Nintendo may be having a hard time of it on the hardware front, but on the software front, they continue to move from success to success. Fresh on the heels of Splatoon’s incredible sales performance comes the news that Super Mario Maker, which was released exclusively on the Wii U in September (you know, the same month that saw the launch of a new Forza game, a new Mad Max game, a new Metal Gear Solid, as well as a substantial number of sports games), has managed to sell over 1.8 million copies worldwide since launch. Considering that the game launched on just the Wii U, which is a dead platform in terms of audience engagement, this really was quite the feat.
Super Mario Maker is not the only Nintendo game that did well, either- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for the Nintendo 3DS has already sold 2.02 million copies globally (almost certainly cementing Animal Crossing’s status as a tentpole franchise for Nintendo going forward), while Splatoon is now at 2.42 million units.
Hopefully, this shows Nintendo that they don’t need to rely on casual, gimmick laden games, or just old brands, to make their mark on the market- with Splatoon and Mario Maker being brand new IPs and doing well, things are looking up for the Big N’s lineup on the NX, which launches some time next year.