Mario Kart World has passed a major sales milestone within less than a month of its release alongside the Switch 2, selling over 1 million copies in Japan alone. The high-profile launch of the Switch 2 earlier this month brought with it a mix of both major first-party games from Nintendo and a handful of significant ports. Nintendo launched Mario Kart World alongside upgraded "Switch 2 Editions" of popular games like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, while games like Yakuza 0 and Cyberpunk 2077 also hit the console. Now, one game is looking to stand above the rest.
Mario Kart World easily served as Nintendo's big flagship title for the Switch 2 following its launch, highlighting the lineup of games coming with its debut. The newest entry in the beloved racing franchise brought some major shake-ups to the series, introducing a free-roam open world alongside the new "Knockout Tour" mode. Mario Kart World also made some notable changes to its roster, cutting out the non-Mario characters that had appeared in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. A new report now shows just how successful Mario Kart World's launch has been for Nintendo.
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PostsMario Kart World Sells 1 Million Copies in Japan
As reported by NintendoLife, Famitsu's newest weekly sales chart for Japan shows Mario Kart World passing a major milestone in its physical sales. With more than 122,000 copies of Mario Kart World sold in Japan last week, the physical version of Mario Kart World officially eclipsed one million units sold within the Japanese market. The game notably surpassed one of last week's bigger releases by a wide margin, more than doubling the combined totals for the newly-released Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army.
CloseMario Kart World's success in Japan joins the overwhelming popularity of the Switch 2 around the world following its release. The Switch 2's launch week set an all-time record for video game hardware sales in the United States, with more than 1.1 million Switch 2 consoles sold across the country. Mario Kart World's status as the major pack-in saw the game boasting similar numbers to the console, with World standing as the best-selling Switch 2 game.
The popularity of Mario Kart World comes as Nintendo has plenty more exciting first-party games on the way for the Switch 2. Nintendo will officially debut Donkey Kong Bananza next month, coming as the franchise's first 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64. The developer has also teased several other major releases planned for the Switch 2, including Kirby Air Riders and Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of the upcoming Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The Switch 2's early momentum looks primed to continue with lots of high-profile games on the way from Nintendo.
