JAPAN: New Mario sells 422k

Nintendo may have weathered a mixed 2009 – particularly in Japan – but new sales numbers from Japan suggest that its iconic mascot Mario remains as popular today as he ever was.

According to Andriasang, upon its release last week New Super Mario Bros Wii shifted an impressive 422,000 units in its first day alone.

To put that in some perspective, Super Mario Galaxy sold 256k in its first 24 hours.

The race is now on for New Super Mario Bros to top the 500k in its first week, an achievement only managed by three other Wii games in the territory – Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Monster Hunter 3.

Still, topping the week one sales of its little brother will be a far stiffer challenge – New Super Mario Bros on DS sold 900k in its first week on sale.