Mario Makes Big Splash at US Debut
Nintendo brags with early numbers.
Super Mario Galaxy didn't have quite the gangbusters opening in Japan or the UK that some were, perhaps unfairly, expecting of the game, but no one could deny that Mario's new Wii offering is starting strong in the US.
Working off its own numbers, Nintendo said on Tuesday that Super Mario Galaxy sold more than half a million copies in the US during in the week since it went on sale on 12 November.
"Super Mario Galaxy had the strongest one-week debut of any Wii game to date and has also become the best-selling Mario title ever in its first week, with US sales of more than 500,000, based on internal sales figures," Nintendo's George Harrison said in a press statement.
Super Mario Galaxy was released on 1 November in Japan and came in hot, with 250,000 sales in its first week. Things have since cooled there. In the UK, the game came out on 16 November. The game did not top the chart in its first weekend on sale, falling behind both Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
In a comment to Kikizo on Tuesday, Nintendo said that it was "really pleased" with early sales in the UK, adding that its audience had showed it isn't obsessed with picking up Nintendo games on launch day.
"We expect Mario Galaxy to continue to perform well over the coming weeks and months," a spokesperson for the company said.
Find out more about Super Mario Galaxy in our full review.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo