Is that a lot?

Apparently there were only 300K in Japan, so this is a sell out and definitely will be true come Thursday. Hell, they apparently sold most of that the first day.

Of course it did. There are no other games worth spending your money on.

My Wii has been collecting dust for 3 months waiting for the next Metroid/Zelda or actually unique and clever game.

ohh crap Okami is out.

Hopefully that means its twice as good as Mario Kart DS.
Mario Kart DS is my favorite racing game so if its twice as good, ill have a new favorite.

@LittleBigPlaneteer:

Correction: I believe there were over 400K, not 300K. I think we'll actually see numbers higher than 300K then for this first week.

The wheels were sold out in a lot of places.

The game itself doesnt seem sold out.

Then again mario kart is one of those games that do good over a long period of time.

Look at the DS one for example. Granted that one has the added +++ of being a portable game though.

what not a million thats odd. Meta gear solid is going to sell a million including final fantasy series. I dont get nintendo, the game should already be released in the U.s. there is already a couple million systems in america.

Mario Kart has perplexed me for a while now. Most people seem to like it, just like most people seem to like Smash Bros. or Zelda, yet Mario Kart doesn't sell as well as the other two.

Or maybe I'm wrong and I've gone crazy. Either way...

Monster Hunter > Mario

it'll sell like Hotcakes in the US. HOTCAKES!

i dont' like hotcakes... ¬.¬

@King Seafoam: Is hotcake like a type of donut? a hot donut?

@King Seafoam: It'll sell like hotpants.

is this including Europe?

@Maaxxx:

Metal Gear is going to have a worldwide release. This was only for Japan, so I'm willing to bet it will easily reach a million from first-day sales once the NA and EU sales are included.

@Knight-Zero:

Mario > You

@Ra on the A-Team: I think its a pancake that had jus' been done...

What was I saying?! EVERYONE LOVES PANCAKES!

@Witzbold: The DS version never sold out even though it was a solid and very popular game. Mario Kart has one of those Cult Followings rather than Hype like Smash Did.

@x999x: Hell yea Mario > Me, I can't smash blocks with my head or throw fireballs or operate submersibles or jump on turtle monsters. Can you?

@ph15h: Yeah I know it never sold out. Im talking about how the DS is still selling / is in the sales ranking even to this day.

@x999x: Hes right though since Monster Hunter Portable 2G out sold Galaxy, SSBB, and Mario Kart.

eh i'll pick up mario kart sooner or later personally the series sucked after n64's version i still like snes's the best.

Wait, you mean another Mario game selling well? I'd have never seen that coming. =P

@Witzbold: friend of mine manages a gamestop swears that nintendo games have legs like nobody's business; says mario party DS sat on shelves for a while, then come the holidays, it was impossible to find. kinda interesting, considering most games seem to lose steam after week 1 or 2, eh?

That's good numbers. Mario Kart will never have blockbuster launch sales, but it will sell forever. I bet you it will still be in the top ten in September.

a wii game, made by nintendo, selling well?

ALERT THE PRESS!!!

I don't see how this is impressive since the the Wii doesn't have alot of big titles, so when something finally DOES come to the machine, every Wii owner rushes to get it. If anything it goes to show a nice consumer install base of the hardware I guess, but we already knew that from last year.

@TheIrishNinja:

That's because Nintendo and first party games go hand in hand, while other consoles spreads the love around with 3rd party titles.

It's funny that no matter how well the Wii and its games sell people will always talk shit about them. Smash Bros breaks all kinds of records for the company, is already at 4 million and hasn't even hit Europe yet, but still all they can say is that Halo 3 sold more. Even now people say Metal Gear 4 will sell this and Halo 3 sold that. But in all likelihood none of them will reach the sales of Wii Play. Nintendo is so dominate right now it's not even funny. Even I can see that and I love my 360.

@TheIrishNinja: Yeah I guess that usually occurs since during the holiday season folks are looking for something with a name they recognize I suppose?

@LittleBigPlaneteer: oh, 100% agree. i cant tell you how many on here & elsewhere have praised nintendo for its "ability to keep mascots/franchises for so many years" and digging at sony/ms as if that's a weakness, whereas the diversity of their libraries and transient nature of "flagship titles" has always been a strength to me.

@Witzbold: true, that makes perfect sense. i imagine that's when movie franchises, most mario side-games and you know, stuff like bratz! sells best.

Mario Kart Wii was always going to sell well. There's nothing else to spend your wii money on!

Wii Fit anyone? No, thought not.

@Witzbold: Especially since the majority of Wii owners are 'casual gamers' - they know Mario, and they know Nintendo, but not much else.

This has a bigger box, and game store employees will always recommend it - this is the game to get.

Must...go...to...sleep. Been up celebrating my birthday :)

Not very impressive when wii has the largest user base atm.
@Ra on the A-Team:
Nah mairo kart ds is better imo.

I loved the original Mario Kart, and had a really good time with the Gamecube version as well, but for some reason I have almost no interest in getting the Wii one. Maybe it's the obnoxious wheel, or maybe that GTA IV is coming out the week later, or the fact that I have a stack of 10+ games I've purchased in the past year that I haven't played yet.

@Spoony Bard:
So nothing to do with Mariokart being a long running franchise with a rabid following that consists of long term gamers as well as the casual troupe of girls in their 20s? Every girl in my age group I know always asks me when "the new Mariokart" is out as soon as they find out I'm the 'videogame guy' in the office. I mean this in specific reference to Mariokart, 'cos Mario Strikers - even though it is part of the whole
Mario extended family of games didn't and will never have the same kind of market penetration that MK has.

I'm still not sold on it only have 16 new tracks. Come on! Mario Kart 1 had 20. Yeah yeah I realize it has 16 old tracks thrown in as well... Still not wowed. I also think they also released this game way too early.

@Raziel Dune: Agreed completely.

Alot of people making ridiculous stabs at Nintendo in this thread. Nintendo games "have legs" because they're fucking awesome games. End of story. Games like Smash Bros and Mario Kart do well over the long term because they're such amazing games that they become staples for every system. I swear people are just desperately reaching for things to bitch about when it comes to Mario Kart. It uses motion controls? Fuck no really? Damn them! It also uses gamecube controls? Fuck. I hate them even more!! It "only" has 16 new tracks? Oh no!! Alert the presses it has as many new tracks as any other Mario Kart game (save the first one). I'm picking this game up the day it comes out, and having a marathon. And I'm gonna use the wheel and I'm gonna damn well love using the wheel. I might even buy a second wheel so my roommate can use it. Don't like it? Good for you.

I like mario kart ( SNES ) , the rest were mediocre....

@symphony_of_the_night: SNES Mario Kart was my favourite up until MKDS. That one really brings back the spirit of the original and adds a ton more awesomeness to it. For the record, when I was younger, I traded my Genesis and the games Sonic 2 and Sonic and Knuckles for a copy of Mario Kart. Just the game, Mario Kart.

@dowingba: P.S. Kotaku not formatting comments anymore? C'mon.

I don't know about anyone else but I can't find a copy of Mario Kart Wii in South London for love nor money.

Well actually, I haven't tried offering any more money than £35 but you get the idea.

It seems to me the Wii software releases are echoing the DS.

By that I mean 6 months of pure trash only meant for shallow gaming, then a 'traditional' title (first party franchises mainly) for the hardcore set + some of the casual users.

This is why I avoided getting a Wii even though last gen I owned a gamecube and no PS2 or Xbox. I rated Nintendos games very highly on fun factor, gameplay and even graphics (for the gamecube) but this shit is getting old now, they've obviously turned against what their 'main gamers' want just to please the greater public who are buying the hardware for sure but more and more pack it away to gather dust, just like most non dedicated 'casual' users of anything (ie excercise bikes; buy it cos it's a 'great idea' then get bored).

Nintendo, who I was firmly behind at the start of this gen, have dropped the ball in a gamers perspective, their tired sequels are looking longer in the tooth with each new game. People moan that PS3 and 360 are 'more of the same with better graphics' well surely that's better than 'more of the same with the exact same cartoon graphics'.

Seriously, Nintendo, make your next system hardcore, give us the nintendo gameplay and KILLER technology, don't just stick a wavy proxy mouse on a gamecube.

BTW Gamecube and wii look like shit on any HDTV and more and more people are getting HDTVs now (esp people into technology like consoles). You pulled it off this gen, well done you are RICH! next gen, please spend that cash on getting back on course with innovation (not just waggle control) and competitive graphics and then and only then will your 15th sequel in those long running franchises appear fresh again.

Or, and maybe this is being too clever, actually create some stunning NEW IP and put mario to rest, at least until you can think of something new to do with him.

@Sharpfish: Gamecube and Wii both look freaking awesome on my 32" LCD. Did you try using component cables or are you just ...hmm I can't think of a non-insult to end that sentence with.

Oh and for the record i'm a big mario kart fan, going back to Snes, Also I liked the DS version and the gamecube version was 'ok'.

I like mariokart, it's a great game, but I want to see some progress on fidelty and possibilites, this just looks like what MarioKart DD should have been the first time round.

And also, after playing games like MOTORSTORM (PS3) you realise that in fact the true 'next gen' consoles are not JUST about graphics but possibilities, physics, processing... Motorstorm frankly looks stunning (esp in car view) and unless you've played it you really don't know how it's like playing something from ten years in the future compared to MarioKart on the Wii. And yes it's fun, it's everything MarioKart is and more, it just lacks the branding, the cute factor and the same level of multiplayer fun (and yes it's a bit short on tracks). But don't for one second thing that PS3 and the 'other' console are just about serious/grey games, motorstorm looks like a nintendo game from the future, a game that had nintendo upped the power of their console very well could have been graphically and interactively insanely awesome.

/Cue the ps3 flamers who haven't actually witnessed motorstorm first hand and can't see how the basic engine/tech could pull of a ground breaking version of Mario Kart!

Actually Motorstorm reminds me of what POWERDRIFT (old arcade/console game) was attempting to do way before the tech was ready, to see how far we've come in that respect is actually scary, when you look at wii it's like i'm back in 2003 playing the same old games over and over. call me a tech whore but man, we've not got long on this planet and I for one would like progress, even if only graphically, as soon as possible.

That's what stuff like Motorstorm and games like Crysis on a fast PC are infinitely more interesting/jaw dropping/immersive/worthwhile than this same old cartoon shit year after year. But hey, fee free to play the 'gameplay over graphics' card whithout actually playing these stunning looking (and playing) titles.

:)

@cio: it has more than 16 tracks :)

I'm not at all surprised this game is doing well. Also from my playtime with it I'm really impressed at how genuinely appealing this game is to new gamers and old. The wheel baffles me but some of my friends who are new to the series (believe it or not!) find it really intuitive...

@Sharpfish: I played Motorstorm and it reminded me of a slightly less-arcadey version of Excite Truck. I'm not sure what you're getting at. I guess tire tracks affect the physics of bikes or something but it really doesn't affect the game in any meaningful way. That I could see. Anyway the Wii is a next-gen system. I know this because I play the PS2 still and it's complete shit compared to the Wii. I'm no graphics whore but I can barely even stand to play PS2 games anymore. I also have a 360 and am constantly appalled at how not amazing the graphics are. So whatever.

dowingba > have you actually run a HD console through your HD TV?

Anyway, trust me Resident Evil 4 (one of my all time favourite game) I tried to replay when I dumped my SD and went HD and I couldn't take the pixel swimming and general low res textures.

The only game I found to look 'decent' was F-Zero GX, but after playing HD games for a while you go back to them and they look like shit and more importantly you realise how Nintendo are holding themselves back, I could list a bunch of games on both 360 and PS3 that are 'similar' to Nintendos great games in style/fun but who's looks are far beyond what nintendo can put out with the Wii. Viva Pinata, Motorstorm, Dead Rising, Blu Dragon etc..

I think people don't understand when someone like me (who owned GB, SNES, GBA, GAMECUBE, DS phat and DS lite) says that nintendo let us down, they assume we don't like Nintendo but that's not it, it's just I feel it's a shame that we are 'missing' Nintendos stellar first party/famous gameplay and fun factor in true 'next gen' style.

Sorry but i've played the gamecube to death I have no desire to keep playing at that graphical level when there are far more exciting things out there to play for not much more money (esp if you own a HDTV).

@Sharpfish: Thanks for that entirely unnecessary diatribe.

@dowingba: And I just wanted to add. I think what we're seeing with the Wii, and what we're seeing with the PS360 is that it doesn't make sense in this day and age to try and "wow" people with more pixels etc in the graphics dept. The technology for games has begun to settle and we're not going to be seeing any big changes for a while. Every generation before this had systems being able to achieve what previous systems could not. But the Xbox/GC/PS2 generation reached a plateau of what is possible/feasible in video game technology. What we're seeing with the PS3/360 is, for the most part, nothing that couldn't be done last gen except with better lighting and more pixels. Same with the Wii of course. I think this is healthy and I hope next-gen we don't have Sony and MS trying so desperately hard to up-the-ante graphics wise, as it is single-handedly destroying the industry. (You know, since people can't afford to make games anymore.)

It's quite an injustice that the best Mario Kart game sold the least number of copies.

@Sharpfish: Of course I've run HD content though my TV. Why the hell else would I have it? Also note that 480p requires an HDTV to display so therefore it is also HD. The rule of thumb with regards to HDTVs: 480i looks like absolute shit (meaning, worse than it does on an SDTV). Everything else looks great. But this isn't an argument that will go anywhere. Just go play COD4 or whatever and be happy. I'm currently replaying Twilight Princess for the umpteenth time. Talk about bang for your buck.

@dowingba: I forgot to mention: I've had a 360 since launch. So don't try to say I'm ignorant to "HD gaming".

dowingba > you've not played motorstorm so don't lie, you are simply saying what you assume the game feels like to play. Excite truck - pah, motorstorm is intrinsic gameplay. Actually tyre tracks is the LEAST prominent featre in my mind, it's about the mindblowing physics and graphics around you as you race, you really feel like never before, like you are there, even though it's quite 'cartoony' in it's own way (certainly compared to Gran Turismo 5p)

Face it, you are biased, you shouldn't even bring the PS3's graphics into it. The fact is it can do anything the Wii can except tacked on motion controls (ok so it can do that too - btw it's quite fun in motorstorm to use sixaxis but I prefer analog sticks as usual).

The only reason to buy wii is because you either get turned on by the idea of waving a controller around (A cool gimmick for sure but after the first ten minutes I played one I thought " ok, what's next") or because you are a fan of Nintendo's first party games (Which I *AM*), but if they just release the same games over and over (Zelda, Mario, Kart, Metroid, Smash Bros) etc there is no compelling reason to invest in a Wii if you've already played the gamecube to death.

Where do they go from here? What is next on the horizon for Nintendo's big franchises?

The world is moving on at a scary rate, GTA4, MGS4, GT5p, Gears of War, Resident Evil 5 etc all being standard bearers of what is now possible with technology at a decent price while the Wii is instead more about taking market share and earning big profits (they are very overprice for the tech that is in them, compare to 360 and PS3 which are/were sold at a loss) Nintendo are making a fortune but at the expense of giving hardcore/older/HD gamers what they want.

I know you won't agree but don't try and say Motorstorm is a technical marvel with tons of fun gameplay because at worst it's just not your cup of tea, Mario KArt Wii on the other hand, yes it's good it's MARIO KART but the point is, i've already played it 3 times on different Nintendo systmes and it's not improved in any tangiable way since the last other than this one appears to be as fun as DD should have been.

You'll see next gen, when nintendo either get competitive with the cash they've made this gen (and maybe even have the best graphics which I would like) or they stick to the old gen tech and get old people and kids invovled more... good for old people and kids, not for me.

@photoboy: I'm pretty sure that number for MKDS is for the first day. Trust me it's probably sold the most out of any Mario Kart game if you add up its lifetime sales.