Nintendo console games have dominated Japanese retail for 20 consecutive years
In 2024, 13 out of the 15 best-selling games in Japanese retail stores were for the Nintendo Switch. This was reported by the portal Video Games Chronicle, citing data from Famitsu and Game Data Library.
Super Mario Party Jamboree!
This trend has been consistent annually since 2005. Over the past two decades, games for various Nintendo consoles have secured more than half of the spots in the top 10 of the Japanese retail ranking.
A similar story unfolds in the country's console sales segment. The year 2004 was the last time a non-Nintendo console topped the bestseller list in Japanese retail, with the PlayStation 2 leading at the time. Since then, the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, or Nintendo Switch has consistently held the top spot.
In 2024, there were only three weeks when the top selling console in Japan was not the Nintendo Switch, with the PlayStation 5 taking the lead. Overall, last year, Japanese consumers purchased over 3 million units of the Nintendo Switch, in addition to 1.4 million units of the PlayStation 5 and 118,000 units of the Xbox Series.
It is noteworthy that by January 5, 2025, Japanese sales of the Nintendo Switch had reached 35 million units.
The 15 Best-Selling Retail Games in Japan in 2024
1. Super Mario Party Jamboree! (Nintendo Switch) — 954,261 copies.
2. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (Nintendo Switch) — 930,505 copies.
3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch) — 536,019 copies.
4. Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo Switch) — 419,854 copies.
5. Momotaro Dentetsu World (Nintendo Switch) — 411,406 copies.
6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch) — 377,781 copies.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch) — 372,903 copies.
8. Minecraft (Nintendo Switch) — 368,364 copies.
9. Jikkyo Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025 (Nintendo Switch) — 341,908 copies.
10. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) — 339,168 copies.
11. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo Switch) — 283,744 copies.
12. Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo Switch) — 267,937 copies.
13. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Nintendo Switch) — 244,663 copies.
14. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (PS5) — 230,581 copies.
15. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) — 222,524 copies.
