Almost one in two Nintendo Switch owners in the US bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Friday.
The Japanese gaming giant says a whopping 459,000 copies (physical and digital) were sold in the United States on the first day of release, making it the fastest-selling entry in the 25-year history of the franchise.
Considering a presumably decent proportion of those buyers already owned Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U, the sales landmark is all the more impressive.
That installment represented the previous record by racking up 433,900 sales on the first day when it arrived in 2008.
While the enthusiasm for the new Battle Mode-toting game is great news for Nintendo, Switch owners don’t exactly have much else to choose from right now.
Other than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there are few high-end experiences currently available for the Switch.
Minecraft arrives on May 11, while Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers rocks up on May 26. On June 11 ARMS is released, followed by the eagerly-anticipated Splatoon 2 on July 21
So far Nintendo says 2.7 million Switch systems have been sold globally.
in a press release issued on Monday, the company wrote: “The solid sales numbers for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe equate to an attach rate of 45 percent – meaning nearly one in two Nintendo Switch owners in the U.S. purchased a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the first day it was available."
