This past weekend was all about Mario Kart 8 for plenty of Wii U gamers, and Nintendo has now released figures that show a particularly impressive performance for the title in its opening weekend — the hype and excitement seems to have paid off.

Nintendo has confirmed that from 29th May (the Japanese release date) to 1st June, Mario Kart 8 has sold more that 1.2 million copies around the world. To put that into some context, that means it's almost — already — the sixth best selling Wii U game to date, as Nintendo's most recent financial results showed The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD in that position with 1.22 million sales since its release last year. The big N has also highlighted that the first seven entries in the series have combined for just over 100 million sales, with massive numbers for Mario Kart DS (23.56 million) and Mario Kart Wii (35.53 million) being joined most recently by Mario Kart 7 (9.62 million). Nintendo's latest results also had the Wii U hardware userbase at 6.17 million units, though in the UK alone the release of Mario Kart 8 has brought a dramatic increase in system sales.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime had this to say in the announcement:

The early response to Mario Kart 8 demonstrates that the best days for Wii U are still ahead. This year’s E3 is just days away, and it will be all about the future games for Nintendo platforms. This milestone is a great place to start!

It's certainly a strong start for the kart racer, and Nintendo will no doubt expect to convert more current Wii U owners and others to buy the console for the title in the coming weeks and months.