Brett Molina, USA TODAY Nintendo's brawler Super Smash Bros. appears to be a smash hit for the company's Wii U video game console.
The company revealed the game -- which launched November 21 -- is already the fastest-selling game in the U.S. in the console's two-year history. More than 490,000 digital and physical copies were sold between launch day and November 23.
"The Nintendo holiday is off to a great start, but there's a lot of work left to do and a few more surprises in store for our fans," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales and marketing, in a statement.
The fighting game features an All-Star cast of video game characters, including Mario, Pac-Man, Sonic and Mega Man. Players participate in a series of brawlers with as many as seven other players simultaneously. A version of Smash Bros. for the 3DS sold 1.2 million copies since launch in October.
Nintendo is hopeful Smash Bros. will help invigorate interest in the Wii U, which sold 7.29 million units worldwide as of September 30. For perspective, Microsoft's Xbox One shipped 10 million units, while Sony's PlayStation 4 has topped 13.5 million shipments.
However, new games including Mario Kart 8 -- released in May -- have given Wii U a boost. Between June and November, right after Mario Kart launch, sales of the Wii U doubled compared to last year.
"The launch of Mario Kart really changed the trajectory of our Wii U business in an extraordinarily positive way," says Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America.
The arrival of Smash Bros. also marks the debut of amiibo, Nintendo's foray into the growing toys-to-life video game business populated by Skylanders and Disney Infinity. Players who buy an amiibo figurine place it on the Wii U Gamepad to bring it into the game. Nintendo will roll out amiibo support for other Nintendo titles, including Mario Kart and Hyrule Warriors.
There are 12 available now, with an additional 17 figures arriving between December and February. While the action figures are sold individually, Fils-Aime says Nintendo is exploring bundles and other packages to get amiibo into players' hands.
"We think there is a lot of future opportunities with amiibo," says Fils-Aime.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
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