Mario Kart World Tops Zelda: BOTW Sales in Japan on Switch 2

In Japan, Mario Kart World for Nintendo Switch 2 has achieved remarkable first-week physical sales, significantly outperforming The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's launch performance on the original Switch.

According to Famitsu, Mario Kart World sold an impressive 782,566 physical copies in Japan during its first three days (June 2-8). It's important to note these figures only account for retail sales including physical copies, console preinstalls, and Game-Key Cards—digital downloads from My Nintendo Store aren't included, meaning total sales are likely substantially higher.

For comparison, Breath of the Wild on Switch 1 sold approximately 193,060 physical copies in its first three days back in 2017, according to Famitsu. This means Mario Kart World's retail sales quadrupled Breath of the Wild's initial performance on the previous generation console.

This exceptional performance comes as no surprise considering Switch 2's record-breaking hardware sales. Nintendo's new console has become their fastest-selling platform to date, moving over 3.5 million units worldwide in just four days. The current console is outselling the original Switch by a 2-to-1 margin. By comparison, the supply-limited Switch 1 took nearly a month to reach 2.74 million global sales.

The launch week saw strong performance for Switch 2 titles in Japan, occupying half of Famitsu's top 10 chart. Notable entries included Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (No. 6, 10,877 copies), Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (No. 7, 7,992 copies), Zelda: Breath of the Wild (No. 8, 7,529 copies), and Yakuza 0 (No. 9, 7,486 copies). Elden Ring: Nightreign for PS5 was the only non-Switch title on the chart at No. 5.

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While Mario Kart World's initial sales have outpaced Breath of the Wild's launch numbers, it remains to be seen whether it can match the Zelda title's lifetime sales—especially with Breath of the Wild's recent Switch 2 HD re-release potentially driving renewed interest.

For players diving into Mario Kart World, we've prepared comprehensive guides including character unlocks (with details on Kamek's special unlock system), along with a complete breakdown of food item locations across the open world to help collect all outfits and costumes permanently.