Iwata Thumbs Up

Just this week we've learnt that, in its launch week alone, Yokai Watch 2: Ganso / Honke has become the top-selling game in Japan for 2014 to date, an outstanding achievement for Level 5's dual release. It's also reflective of a year of modest overall sales, but Nintendo has still enjoyed the best results from a hardware and software perspective in its homeland.

Famitsu Weekly — via Kotaku — has published 2014's top-50 selling games in Japan, covering 1st January to 29th June. It's a list dominated, particularly in the top 10, by releases on 3DS, with the occasional Wii U title sneaking in. The first Yokai Watch is unsurprisingly at number one while Mario Kart 8 is the top-selling home console game in fourth place, with well over half a million sales in the country. The top 50, with Famitsu's figures for the relevant period, is below.

1. Yokai Watch (3DS: 849,027)
2. Dragon Quest Monsters 2 (3DS: 739,032)
3. Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS: 633,695)
4. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U: 512,467)
5. Pokemon X/Y (3DS: 416,864)
6. Puzzle & Dragons Z (3DS: 411,922)
7. Mario Party Island Tour (3DS: 404,666)
8. Knack (PS4: 398,685)
9. Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost (PS3: 367, 354)
10. Dark Souls II (PS3: 335,226)
11. Wii Party U (Wii U: 252,539)
12. Yakuza Ishin! (PS3: 250,937)
13. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS3: 248,164)
14. Samurai Warriors 4 (PS3: 246,662)
15. Persona Q (3DS: 234,880)
16. Sengoku Basara 4 (PS3: 231,351)
17. New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U: 227,263)
18. Harvest Moon: Story of Seasons (3DS: 220,599)
19. 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-hen (PS3: 205,319)
20. Sword Art Online – Hollow Fragment – (Vita: 198,294)
21. Monster Hunter 4 (3DS: 191,152)
22. Freedom Wars (Vita: 187,890)
23. J Stars Victory VS (PS3 180,904)
24. Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS: 180,215)
25. Fossil Fighters Frontier (3DS 171,974)
26. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U: 163,501)
27. 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-hen (Vita: 158,974)
28. Battle for Money Sentouchuu (3DS: 146,517)
29. J Stars Victory VS (Vita: 143,178)
30. Hatsune Miku – Project Diva – F 2nd (Vita: 139,515)
31. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4: 136,507)
32. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS: 135,773)
33. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2014 (PS3: 133,381)
34. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (3DS: 127,949)
35. Pro Baseball Spirits 2014 (PS3: 127,019)
36. Grand Theft Auto V (PS3: 123,182)
37. Yakuza Ishin! (PS4: 122,474)
38. Attack On Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind (3DS: 116,676)
39. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3: 112,969)
40. Mario Golf World Tour (3DS: 110,756)
41. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U: 108,017)
42. Wii Fit U (Wii U: 107,041)
43. The iDOLM@STER One For All (PS3: 102,255)
44. Mario Kart 7 (3DS: 100,507)
45. Soul Sacrifice Delta (Vita: 96,737)
46. Gundam Side Stories (PS3: 94,503)
47. Inazuma Eleven Go Galaxy (3DS: 92,903)
48. Puyo Puyo Tetris (3DS: 91,375)
49. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster TWIN PACK (Vita: 91,075)
50. Hatsune Miku – Project Diva – F 2nd (PS3: 88,867)

In that top ten we're pleasantly surprised by the performances of Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Mario Party: Island Tour, while Mario Kart 7 continues to attract decent numbers.

Level 5's Yokai Watch 2 is top-seller now, and Nintendo no doubt hopes that the line-up over the rest of the year — for Wii U and 3DS — will continue to help its systems come out on top.

[source kotaku.com]