2m sales sprint for Mario & Sonic

Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games is creeping towards two million sales in the UK – and is still flying out of stores over a year after it was released.

Sega has even recently given the title an outside shot at Christmas No.1, after it appeared in TV ads from the likes of HMV and GAME as part of bargain Wii bundles.

Sega has told MCV that lifetime sales currently stand at nearly 1.3 million on Wii and 460,000 on DS.

Our aim is to hit two million by the end of 2008,” Sega UK sales director John Clark told MCV. Only Wii Play has more lifetime sales on Wii which tells its own story. And so far this year M&S has only been outsold on Wii by Wii Fit, Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii.

On Nintendo DS it’s the biggest full price title of the year so far, and is second only to Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training for all price points.

There are a team of people constantly evaluating where sales should be, and the marketing has been linked well to drive this.

We have advertised on television four times; the launch of the Wii format, the launch of the DS, the spring and autumn campaigns. This is a first for Sega.”
Of the new bundles, Clark added: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games on Wii has been achieving in excess of a 30 per cent attach rate.

Working closely with retail has been key to driving this attach rate and will continue to be key throughout the peak period.”