Nintendo Already Sold Over 1 Million Copies of Mario Kart 8

Even at supersonic speeds, Mario is still able to collect a ton of coins while he's in his kart.

Nintendo has announced that Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U has earned itself some of the strongest reviews in Mario history along as it soars past 1.2 million units sold worldwide in its first weekend. Nintendo claims Mario Kart 8 is the 14th Wii U title to launch in the United States with a Metacritic average score of 85 or higher. With over 100 million total units sold worldwide for the entire series, Mario Kart 8 is easily following in the success of its predecessors. In particular, Mario Kart DS has sold 23.56 million units and Mario Kart Wii has sold 35.53 million copies. Despite such a great start, Mario Kart 8 still has a long way to go to live up to the success of its previous incarnations.

"The early response to Mario Kart 8 demonstrates that the best days for Wii U are still ahead," said Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. "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!"

Hopefully Mario Kart 8's success will serve as a strong foundation for Nintendo to build on at E3, and the long road to sales recovery for the Wii U can begin.