The newest Mario game from Nintendo is unusual, surprising, and maybe even, to some gamers, a departure from the Mario franchise they know and love. But that didn’t stop 1 million people from purchasing it in the first two weeks of its release.
Nintendo announced Wednesday that Super Mario Maker, its new game for the Wii U in which players build their own Mario levels, has sold 1 million units globally.
Super Mario Maker launched in the U.S. on September 11. Since that time, the 1 million “fan developers,” as Nintendo calls them, have created a combined 2.2 million Super Mario courses that have been played 75 million times.
“The game has captured and unlocked the imaginations of gaming fans of all ages,” says Reggie Fils-Aime, COO of Nintendo of America, who adds that the game’s premise has “brought their dedication to Nintendo to a whole new level.”
Super Mario Maker lets fans design levels in four different Super Mario styles, then play those levels and upload them for others to play. It’s a premise that wouldn’t necessarily be an obvious hit—but the sales prove otherwise.
The game’s success also shows how much has changed in gaming technology: the first three Super Mario games were all designed by hand, on graph paper.