Mario Kart 8 has become the best-selling racing game in US history

Mario Kart 8 was originally released on Wii U back in 2014, then later the game also landed on Nitendo Switch in the form of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It has always been a very popular racing title, and you can often see it showing up in top 10 on the UK physical game weekly sales charts. So we know Mario Kart 8 is very popular, but how popular? It turns out not just in the UK, the game obviously is doing great in the U.S. as well.

According to Mat Piscatella from NPD Group (via IGN report), the 8th entry of the Mario Kart series, combining the sales of the Wii U original and Switch's Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, now is officially the best-selling racing game in US history. Before this, the champ was Mario Kart Wii which was released in 2008.

Despite not knowing the exact sales number in the U.S., Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold 33.41 million units globally as of December 31, 2020, and Mario Kart 8 has sold 8.45 million units worldwide as of September 30, 2020. The sales numbers of two Mario Kart 8s combined altogether apparently has surpassed Mario Kart Wii lifetime sales (37.38 million units as of September 30, 2020). However, this is the first time we have confirmation that Mario Kart 8 has surpassed Mario Kart Wii in the US.

Other than confirming that Mario Kart 8 now has become the best-selling game in the racing genre in U.S. history, Piscatella also pointed out that "US NPD SW - Mario Kart 8 placed 6th on the March 2021 best-sellers chart."