LukasManak22
who the fuck is that
Nothing could have helped the Wii U, at least nothing that released after 2013 because the system was dead at this point. But MK8 selling over 8M on system that sold 13M is pretty good if you ask me.
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Discussion Is Mario Kart really a System Seller?
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BOTW came out the day the Switch released
Wii U would had 100% at least outsold the original Xbox or Xbox One if it had BOTW, Odyssey and an E3 2015 that wasn’t a joke. There was simply no incentive to buy it besides new iterations of multiplayer games. Why buy a new system for Mario Kart in HD (with a bad battle mode) when Mario Kart Wii is plenty fine. People buy systems for new experiences that just weren’t possible on the last console, the Wii U simply didn’t have that on top of the cursed reveal and everything
9-Volt
Adept
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It's more like "People buy MK right after they buy Nintendo console" than "People buy Nintendo console just for MK". They don't necessarily buy a hardware specifically for MK but that's the first stop once they buy that hardware.
Pokémon, Zelda and Animal Crossing are much bigger system sellers. All three have the ability to attract audience from the competition. Especially Zelda.
Pokémon, Zelda and Animal Crossing are much bigger system sellers. All three have the ability to attract audience from the competition. Especially Zelda.
I bought the DS and the Wii when they got their Mario Kart bundles. In either case there were already other games I was interested in, but Mario Kart pushed me over me edge. In general, I'm fine waiting a while for single-player titles to accumulate critical mass, while with multiplayer games I don't want to miss out on starting fresh alongside the release day crowd. Breath of the Wild broke the mold, because the promise of potentially reliving another Link to the Past or Ocarino of Time moment got to me, but even there the decision was easier because I know Splatoon 2 was coming up.
So, take that, biased sampling, small pool size and leading question trying to massage data to the desired result!
So, take that, biased sampling, small pool size and leading question trying to massage data to the desired result!
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Christo750
Source of the Right Arm
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wasn't the first two posts but it was close enough
HockeyBird
Villager
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Yes, it's obviously a system seller.
I don't like the poll because it's not asking the same thing as the OP title. It's also a bad way of gauging if Mario Kart is a system seller because only the most hardcore of Nintendo fans are answering the poll and it's not representative of the Mario Kart audience as a whole.
I don't like the poll because it's not asking the same thing as the OP title. It's also a bad way of gauging if Mario Kart is a system seller because only the most hardcore of Nintendo fans are answering the poll and it's not representative of the Mario Kart audience as a whole.
Linkstrikesback
Bounty Hunter
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If what you were saying had any baring in reality; that people were content with just old games multiplayer, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe wouldn't be the best selling game this century outside of like, GTA and minecraft. It doesn't do anything new that Mario kart 8 didn't, and virtually nobody gives a shit about the battle mode. Going by the wiki list, Mario kart 8+ Deluxe is quite literally the 6th highest selling videogame ever at this point in time, so obviously there was nothing about the software that people didn't like.
By the time they could have made Odyssey/BOTW on the Wii U, it wouldn't have mattered. Like, if you're imagining some other reality where they just poof in to existence half a decade early, that's not even remotely feasible, because the tools to make those games didn't come about as if by magic. They couldn't have existed in 2012. And the console was clearly dead by later 2014, which is why the only notable (exclusive) release from that point was Splatoon and Super mario maker.
Undeniablybiased
Moblin
It is, and a poll on here won’t prove otherwise.
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Mario Kart is probably Nintendo's most popular game for general audiences. When the trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie showed a Mario Kart sequence, I realized how much sense that made to include, because to many people Mario is Mario Kart. The fact that MK8D sold 52 million units kind of speaks for itself as well.
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Okay, so let me lead you onto this anecdote that I think explains this phenomenon.
In college, I was the person who had the Wii U(I am quite the poor sap). I used to set my console up in my dorms public space, where people would set up their consoles. There was a lot of variety, there was a PS4, there was a Gamecube, there was a modded Wii. And everyone would just go in to play on our game nights, whether or not they were really into games.
A lot of people played Smash, Mariokart, Kirby Airide, Mario Party, that sort of stuff. And guess who's console never got used. People were so turned off by this thing, and it makes sense, because it was an absolute mess for a casual player. Every control scheme was completely different, and unintuitive. For casual gamers, it was a plague that sullied the system. Not to mention how slow, archaic, and awful the system and the OS is in itself. I had Mariokart 8 on Wii U.
Even my best friend at the time, who is now my wife. After a round of the confusing mess of the Wii U, didn't want to play.
Enter the Switch. I got the Switch as close as I possibly could to launch. I got it in April. Coincidentally, with MK8 Deluxe. I set up that Switch in that dorm, and boy did it take up. Everyone was taken aback and wanted to play the "New Mariokart". I don't think anyone realized it was the exact same game I had running on Wii U. And it took off. We would have fun tournaments, kissing bets, all that sort of stuff.
Then, everyone slowly but surely started purchasing Switches, for Mariokart. Soon after, everyone was playing handheld mode instead of split screen on the TV. And just 1 year after the switch released, the Wii and Ps4, and even Gamecube was gone. Because my switch was in the lobby, literally 30 of my neighbors all got Switches.
That's how you know
1. The Wii U was an abomination
2. How great the Switch hardware is, in how appealing it was back then.
PK_Wonder
Piranha Plant
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I agree from what I’ve witnessed. It‘s the equivalent of a ranked choice voting winner pick, which is why it’s the best selling Switch game. People buy a Switch all amped up to play at least one popular game which usually varies between one of the 3 you mentioned (or Smash). But when they’re buying a second game, Mario Kart is usually the consensus pick.
But just like the winner of RCV is still the winner, I‘m still absolutely fine calling it a system seller, because having that second essential purchase game in mind from day 1 might help push someone to feel like their big purchase is justified and not wait any longer to buy a system.
Heron
Koopa
I had a very similar experience, with Mario Kart and also with Smash Bros. (Yes, I know that technically Smash 4 and Ultimate are different games).
The bright side of the situation was that for years I heard the argument "killer software will sell any hardware" which I had always vehemently disagreed with. My take was that hardware matters hugely, and there's a minimum bar of functionality and appealing industrial design you have to meet before people will consider the software seriously.
While I loved the Wii U, it clearly didn't meet those standards for most of the casual audience, and therefore the quality of its software was pretty much irrelevant. Seeing all those Wii U games sell like crazy once the hardware met the requirements was seriously satisfying lol.
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It's obviously a system seller. You're not gonna get representative results from this poll because most of us nerds probably already bought the original on Wii U
Thunder84
Gerudo
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Yeah, as others have said, this poll is a terrible gauge for the question. I doubt most of this board really has any sort of personal "system seller" for the Switch. They just bought it because, well, it's the next big Nintendo console. Not gonna get good data here.
For many others though, it absolutely is. Without a doubt.
For many others though, it absolutely is. Without a doubt.
Bayonutter
#TheProcessBroke
I still don't have MK8D and that's unlikely to change. I also don't think I'd buy the next Mario Kart, so the answer is no for me.
Nintendo Kart, though... that'd be a different story
Nintendo Kart, though... that'd be a different story
Undeniablybiased
Moblin
I knew someone would say “but the Wii U!!”
How many times do we have to explain just how crazy of an anomaly the Wii U was?
How many times do we have to explain just how crazy of an anomaly the Wii U was?
Hero of Hyrule
Frieren the Slayer
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I don't know how to answer this poll.
MK is a system seller for me (it's one of only five franchises that I will buy new hardware for), but MK8D was not why I bought the Switch (even though I got MK8D day one).
MK is a system seller for me (it's one of only five franchises that I will buy new hardware for), but MK8D was not why I bought the Switch (even though I got MK8D day one).
SpaceGodzilla
Did You Get that Thing I Sent You?
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Your either crazy or in denial if you don't think mario kart is a system seller
Seeing how it’s the bundle for the sales usually.
It’s literal purpose is to sell you the system with Mario Kart.
So I say yes.
It’s literal purpose is to sell you the system with Mario Kart.
So I say yes.
3DS turned around in sales when Pokemon dropped, not Mario Kart 7
Wii U did fine in 2014, people were saying that Nintendo won E3 notably thanks to the first BOTW trailer. If, hypothetically, that came out without delays and you had Mario Maker replacing NSMBU as a launch game, as well as Odyssey replacing 3D World, Wii U would have been much more appealing as a platform. PS4 and Xbox One didn’t really start having big next gen exclusives until 2015 (mostly 2016), but by the time of E3 2015 the Wii U was dead and buried so there was no longer any potential of a turnaround
MK8D sold well on Switch because the Switch was a success on its own (notably thanks to BOTW which was arguably the true next-gen moment of the 8th gen), but Mario Kart in itself doesn’t move consoles, the 3DS and Wii U prove that. Even if Mario Kart still sells more than a lot of the other games that people here consider as bigger system sellers, this doesn’t contradict the other claim. Mario Kart 8 and Smash Wii U weren’t enough to convince the “mass market” to upgrade, no one besides hardcore fans were buying a whole new console for those when the Wii iterations still hit the spot for most. BOTW and Odyssey did convince people for the Switch, that got the early adopters in. That’s the whole difference, there was no hook for the Wii U, every product that reaches success needs to first appeal to a notable size of early adopters. So even if the casuals that didn’t buy BOTW bought Mario Kart on Switch, this just means that they bought a Switch after they realized that it was successful and that it would be a safe investment.
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3DS sales started to turn around with the one-two(-three) punch of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 (and in Japan, Monster Hunter Tri G) in its first holiday season and continued to accelerate with the release of NSMB2 and the 3DS XL the following summer. It didn’t take until Pokémon dropped for the system to turn around, which is good, because Pokémon X&Y didn’t arrive until the system’s third holiday season.
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The idea that you can be an immensely popular game and not be at least a system seller at a decent capacity is, as far as I know, not backed up by any game in history. I remember people on installbase talking about how Fortnite, a free to play multiplat, sold systems.
TheQuietone
The Dread Captain
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For me personally no. I bought MK but I bought the Switch for games like Zelda, Mario, Pokémon, etc. But seeing how Mario Kart is the top seller on Switch and most past systems the series have been on. I think it'd be a mistake not to call it a system seller. If it isn't a system seller then I don't know what is. (On a Nintendo system)
MusicProposition
Bob-omb
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I don’t think that asking us why we bought a Switch personally is representative. To answer your question: Mario Kart is THE system seller. If there’s one game that everybody on this whole world knows, it’s Mario Kart. This is probably the only game that will sell nearly every console.
D
Deleted member 4028
Guest
Well, for me I think DK, and maybe Smash, are honestly the only system sellers at this point. I’ll buy the next Nintendo system when one of these are on it.
At the time though, I think Mario Kart was another system seller for me, along with Zelda. I’ve kind of lost interest in both franchises now though, to the point where I might try them out from the library but I’m not buying systems for them.
But, I don’t think this forum is really an indication of “system sellers” though. Mario Kart 8D is by far the best selling Switch game, I think Mario Kart in general can def be seen as Nintendo’s biggest system seller.
At the time though, I think Mario Kart was another system seller for me, along with Zelda. I’ve kind of lost interest in both franchises now though, to the point where I might try them out from the library but I’m not buying systems for them.
But, I don’t think this forum is really an indication of “system sellers” though. Mario Kart 8D is by far the best selling Switch game, I think Mario Kart in general can def be seen as Nintendo’s biggest system seller.
I think there's something to be said about a reliable second game that everyone wants, though. If you're only interested in one game, a console is a terrible value proposition.
I absolutely believe MK8DX made a decent impact on Switch sales, and if that's not the definition of a system seller I'm a little lost.
D
Deleted member 2062
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That one game that just sold over 50 million copies on a single system? Naah bruh.
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To rephrase OP's question (in my mind anyway), would you have bought a Switch if the only game you're really interested in was MK8DX? You had no other big, major interests. Maybe you'd play a few other games eventually but the only thing exciting on the platform to you was MK8DX.
Would you buy a console just for that? That's kinda my idea of a system seller, a game that- on its own- can sell a large amount of systems to people.
Obviously MK and many, many other games add to the value proposition but IMO it's not "that" game that primarily drives interest in the platform as a whole.
MP!
Like Like
yes and no
People will buy nintendo systems to play mario kart... But typically this franchise is released midway through the life cycle of a console
Like I don't think early adopters are buying the system for mario kart alone... so if that were a launch title for example that would be fine... but they position it when they do to take advantage of the install base already being out there and getting those late adopters to make a purchase... maybe bundled or on sale .
People will buy nintendo systems to play mario kart... But typically this franchise is released midway through the life cycle of a console
Like I don't think early adopters are buying the system for mario kart alone... so if that were a launch title for example that would be fine... but they position it when they do to take advantage of the install base already being out there and getting those late adopters to make a purchase... maybe bundled or on sale .
SpookyTango
Shriekbat
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe absolutely elevated the mainstream popularity of Mario Kart, and while the original version didn't "save" the Wii U, it did help to noticeably raise the baseline sales of the hardware.
If Nintendo goes even more ambitious with the follow up title, which I think is likely after the sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it would for sure be a huge system seller.
If Nintendo goes even more ambitious with the follow up title, which I think is likely after the sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it would for sure be a huge system seller.
As others have said, the enthusiasts that populate forums like this are not at all representative of the wider population regarding these types of topics. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is undoubtedly a system seller for the Switch - right up there with BotW, Animal Crossing, and Smash.
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I think it's gonna be interesting to see if it still is or if people will just be happy with 8 deluxe and won't feel the need to get the next one.
I have never bought a console for just one game (well, apart of Bayonetta 1 for which I bought a used XBox360 for 20€), but whenever I buy a Nintendo console it's because of Mario Kart, Zelda and Mario. I'm a huge fan of other stuff like Metroid or DK, but you never know if they're going to get a new game for every console.
Linkstrikesback
Bounty Hunter
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I mean, midway is generous. The latest it's been released since the Wii/DS is 18 months after launch with the Wii game.
DS was slightly over a year, or less depending on your region, and the Wii U was a little less than the Wii game, while Switch and 3DS games were first year titles.
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John Omaha
Moblin
It's a system seller, but not a 'statement game'.
I definitely know multiple people with a Switch that bought Mario Kart with it and nothing else at first. These tend to be people that play games socially, almost never by themselves, and definitely aren't the type to post here.
Did they buy it just for that? I can't answer, I haven't asked them. But it's all they had at first.
The masses say you're correct
I personally say it's the masses who are wrong
(it is worth noting that MK8 had 32 courses for $60 while MK8D has 48 + 6 battle courses for $60, but it's more of a footnote than a "this totally made a bit of a difference" thing)
Mekanos
300 Years Of Gyudon
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I'm not a big racing guy in general so although I did get MK8DX and enjoyed it it's far from the primary reason why I got a Switch.
Heck I had a Wii U and even I didn't get MK8 because I generally lost interest in the franchise. I only got 8DX because the value of the base game + extra stuff was so good, and now with the DLC that's free thanks to NSO it's certainly gotten even better in value.
Heck I had a Wii U and even I didn't get MK8 because I generally lost interest in the franchise. I only got 8DX because the value of the base game + extra stuff was so good, and now with the DLC that's free thanks to NSO it's certainly gotten even better in value.
