It's official: Mario Kart 8 is a Wii U system seller

Mario Kart 8 created a huge spike in Wii U sales, Nintendo revealed today to absolutely nobody's surprise.

Mario Kart 8 has been so popular that it's no shock to learn that Wii U sales quadrupled in the week following the release.

The news comes from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, speaking to Polygon.

"That's off to a fantastic start. For us, on a global basis, and certainly here in the United States, it's driving hardware, which is great to see," he said.

The executive did not provide hard sales figures, so if you're the cynical type feel free to put "foUr times 1 is f0ur hurh hurh" or similar. We'll wait. Take your time.

In addition to shifting hardware, Mairo Kart 8 was purchased by 18% of all previous Wii U owners during its first weekend on sale, which is a significant attach rate.

The Wii U had sold through 6 million units as of March 2014. It released in November 2012. For comparative purposes, the PS4 had sold through 7 million units as of mid-April, just five months on from release. It has no karting games whatsoever. On the other hand it hasn't got an open-world Zelda game in the works, so.