Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of 2021 So Far (Japan)

Why doesn’t NOA publish their numbers?

Not enough games featuring tentacles and schoolgirls on that list. I'm disappointed in you Japan.

Among Us on second place?! NANI?!

I thought that very japanese games like Rune Factory 5 or Bravely Default 2 would do better over there. Japanese tastes are hard to predict.

I wonder now how Monster Hunter Stories 2, Neo: TWEWY, No More Heroes 3 and Shin Megami Tensei V will do. Hopefully they can reach pretty good numbers!

Any particular reason why Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is so much more expensive than every other title?

Surprised (in a good way) to see XC2 still on the list!

Also surprised Among Us is so high, as I figured that was a western fad, and that it's lazy/ugly art direction wouldn't appeal to the Japanese market.

I'm glad to see XC2 up there (most likely because of Pyra/Mythra in SSBU ofc) but I'm also sad that BD2 is only 25th considering it was a completely new release in the first half of 2021

Human: Fall Flat at number 5?? That's random.

Kind of weird to tell us which games sold the most but not telling us how many were actually sold. Give us the actual numbers

Always interesting to see what's popular in any region. All told, that's a nice mix of games. Not surprised that Monster Hunter Rise is so high, though I didn't realize Among Us was as popular in the Far East. Though I'm sure the reasonable price point helped.

I really wish there were eShop results for North America. The most we usually get is the monthly results from the NPD Group.

@Clyde_Radcliffe Japanese people love that game.

Im surprised that Mario kart is still up there. Figured everyone had a copy, on switch and Wii u, by now

@PhhhCough Not I

@BlubberWhale there’s no numbers here, just positions.

@Clyde_Radcliffe Human: Fall Flat never leaves the Japanese eShop charts

Maybe the like of @westman98 has some extra input here? I’m thinking, that as we know MH: Rise physical sales, if you had an idea of what way the physical / digital sales are split in Japan, you could hazard a guess at total sales for the region?

bravely default 2 so low, man... at least it ranks, but it's a squenix jrpg!

@AmplifyMJ
Monster Hunter Rise looks to have sold 1.3-1.5 million digital copies.

Everything game above Breath of the Wild has sold at least 100,000 digital copies.

Everything game above (and including) Super Nodage Party has sold at least 50,000 digital copies.

@westman98 thank you for the numbers!

@Rob3008 It is no longer in print... if you didn't get it physical within like the first 18 months, you probably won't without paying a markup.

Wait the Dragon Quest III 2D HD remake is already out in Japan? That was fast, can't wait til it gets released for the west soon. Day one buy for sure.

Bloomin MK8!! Can people stop buying a seven year old game so we can get a sequel already?! Or at least some new DLC!!

@benmully if you are new to the Switch, most haven’t played Mario Kart since the Wii, so this is practically a default purchase.

@KeltonA But this is the price on the eShop so I'm unsure why the physical price would impact its digital pricing.

Bravely Default is so low, but it's understandable, they played too safe on doing the game, there was no way they would replicate the same success of the first one. Even Revo's music was not at the same height.

@AmplifyMJ Ah, this is a truth. Thank you good AmplifyMJ. 🙏🧐

With that fact established, I will add that sometimes we do get numbers from the UK and Japan, but rarely anything from NOA. 🤔 I’d even allow myself to be placated, for a spell, by NOA’s positions.

@BlubberWhale yeah figures are much more interesting, they only seem to be monthly for the US, via NPD, but as Nintendo don’t disclose their digital sales we still don’t get a complete picture. Strange they keep that data generally to themselves, bar positions and %’s, no hard figures.

Happy to see Xenoblade Chronicles 2 making the list, but does someone know why it's that expensive(8778 yen) in Japan?

@AmplifyMJ Right, it is strange, especially when they seem to be doing so well this generation. (Oh well, I guess they don't want people reading into it or whatever...)

@Rob3008 @wanghosom Because this is Japan. You know how people were complaining about how expensive Metroid Dread is? I preordered my copy and it works out to about $10 more expensive than in the rest of the world (and that's not including the cost of the limited edition, which I'm pretty sure is also more expensive than elsewhere). It's like a bonus Japan-tax on top of the Switch-tax! Because EVERYTHING is more expensive here. Except for booze.

@kurtasbestos Japanese gamers definitely get screwed on pricing but my original point was about why Xenoblade is so much more expensive than all other games on the list. It's 8,778 Yen vs. 6,578 or 7,678 Yen for all other first party titles. Just thought it was a peculiar oddity.

@Rob3008 Oh dang, I didn't notice that. Maaaaybe it includes Torna: the Golden Country? Probably not. I think they just charge more for RPGs in Japan because of the "perceived value"? Like... "there's more stuff to do than in those other games, so you need to pay for that stuff!"