Buried in Nintendo’s Q3 financial report today was the news that Mario Kart 7 has become the top-selling Nintendo 3DS game worldwide. The 2011 kart racer reports sales figures of 16.76 million units, and 0.81 million units sold in the quarter alone. The figure is significant because, for almost five years, the popular Pokémon X and Y (dev. Game Freak) was the reigning champ with 16.26 million units, with 2016’s Pokémon Sun and Moon following close behind.
Nintendo’s listing for 3DS best sellers are thus:
- Mario Kart 7 – 16.76 million units
- Pokémon X and Y – 16.26 million units
- Pokémon Sun and Moon – 16.05 million units
- Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire – 13.94 million units
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 – 12.43 million units
- Super Mario 3D Land – 11.77 million units
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 11.59 million units
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS – 9.16 million units
- Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon – 7.17 million units
- Tomodachi Life – 6.14 million units
The simple reason for Mario Kart 7‘s late upheaval of Pokémon‘s sales figures comes down to Nintendo’s continued push to newer 3DS owners. It is a standard inclusion with every Nintendo 2DS sold in the US alone, and its price point of $29.99 USD puts it at a lower, easier price point than the 3DS standard of $40 USD. The sales are remarkable in the face of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch, a more contemporary release and also playable on the go.
The future slate of Nintendo 3DS software from first party, at least for now, looks slim. The upcoming fiscal year includes all of two games scheduled for North America: Detective Pikachu and the still-upcoming Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido. One additional title is on the release slate for Japan, The Dead Heat Brakers, a second sequel to Dillon’s Rolling Western.
