Highlights
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe failed to make the top 20 best-selling games list for the first time in six years, ending its incredible streak.
- The Nintendo Switch, unlike its predecessor the Wii U, has been a major success and is now the third-best selling video game system of all time.
- Although Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s sales streak has ended, it is expected to return to the top 20 list with the help of holiday bundles, and Nintendo may already be developing a new Mario Kart game for the Switch 2.
For the first time in six years, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe failed to crack the top 20 best-selling games list. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the enhanced version of 2014’s Mario Kart 8, releasing for the Nintendo Switch in April 2017 with all the DLC for the original game packed-in, new characters to play, gameplay tweaks, fresh features, and more to make it a worthwhile investment even to those that already owned the Wii U original.
Unfortunately for Nintendo, the Wii U was a sales failure, selling only 13.56 million units, nearly 10x less than that of its predecessor, the Wii. Nintendo didn’t give up after the Wii U, though. It came out swinging with the home console/handheld hybrid known as the Nintendo Switch, with that device going on to become the third-best selling video game system of all time, right behind the DS and PlayStation 2.
Whereas the Wii U had a problem with content droughts, the Switch has had constant new releases on a regular basis. Nintendo did a good job of padding the Switch’s library with enhanced ports of Wii U games, which made a great deal of sense as the vast majority of Switch owners never had a Wii U. The most successful of these Wii U-to-Switch games is undoubtedly Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which managed to crack the top 20 best-selling games for each month from April 2017 to October 2023, when its incredible streak finally ended. This is according to data reported by GamesIndustry.biz.
Top 20 Best-Selling Games for October 2023
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage
- Madden NFL 24
- EA Sports FC 24
- Mortal Kombat 1
- UFC 5
- NHL 24
- Sonic Superstars
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Call of DUty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
- Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
- NBA 2K24
- Starfield
- Elden RIng
- The Crew: Motorfest
- Forza Motorsport (2023)
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Minecraft
- Lords of the Fallen (2023)
October 2023 was a particularly busy month for new game releases, and so that combined with the fact that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has already sold over 51 million copies makes it somewhat unsurprising that the streak was broken. But even though Mario Kart 8 Deluxe‘s incredible sales streak has finally come to an end, that doesn’t mean that the game won’t return to the top 20 list. In fact, Nintendo has fresh Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundles for the holiday shopping season that should give the game a huge sales boost and help it return to the top 20 best-selling games lists for November and December.
Even so, this is yet another sign that it may be time for Nintendo to move on from the Switch and focus on the Switch 2, or whatever its next console ends up being called. Rumor has it that Nintendo is already developing a new Mario Kart game for the Switch successor console, and it will be interesting to see if it has the same kind of longevity as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has enjoyed over the years.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
$47 $60 Save $13
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a racing game in the world-renowned racing game series. The game was released in 2017 for Nintendo Switch and was at the time the first Mario game on the platform. It is an improved version of the Wii U game Mario Kart 8. It comes with added characters and changes in Battle Mode.
- Franchise
- Mario Kart
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Released
- April 28, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD, Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo