After three years of dominating the best-selling games charts in the United States, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been dethroned and dropped out of the top 20 for the first time. This is quite a feat for a game that has consistently performed well since its release in 2017.
Back in April 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe made its debut and immediately claimed the top spot on The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games in the US for that month. Since then, it has maintained a strong presence in the top 20, tracked by Circana based on dollar sales.
However, as GamesIndustry.biz recently pointed out, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was notably absent from the top 20 for the month of October. This marks the end of a remarkable 78-month streak of being in the top 20, possibly setting a record for consecutive months on the charts. While Circana analyst Mat Piscatella couldn’t confirm if it was an all-time record, he acknowledged the significance of this achievement.
The absence of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe from the top 20 in October can be attributed to the influx of new releases that debuted that month. Games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Assassin’s Creed: Mirage took the top spots, leaving little room for older titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
It’s worth noting that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s physical sales alone have sustained its presence in the top 20, as Nintendo does not report digital sales to Circana. With 57 million units sold to date, it remains Nintendo’s best-selling Switch title and second-best selling Nintendo game ever after Wii Sports.
Despite its brief absence, it’s highly likely that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will bounce back into the top 20 again. With the recent DLC release and an upcoming Black Friday sale, the game’s popularity shows no signs of waning. Whether it’s a return to the top 20 or the highly anticipated Mario Kart 9, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
