Plenty of stores in Japan had to run raffles and ballots for the chance to buy a Switch console

Earlier today we shared Famitsu numbers covering the Splatoon 2 launch in Japan; now Media Create has weighed in as well. Media Create brings a lower figure, but it's still the biggest Switch game launch to date, and also led to significant hardware sales.

Splatoon 2 may be the dominant arrival in this week's Japanese software charts with 648,085 sales at retail, but a big mention should also go to Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy, which made its debut on 3DS in second place with 70,867 units sold. This number is down on the launch figures for the original series on 3DS, but it's worth remembering that this title has already been available on smart devices and that will have reduced the market.

Back to Splatoon 2, its launch numbers make it (comfortably) the biggest Switch game launch so far and it's already passed Media Create's lifetime figure for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Up to the end of June 1.12 million Switch systems had been sold in Japan, so even accounting for sales in July we already have around 50% of system owners in Japan buying the game over the course of a weekend. Also of note this week are modest openings for Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star and Cars 3: Driven to Win in 7th and 16th places respectively.

  1. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Nintendo, 07/21/17) – 648,085 (New)
  2. [3DS] Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires’ Conspiracy (Level-5, 07/20/17) – 70,867 (New)
  3. [3DS] Hey! Pikmin (Nintendo, 07/13/17) – 21,628 (87,494)
  4. [3DS] Sumikko Gurashi: Koko, Doko Nan Desu? (Nippon Columbia, 07/20/17) – 20,883 (New)
  5. [PS4] Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (Square Enix, 07/13/17) – 19,049 (119,813)
  6. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 12,980 (588,028)
  7. [NSW] Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star (Limited Edition Included) (Marvelous, 07/20/17) – 10,247 (New)
  8. [NSW] Arms (Nintendo, 06/16/17) – 7,984 (177,987)
  9. [PS4] Gundam Versus (Limited Edition Included) (Bandai Namco, 07/06/17) – 6,665 (143,844)
  10. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Limited Edition Included) (Nintendo, 03/03/17) – 5,989 (543,016)
  11. [3DS] Pokemon Sun / Pokemon Moon (Nintendo, 11/18/16) – 5,276 (3,295,102)
  12. [PS4] Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] (Arc System Works, 07/20/17) – 5,013 (New)
  13. [3DS] Ever Oasis (Nintendo, 07/13/17) – 4,511 (18,835)
  14. [3DS] Monster Hunter XX (Capcom, 03/16/17) – 3,354 (1,546,392)
  15. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition (SIE, 03/19/15) – 3,331 (1,180,284)
  16. [NSW] Cars 3: Driven to Win (Warner Bros., 07/20/17) – 3,220 (New)
  17. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf Amiibo+ (Nintendo, 11/23/16) – 3,201 (205,098)
  18. [PSV] World Election (Limited Edition Included) (GN Software, 07/20/17) – 3,017 (New)
  19. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V (Low Price Version) (Take-Two, 10/08/15) – 2,792 (366,844)
  20. [NSW] 1-2-Switch (Nintendo, 03/03/17) – 2,636 (233,737)

Hardware sales also reflect the Splatoon 2 effect on the Nintendo Switch, despite supply struggling to meet demand. The Switch shifted almost 100,000 units, while the New 2DS XL continues to be the best performer in the 3DS family.

  1. Switch – 98,999 (31,906)
  2. PlayStation 4 – 23,841 (28,569)
  3. New 2DS LL – 17,717 (43,315)
  4. New 3DS LL – 13,108 (12,101)
  5. PlayStation 4 Pro – 7,037 (7,649)
  6. PlayStation Vita – 4,545 (4,655)
  7. 2DS – 2,300 (1,901)
  8. New 3DS – 1,020 (1,242)
  9. Wii U – 176 (146)
  10. PlayStation 3 – 142 (129)
  11. Xbox One – 77 (200)

An excellent week for Nintendo overall, with Splatoon 2 generating huge interest in Japan; the scramble to meet demand will no doubt continue in this coming week, too.

[source gematsu.com]