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Nintendo didn’t anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was ‘going to be the juggernaut’ for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees

March 27, 2025

Nintendo didn’t anticipate Mario Kart 8 Deluxe‘s massive success on the Switch, according to two former employees
There was “not a clue” that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe “was going to be the juggernaut” that it is now
The game has now sold over 75 million copies across the Switch and Wii U

According to two former Nintendo employees, Nintendo didn’t expect Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to perform so well on the Switch.

This comes from the latest episode of the Kit & Krysta podcast, where former Nintendo of America director of social media marketing Kit Ellis and former senior manager of creator relations Krysta Yang discussed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and how Nintendo didn’t anticipate its overwhelming success (via GamesRadar).

Yang explained that, inside Nintendo, there was “not a clue” that the game “was going to be the juggernaut” that it became, with Ellis adding that it was “kind of an afterthought”.

Yang continued by saying that the game “sold and sold and sold and sold and sold,” and per Nintendo’s most recent sales data, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has now sold over 75 million copies across the Switch and Wii U.

In the same podcast episode, the pair also speculated on how Nintendo is going to get people to purchase the new Mario Kart game, considering Mario Kart 8 Deluxe‘s success.

“How is Nintendo going to convince me to get the new Mario Kart?” and spend $400 on the new Switch 2 when there’s already a successful game out there, Yang asked.

Ellis also wonders how the new Mario Kart game will perform compared to its predecessor when it’s, presumably, only playable on the new Switch 2.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct Showcase is scheduled for April 2 and will likely provide us with a release date for the console, as well as preorder and pricing details. Hopefully, we’ll also get a brand new look at the next Mario Kart and other unannounced software.

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