Its official. America is off to the races with Mario Kart DS garnering some impressive first week figures...

Nintendo of America has revealed that in its first week, over 45% of Mario Kart DS buyers have already sampled online play. Utilizing the new Nintendo WiFi Connection, Mario Kart DS becomes the first Nintendo game to use the online service. Sales for the hotly anticipated game exceeded 112k copies, which would mean over 52k unique DS users were seen playing online at some point over the week.

Beth Lewellyn, NOA Senior Director of Public Relations, seemed pleased with the game's first week fortunes:

"We are ecstatic with the results, and this definitely sets the standard for future Wi-Fi online gaming. Mario Kart should easily be a million seller in its life cycle, and we'd love for everyone with the game to touch the Wi-Fi experience. We've got Animal Crossing just around the corner, and Metroid Prime Hunters next year, with more to come."

Note that these early returns fall well short of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's stated desire to see at least 90% of Mario Kart DS users to give online play a spin. However, it should be pointed out that users who have not yet done so will likely eventually give the free service a try due to its relatively pain-free setup. Additionally, the game is primed to experience another significant spike in sales when the special edition Red DS pack-in bundle goes on sale on November 28th in America.

With Europe set to join the online advent of Mario Kart Madness (are you ready?) in short time, tracking the ultimate online user penetration of the title should prove intriguing. One thing is for sure, Mario Kart DS is certainly off to a flying start.