‘New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe’ Off To Strong Sales Start In Japan

Last week, Nintendo released yet another Wii U-to-Nintendo-Switch port with New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, giving the game a second chance at life after it initially launched with the company's doomed 2012 console. And thus far, it looks like gamers overseas are eating it up.

A new report from Media Create has been released for software sales in Japan for the week ending January 13; and although tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition put up quite a fight, Deluxe was able to handily take the top spot, selling over 166,000 units in the first two days of release. Though that's nowhere near Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's record numbers, that's not too shabby at all.

The report further indicates that while the game's first full shipment didn't sell out, it still did very well, clearing out well over half the shipment. For that matter, it also outperformed sales of the Wii U version in that same time period.

Now it's just a matter of seeing how the game performs over time. We have seen it sell impressively well in the U.K., but there's been no word on how it's doing in the United States, at least not yet. We should hear more in the weeks ahead, as the game moves on into 2019.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is one of those games that works just as well on the multiplayer front as it does in single player, as players can jump in and help each other out as they attempt to rescue Princess Peach from evil forces. Fan reaction has been pretty strong thus far, although it'll take some time to see if the game is as universally accepted as other ports from the Wii U, such as Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Bayonetta 1 and 2 and the five-million-selling Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

One thing's for sure- we probably haven't seen the last of the Wii U ports for the system. That's because opening these games up to a new audience is proving to be highly successful. Now the real question is, what's next in the lineup? Could we possibly see Paper Mario: Color Splash get a second chance at life? Or does Star Fox Zero stand a chance with various control options? We'll have to wait and see what Nintendo has planned.

In the meantime, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is available for Nintendo Switch, in both physical and digital form via the Nintendo eShop.

What Wii U games would you like to see ported onto the Nintendo Switch? Reach out to me on Twitter at @TheDCD!