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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Has the Mario Kart franchise outclassed the Super Mario Bros. franchise?

 

Has the Mario Kart franchise outclassed the Super Mario Bros. franchise?

Yes! 29 60.42%
 
No! 19 39.58%
 
Total:48

This is a topic I've been wanting to create for a long time. Guys, is it bold to say that the Mario Kart franchise has outclassed the Super Mario Bros. franchise? I don't know if "outclass" is the right word here, what I mean is that it seems that Mario Kart is sooo huge nowadays, that I'm starting to see it more relevant and prominet in the cultural game imaginary than Super Mario Bros. games. I've seen things like people mentioning from the top of their minds great games in the Switch and most of times it goes like "The switch has Mario Kart, Zelda Breath of the Wild, ... , Super Mario Odyssey". People always bring up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe first, and then Super Mario Odyssey later. I know that since the Wii, Mario Kart has been the most sold game in Nintendo plataforms but it seems like in the Switch era, Nintendo has actively been pushing Mario Kart, not 3D/2D Mario, as the company's flagship franchise (alongside Open-World Zelda). 3D and 2D Mario games' sales pale in comparison to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's sales. In the mobile, Mario Kart Tour got way more attention than Super Mario Run or any attempt to create a better 2D game for mobiles. Nintendo didn't have to, but they made sure to include Mario Kart in the Super Nintendo World park and in the Mario Movie. The first Switch 2 game revealed was the new Mario Kart game!

Most of us are grown-up people who know Mario very well as the plumber man who jumps around stepping on goombas in 2D and 3D games. But if we asked a kid "Who is Mario?", would him/her say "The dude from the racing game"?. Do youngsters associate Mario first to Mario Kart or Super Mario Bros. games?

Has the spin-off outclassed the main franchise?


Edit: Ah, before comments start rolling up, I would like this discussion to focus not in the sales department, but in the cultural game imaginary I mentioned

Last edited by CourageTCD - on 29 January 2025

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Yes it has; as far back as Wii MKWii outsold NSMBWii, and this has continued to hold true on Wii U and Switch as well.

MK is one of the biggest franchises in gaming right now, MK8D is probably gonna top out around 80 million copies when all's said and done.



curl-6 said:

Yes it has; as far back as Wii MKWii outsold NSMBWii, and this has continued to hold true on Wii U and Switch as well.

MK is one of the biggest franchises in gaming right now, MK8D is probably gonna top out around 80 million copies when all's said and done.

You are correct, but I don't feel like back in the Wii times, the Mario Kart brand was that strong in people's mind as it is today. To the point where people would associate Mario more to Mario Kart than to Super Mario Bros. games. Nowadays, I am not sure about it!



@curl-6 MKWii even almost surpassed the original Super Mario Bros (and the only other Mario game to surpass MKWii in sales is MK8 DX).

I would definitely say that Mario Kart has outclassed the Super Mario games. It is significantly bigger and more important to Nintendo, with Mario Kart even being the first game shown off for Switch 2. Even on Switch 1, they released a deluxe port of Mario Kart 8 before a new Mario game. Mario Kart is easily Nintendo's most important franchise overall.



I’d put it like this. Mario Kart has broader appeal and greater mindshare. Super Mario remains the better series overall.



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Apart from Super Mario Galaxy (and 2) on the Wii, Mario Kart has been ahead of Super Mario platformers for me since its inception on the SNES.

I can’t speak for the general audience, but I have a feeling most consider the 3D Mario games to be the top series, Mario Kart in second, and 2D Mario in third. That’s just my finger on the pulse, though - I might be wrong.



I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.

In sales? Absolutely.

In quality? Absolutely not.



I think the best Super Mario Bros games are better than the best Mario Kart games. But the more recent releases Mario Kart is better than Super Mario Bros.



I wouldn't use the word out classed as that implies quality... but mario kart is easily more popular and for pretty clear reasons. Well done both.



Yes. There could be a seperate threat for the Question if Mario Kart 8 Deluxe would outsell Wii Sports or not. If it does only NS and WiiU version combined or will the NS version perform the ultimate Tsar Bomba and nuke Wii Sports on its own?