Super Mario Sunshine Launches at Record Pace, Boosts Hardware Sales
Sep 6, 2002/ FW/ --- The world's favorite plumber has returned with a bang! During its first 10 days
of availability, Super Mario Sunshine™ for
Nintendo GameCube™ is already a smash hit, selling
through more than 350,000 games.
This is a total not achieved by any competitor,
including Xbox's popular Halo or Playstation 2's Grand Theft Auto
3 until a month or more on store shelves.
The immediate popularity of Super Mario Sunshine, which chronicles the
chubby plumber's attempts to clean up a lush tropical island, is also creating a
significant demand for its host system. During its first week, Nintendo's retail
partners cited jumps in Nintendo GameCube hardware sales averaging 50 percent,
with some accounts reporting that system sales had more than doubled.
"This launch is historic-promising to break longstanding records," says Peter
MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America
Inc. "So far, sales rates for Super Mario Sunshine are running 36 percent
ahead of even Super Mario® 64 six years ago-and that game went on to sell more
than 10 million units worldwide."
Super Mario Sunshine is already one of the 15 top selling console
games for all of 2002, but will face stiff competition from other eagerly
anticipated Nintendo GameCube titles through the remainder of 2002. While
Mario's record of more than $7 billion in worldwide game sales knows no
limitations in demographic or national appeal, older Nintendo GameCube fans will
have a particular feast of choices throughout the fall.
For more information about Nintendo or Super Mario Sunshine, visit the
company's web site, www.nintendo.com or visit www.supermariosunshine.com.
