All Articles: Mario Kart 8
No surprise there… Madden NFL 18 was the best-selling game in August 2017
It gets harder and harder every year to interpret the NFL rulebook, but one thing is always certain… the latest entry in the Madden NFL series will be the best-selling game in August.
That axiom held true once again this year, as The NPD Group declared that Madden NFL 18 was the best-selling game of last month. August 2017’s other big sellers include Grand Theft Auto V (#2), Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (#3), Splatoon 2 (#4), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), and the newly-launched Agents of Mayhem (#16).
You can read more about last month’s best-sellers and view the monthly Top 20 after the break. (more…)
Splatoon 2 is swimming in green ink as the best-selling game from July 2017
The first year for Nintendo’s Switch continues to go swimmingly, and another exclusive release for the console has claimed the top spot in The NPD Group’s monthly tally of best-selling games.
Splatoon 2 was the top-selling game in July, beating out Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (#2) and a resurgent Grand Theft Auto V (#3). Three other Switch games managed to crack the Top 20, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#7), and Arms (#17).
According to GamesIndustry.biz, the Switch was also the best-selling console in July. Nintendo’s new device is so popular that it helped push monthly sales to $588 million, a 19% increase over July 2016.
The remainder of the Top 20 was made up of the usual suspects, including Tom Clancy games (Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege at #9 and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands at #11) and three Call of Duty games (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered at #12, Call of Duty: Black Ops III at #13, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare at #15).
The NPD’s complete “Top 20 Best-Selling Games” from July 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
After four months Nintendo has sold 4.7 million Switch consoles
Nintendo launched their Switch console a little over four months ago, and earlier today, the company revealed sales figures for the system’s second quarter of availability.
According to Nintendo, they sold 1.97 million Switch consoles between April 1 and June 30, bringing the worldwide install base for the console to 4.7 million. These new Switch owners are also buying a lot of games, and Nintendo reported sales of more than a million copies during the quarter for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (1.16 million), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (3.54 million), and Arms (1.18 million).
For comparison, Nintendo sold 13.56 miilion Wii U consoles over the life of the system. It’s very possible the Switch will surpass that total before the end of its first year.
The 1-2 punch of Tekken 7 and Injustice 2 sit atop the best-selling games list for June 2017
Fighting game fans have proven, once again, that the genre is alive and well. According to the NPD Group’s recounting of the best-selling games in June, Tekken 7 (#1) and Injustice 2 (#2) took the top two spots. Nintendo’s bizarro take on the genre, Arms, also made a strong debut in the #5 spot.
Speaking of the Switch, Nintendo’s newest console continued to push the game industry to new heights in June, as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#6) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#7) stayed in the top ten.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella said: “The Nintendo Switch has been the catalyst for year-to-date growth. Year-to-date, hardware spending has grown 19% versus 2016 to $1.4 billion.”
However, older titles also performed well in June, including Grand Theft Auto V (#3), Overwatch (#9), and Minecraft (#17). 2015’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III (#12) even managed to outsell 2016’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (#15).
A complete look at the Top 20 for June 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Justice was served as Injustice 2 was the best-selling game of May 2017
NetherRealm Studios has done it again… The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz) has revealed that Injustice 2 was the best-selling game in May.
In the midst of Wonder Woman-mania, the one-on-one fighter beat out the Switch’s heaviest hitters (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at #2 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at #4), as well as Prey (#5) and Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia (#7).
Grand Theft Auto V continues to sell well, landing at #3 in the monthly tally. And Blizzard’s Overwatch celebrated its first anniversary by squeaking into the top ten at #10.
A list of May 2017’s top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Review: Grab Some Coins, Race to the Store, and Buy it Again
Aside from a rather shoddy Battle Mode, Mario Kart 8 set the gold standard for Nintendo’s venerable franchise when it launched for the Wii U back in 2014. The racing game was already bursting at the seams with characters, courses, and customizable kart parts before the consolemaker expanded it with two DLC Packs and added crossover characters like Link and Animal Crossing‘s Villager. However, the public’s poor reception to the Wii U lead to the sad realization that three times as many people had purchased Mario Kart Wii versus its sequel. So Nintendo has decided to re-introduce the game to a new audience on the Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe… and with a real Battle Mode, too! (more…)
The Switch continues to soar as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was the best-selling game in April 2017
Nintendo continues to dominate the retail charts with another strong showing in April for their Switch console. According to The NPD Group, Nintendo added another 280,000 Switch consoles to its tally last month, and the newly-launched Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold more than 459,000 copies (in just two days) to take the top spot on the list of best-selling games. The company’s success also seems to be great for the industry as a whole, as the industry generated $636 million in sales in April 2017, a 10% increase over the year before.
The other big news in April is that Persona 5 pushed the franchise and gave the RPG the #2 spot on the best-seller list, just below Mario Kart 8.
“Persona 5 experienced the strongest debut month for any title in Persona franchise history, with packaged dollar sales five times that of the previous best-selling debut, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4,” NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella told GamesIndustry.biz.
Additional new releases were thin on the ground in last month’s Top 20, but Lego Undercover‘s re-release on the PC and current-generation consoles helped it secure a spot (#13). And as expected, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild continued to sell well, landing in the #3 position for the month. But the big retail winners in April all came from the backlist, including Grand Theft Auto V (#6), Overwatch (#9), Call of Duty: Black Ops II (#10), and Minecraft (#20).
The NPD Group’s complete list of best-selling games for April 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe becomes the fastest-selling game in franchise history
The Nintendo Switch continues to be a source of success for the consolemaker, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe became the fastest-selling game in franchise history.
Fans in the US purchased more than 459,000 copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on its first day of availability (April 28), smashing the previous record set by Mario Kart Wii nearly a decade ago. These sales figures include both retail copies and Nintendo eShop downloads, and according to Nintendo, “nearly one in two Nintendo Switch owners in the US purchased a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the first day it was available.”
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is an updated and expanded re-release of 2014’s Mario Kart 8, and Nintendo considers it the “definitive” version of the game. These additions include both downloadable expansions that were originally available to download for the Wii U, as well as Switch-exclusive content including new characters, new weapons, the ability to carry two items at the same time, and a brand new Battle Mode.
Nintendo has announced plans to launch nearly a dozen Switch-exclusive games in 2017, so it seems likely they’ll be setting even more sales records before the year is out.