Let's do some comparisons according to Nintendo's own financial information from the 1st Quarter of 2008 during Mario Kart Wii's release. I wouldn't put into comparison with Mario Kart DS nor with Double Dash since those released in the Holidays, unfair comparisons. Recall that we're comparing the mediocrity of the Wii U with the monster that was Wii. Mario Kart 8 had about a month less than Mario Kart Wii for the reporting period, but it's still fun to compare:
Mario Kart Wii - 6.42 Million
Wii Hardware - 29.6 Million
21.6 % Attachment Rate
Mario Kart 8 - 2.80 Million
Wii U Hardware - 6.68 Million
41.9% Attachment Rate
High attachment rate is a nice figure, but let's not get over ourselves either (though, it'll be curiously interesting if those same people talking negatively about the high attachment of MK8 also praise the somewhat high attachment rate of Watch Dogs on PS4....). 510,000 Wii U consoles is a nice number, brings up our spirits a little, knowing that there have probably been around 300,000 +/- new Wii U owners because of Mario Kart, but it's not good compared to Nintendo's last unsuccessful console the GameCube. Mario Kart 8 is probably Wii U's largest game release it'll ever have (unless Wi U gets another game that can sell as fast as Mario Kart 8 AND have the amazing legs it'll have over time). The next big Wii U game is Smash Bros, but that's NOT gonna outsell Mario Kart 8 in lifetime sales, it's way more front-loaded and won't be strong in over-time sales. Let's hope Nintendo keeps up with bringing more successes like this. Well, not selling that much in a short period of time, but breaking expectations.
