What Was the First Mario Kart Game Nintendo Ever Released? How Many Copies Did It Sell?

The character of Mario has made a special place in the hearts of millions of Nintendo lovers worldwide. However, the Mario Kart franchise has escalated its popularity on an unprecedented level, without a doubt. The various entries in the series featuring entertaining racing have impressed a lot of players throughout the years.

But have you ever wondered what was the original Mario Kart game ever launched by Nintendo?

Details on the first Mario Kart game and total copies sold worldwide

Well, not many people might be knowing this, but Super Mario Kart was actually the first title in the racing franchise. Developed and published by Nintendo, the game debuted in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The latter was a 16-bit gaming console released in 1990 and was later succeeded by the N64 in 1996.

Talking about Super Mario Kart, it was initially launched in Japan and the US, and later in Europe as well in 1993. Players took control of one of the eight Mario series characters. Each of them had varying abilities as the players competed in a campaign against computer-operated characters.

Super Mario Kart also included speed-boosting power-ups in order to have more advantage in the race. The game also had an option to race against the clock, with a Time Trial mode.

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Upon its release, SMK received tons of positive reactions from critics. In fact, the then review rating website, GameRankings, gave it a staggering score of 94 percent.

When it comes to the game’s performance, Super Mario Kart was a massive success worldwide. It sold 8.76 million units across the globe and is still the fourth best-selling SNES game.

Interestingly, SMK was re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in 2009, and in 2013 for Wii U’s Virtual Console. In 2016, it also made its way to Nintendo 3DS’s Virtual Console.

Despite it being an over-two decade old game, the core experience has remained the same even in today’s modern-day installments.

What are your thoughts on this first-ever Mario Kart entry from Nintendo? Have you ever played it?

Let us know in the comments section.

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