global basis, and certainly here in the United States, it’s driving hardware, which is great to see."
Of course, no actual numbers were mentioned – so there’s always the temptation to say that four times nothing is still nothing. Mario Kart 8 has made a difference to the Wii U’s fortunes and public image – and I suspect that Nintendo’s excellent showing at E3 this year will expand upon that.
Have you seen anything from Nintendo to make you reconsider a Wii U purchase?
Last Updated: June 12, 2014
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 12, 2014 at 11:06
lol not zero Geoff. You have one.. so four ;P
Rinceinantici
June 12, 2014 at 11:10
HAHAHAHHAHA!
JustAnotherGamer
June 12, 2014 at 11:07
The Wii U is back. Now Xbox one will battle it for second position.
zeemonkeyman
June 12, 2014 at 11:20
There’s no need to get all fanboy about it. Let’s focus on the real positive here, that being the fact that Wii U has gotten some much needed sales!! And that is a really good thing for us lucky people that want it around for years to come providing us with awesome games!
JustAnotherGamer
June 12, 2014 at 11:44
Wii U will beat the xbox one. Thats my predition.
zeemonkeyman
June 12, 2014 at 11:48
“Face palm”
Ellen
June 13, 2014 at 15:35
^^^ Face palm, but the lips is saying “HECK YEAHHHH!”
Sith JJ
June 12, 2014 at 11:21
So that’s the PS4, Xbone and Wii U battling for second against the pc then? Tough spot.
Hammersteyn
June 12, 2014 at 11:30
XD
Admiral Chief Cyber Commando
June 12, 2014 at 11:34
HAH, winner!
Rinceinantici
June 12, 2014 at 11:22
lulz
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 12, 2014 at 11:26
Give it the old One Two! #amirite!
What? Don’t judge me.
Rinceinantici
June 12, 2014 at 11:26
three!
Hammersteyn
June 12, 2014 at 11:13
Apparently Luigi’s death stare has becoming a new meme
http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/768/127/05d.png
Rinceinantici
June 12, 2014 at 11:15
BWAHAHAHHA!
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 12, 2014 at 11:16
Does that make Mario the good plumber?
Sith JJ
June 12, 2014 at 11:20
Considering his history, I don’t think he’s a very good plumber at all.
Sith JJ
June 12, 2014 at 11:20
Haha. Excellent
Rinceinantici
June 12, 2014 at 11:22
Luigi’s look is the scariest thing about Mario Kart 8…
Danny Baromen
June 12, 2014 at 11:27
I want one but Mr. Exchange rate says no…
Hammersteyn
June 12, 2014 at 11:31
Yeah I also have the Italian Itch
Alien Emperor Trevor
June 12, 2014 at 11:35
Penicillin twice a day for a week. Wait… what are we talking about?
Hammersteyn
June 12, 2014 at 11:38
XD
Sith JJ
June 12, 2014 at 11:35
Italian Job doesn’t fix it, sadly. 😉
MakeItLegal
June 12, 2014 at 12:10
It’s getting worse …..
oVgeeeeee Comet Drop
June 12, 2014 at 11:29
I would love it if the Wii U has the better version of Watch Dogs than the PS3 AND 360.
Ellen
June 13, 2014 at 15:36
With the gamepad, yes definitely. That is why it’s taking time for Ubisoft to release the game.
Wyzak
June 12, 2014 at 11:36
More than 6 million copies of the console were sold prior to Mario Kart 8. That’s not bad… Besides it’s the most used console in my home.
Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!
June 12, 2014 at 12:06
I’m seriously thinking about getting one
MakeItLegal
June 12, 2014 at 12:09
4 x 0 = 0
Love this statement
So in essence they have sold 1 wii u now they have sold 4 or 5 wii u s …
I would pick this wii u up at 1500 with 10 games ? Does it even have 10 games
Troll
Kaihaku
June 12, 2014 at 12:56
“It’s one of the things I have to do with certain media, remind them, look, for us, the drive toward the holiday began a couple of weeks ago with Mario Kart 8.”
Sorry to be snarky…but he could have continued the analogy with…“Then we’re going to stall for a few months, start driving again with Hyrule Warriors and Bayonetta 2, then park again for another month before really hitting the gas with Smash Brothers. But 2015, that’s when the drive to the holiday is really going to pick up!”
I loved what Nintendo showed but as a Wii U early adopter I’m disappointed with the 2014 release calendar. They said that the software droughts of early in the system’s lifecycle were over but here we were are again with only three major first party releases in a year and two major second party releases. Could we at least get those HD remastered titles that they talked about last year? Metroid Prime Trilogy, Mario Sunshine, or F-Zero GX HD would do a lot to fill out the release calendar.
mustdisqus
June 13, 2014 at 03:43
Don’t forget StarFox U and Zelda were announced at E3, but yes more lesser known games would be good too
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-connecting-star-fox-on-wii-u-with-project-guard-and-project-giant-robot/1100-6420390/
video on zelda
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-zelda-wii-u-trailer-was-actual-gameplay/1100-6420438/
Kaihaku
June 13, 2014 at 13:33
Yes and they look fantastic… But they’re not coming until 2015 or beyond, my complaint is firmly directed at this year’s release calendar. The release calendar for next year, 2015, is actually looking quite solid.
mustdisqus
June 13, 2014 at 04:02
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-B8uVDTnQM