Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is Now the Best-Selling Mario Kart Game Ever - Sales

by William D'Angelo , posted on 04 November 2021 / 3,294 Views

Nintendo in its latest hardware and software figures for the Nintendo Switch revealed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe shipped 3.34 million units during the six month period ending September 30, 2021.

Lifetime shipment figures for the kart racing game are now at 38.74 million units worldwide since it released in April 2017. This does mean it has surpassed Mario Kart Wii, which sold 37.38 million units, to become the best-selling Mario Kart game ever.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is Now the Best-Selling Mario Kart Game Ever

Here is the list of best-selling Mario Kart games:

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NS) - 38.74m
Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 37.38m
Mario Kart DS (DS) - 23.60m
Mario Kart 7 (3DS) - 18.95m
Mario Kart 64 (N64) - 9.87m
Super Mario Kart (SNES) - 8.76m
Mario Kart 8 (WiiU) - 8.46m
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GCN) - 6.88m
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) - 5.91m
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (NS) - 1.27m

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.

16 Comments

Runa216 (on 04 November 2021)

I mean, it IS the best Mario Kart by a pretty wide margin, so I'm not surprised.

Man, I love the Switch. what a great system all-around.

2zosteven (on 04 November 2021)

Awesome! now its time for Mario Kart 9!

scrapking 2zosteven (on 04 November 2021)

It's a bit like us not seeing GTA 6 in part because GTA 5 is still selling so well. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still selling so well is an impediment to ever seeing Mario Kart 9. :)

Wman1996 scrapking (on 04 November 2021)

Even so, I don't think Mario Kart 9 will take near as long as GTA Vi. GTA V came out in 2013 and GTA VI will probably release in 2024 or 2025.
Mario Kart games are easier to develop than GTA and the main titles don't tend to have paid adds on or at the very least don't have microtransactions. GTA can also be milked on quite a bit of platforms because it's a third-party game.
Something smart for Nintendo to do would be to release Mario Kart 9 a year or so before the Switch 2 comes out and then have an enhanced port to launch the next console with. If they could spread 8 over two consoles, they can do it with 9.

scrapking Wman1996 (on 06 November 2021)

For sure Mario Kart 9 can be made more quickly. GTA 6 will have a lot more content, will have higher quality assets, and will come out on a bunch more platforms. But there are additional variables in market timing to consider, on top of all that, for the reasons you suggest and more reasons besides.

Iveyboi (on 04 November 2021)

I genuinely can't believe it beat the Wii version. Not due to product quality, just given the Wii's success and it was a port.

siebensus4 (on 04 November 2021)

Probably one of the most successful ports in video game history.

JackHandy (on 05 November 2021)

Interesting that the best selling Mario Kart is a Wii U title. Talk about irony.

Rafie (on 04 November 2021)

It should be. It frickin' awesome. It's still crazy to think that Nintendo is the only one of the big 3 that can re-release a game that wasn't that old to begin with at the time and sell mountains! Amazing.

pikashoe Rafie (on 04 November 2021)

To be fair it was on a console that so far is around 80 million lower than the switch.

Torpoleon (on 04 November 2021)

I think there's a chance MK8DX could even reach 70 million, depending on when Switch 2 releases. Maybe MK8 (Switch + Wii U) can beat Wii Sports. Long shot, but still possible.

Illusion (on 04 November 2021)

Mario Kart 8 deserves it as it is an incredible game and one that was clearly meant to sell ultra massively, even back when it was relegated to the Wii U. It was painful watching MK8 barely sell a fifth of what Mario Kart Wii sold when it clearly was a far superior gaming experience. MK8 was this soaring eagle that was being held down by its platform and most games that have this fate never get a second chance to shine. MK8 got its chance to be huge on the Switch and I am glad to see it realize its full potential.

SvenTheTurkey (on 04 November 2021)

It can finally take the crown without an asterisk. Combining Wii u and switch was already above, but, as I said, there are no qualifiers now.

On that note, they're nearing 50 million units on a game from 2014. That's like 2 billion dollars in profit. Something like 3 billion in revenue. Now take 100,000,000 of that, Nintendo and at least have kart 9 ready for the switch 2.