Nintendo needed a break and it looks like Mario Kart 8 might be the game to give it to it, as despite the hit racing title not yet releasing anywhere around the world, Wii U sales in Japan have topped that of the PlayStation 3, 4 and in-fact every other console apart from the 3DS and Vita in the last week.
Granted the numbers aren't enormous, as despite being the top selling home console, the Wii U did only shift 9,024 units, but the fact that the brand new, more powerful and certainly more hyped PS4 only sold 7,543 (a handful less than the PS3 ironically) is a good indication that Nintendo might be down but not out.
Comparatively Microsoft's consoles were almost nowhere to be found. The Xbox One didn't even feature in the top ten of console sales, while the Xbox 360 sold only 201 systems.
Of course what Nintendo needs is for these sales numbers to continue after the release of Mario Kart as well. Considering how well the game has reviewed, that's certainly a possibility, especially once people start playing their friend's version. That old snowball effect is working wonders for Sony right now, one good game could have the same sort of effect for Nintendo.
We talked recently about what Nintendo needs to do to make its big come back. It's not a lot and having a solid Mario Kart 8 launch was part of it.
Do you guys think Nintendo will be able to turn things around at all after the release of MK8? It seems poised to give it a nice bump, but will it be enough to get the ball rolling for the Wii U once again?
[Thanks WiiUDaily]