The holiday week Japanese charts are in, and Switch games make up the entire top ten this week! No surprise to see that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are again at the top with an impressive 375,665 units sold, with Splatoon 3 in second with 121,173 units.
However, the big story is that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has surpassed five million physical sales in Japan. That means the game has sold just under one million units a year. And it's still a mainstay in the weekly charts, so those numbers will just keep going up. However, you'll notice that Pokémon is hot on its heels already with over 4.3 million physical copies sold.
There are no new games in the top ten this week, but Nintendo Switch Sports has climbed back up into third place, while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Minecraft are comfortable as always.
Here's the top ten in full for the week of 19th December to 25th December:
- [NSW] Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (The Pokemon Company, 11/18/22) – 375,665 (4,338,931)
- [NSW] Splatoon 3 (Nintendo, 09/09/22) – 121,173 (3,687,814)
- [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo, 04/29/22) – 44,465 (887,722)
- [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 41,887 (5,014,375)
- [NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 37,935 (2,960,006)
- [NSW] Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Nintendo, 09/09/22) – 25,727 (71,900)
- [NSW] Dragon Quest Treasures (Square Enix, 12/09/22) – 23,097 (198,403)
- [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo, 12/07/18) — 22,148 (5,065,191)
- [NSW] Mario Party Superstars (Nintendo, 10/29/21) – 22,001 (1,114,132)
- [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! (Konami, 11/19/20) – 20,426 (2,782,933)
For the hardware charts, the Switch isn't the one dominating the conversation. While the OLED is the best-selling console of the week, the PS5 is once again in second place with 59,352 units sold. That's two impressive weeks in a row for Sony's console — likely holiday gifts for friends and family are to thank for that!
- Switch OLED Model – 83,975 (3,572,012)
- PlayStation 5 – 59,352 (2,059,945)
- Switch – 42,430 (19,048,341)
- Switch Lite – 37,151 (5,103,694)
- PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – 9,467 (317,444)
- PlayStation 4 – 3,161 (7,842,044)
- Xbox Series S – 778 (225,984)
- Xbox Series X – 331 (172,411)
- New 2DS LL (including 2DS) – 238 (1,189,711)
As always, let us know what you think of the latest Japanese charts in the comments!
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 56
Well, I still prefer 3rd party games for similar games of Mario Kart or Pokemon games despite I have both of them on different machines.
Ouch those DQ Treasures numbers. I guess it wasn’t a game folks got for their kids.
The sony focus is odd. Also where are folks finding 2DS systems?!
So essentially we'll never get a new Mario Kart and we'll never get a good mainline Pokemon game. Depressing.
Blimey, Switch needs new hardware before they disappear completely from the charts! Doomed I tell thee.
163,556 Switches again in one week. It's a beast, that keeps selling.
Man ...I'd sure like a new Mario Kart or just any new Mario game in general that is not just a port or remaster in this never- ending avalanche of JRPG's and farming sims. At least the movie is looking great, though.
...Then again, Nintendo's current president is a former director of The Pokémon Company, so all these JRPG's and the lesser focus on brand new (and actually finished) AAA Mario games maybe isn't too surprising. Just my own opinion.
I'm sure we'll get a new Mario next year, though, probably 2D. Mario Kart 9 or whatever it'll be called and the next 3D Mario are not coming until the Switch's successor, whenever it releases.
Edit: Jesus, I'll probably get grilled by JRPG fans again for this one. I'm not hating on your favourite games. I just want a new Mario, dammit ...That's all. I'm desperate lol
Cool. Now, hopefully we can have a new Mario Kart for consoles that it isn't AR or Mobile.
Regarding the Switch, just another 2.2/3 million-ish units to 30 mil. Regardless of my personal opinion on the console, that is fantastic.
@SpaceboyScreams Not sure if you are joking or not because ofc we'll get a new MK eventually. I know it has been a while since we got a new MK (not counting DLC) but I don't get why people act like we will never get one again
@mariomaster96 The joke is that the game is selling so well, why make a new one?
I think the Tour/live/8Deluxe extensions are worth it. Viable revenue streams but lets the dev team try out ideas with less pressure.
@Vil narrator's voice: "also starring: a single Direct as the Neverending Avalanche of JRPGs and Farming Sims"
That's an idea ...How about a Mario JRPG farming sim? Could be called Mario's (never- ending) Avalanche™.
"That's two impressive weeks in a row for Sony's console — likely holiday gifts for friends and family are to thank for that!"
Love the pro-Sony narrative here. Hey, should I head over to Pushsquare and see how they cover other consoles? Oh wait, THEY DON'T!
@IronMan30 it's a bit weird innit.
@SpaceboyScreams Depressing? A touch melodramatic no? We'll get a new Mario Kart where its best placed to be a significant update...on the Switchs successor. Im happy about that. MK8Ds track DLC is more than enough to tide us over.
@GrailUK it really is. Go to Pushsquare and you'd be forgiven for assuming only the PS5/PC (to a lesser degree) exists. Contrast that with this site or Pure Xbox and you see them talk about other systems (especially here, where they literally review "competing" products). If there is any site that feeds the trolls (who, let's not kid ourselves, are Sony fanboys), it's absolutely this one.
@IronMan30 I also wish they made a PC gaming site for all the never ending mod articles lol.
With those sales numbers, it’s no wonder why they don’t release a Mario Kart 9. Congratulations Nintendo.
Damn Nintendo dominated Christmas holiday again both HW and SW wise. Crisis Core on PS5 poofed real quick from the top 10 when it’s that stacked with 10th at 20k+
@Ryu_Niiyama I mean it’s almost at 200k in less then a month. Not exactly a bomb for a DQ spin-off.
Well welcome back Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! It seems the holiday cheers truly are over, things now go back to how they were before with Switch and the same five games selling like hotcakes week after week.
@Ryu_Niiyama Square Enix is to blame for this, instead of making it a turn based RPG like all DQ games were suppose to be, they turn it into another action crap Kingdom Hearts garbage. The Enix players doesn't want the same experience as the Square players, these idiots continues to ruin more IPs just like they ruin the SaGa, Mana, Valkyrie, Star Ocean, and Final Fantasy series. Had Dragon Quest Treasures was a true turn based RPG, the DQ fanbase would buy into it more. The Enix players doesn't like to keep switch characters during battle especially an active one.
Has there ever been a system that sold this dominantly? Even if just in one region? I don't recall such a thing myself. Not to this degree.
@Yosher The Nintendo DS and 3DS sold these to high numbers especially DQIX. The other ones just not as much as most are just remakes but DQIX, DQX, and DQXI were super successful on DS and 3DS in the Land of the Rising Sun.
@Serpenterror I am not yet willing to say it’s what you are describing (as I don’t own the game yet) but it’s my understanding that Treasures has some influence from monsters and wanting to be a more entry/light hearted DQ. I think Enix fans (I am one) wouldn’t be bothered by that. Plus it has familiar characters from XI. I thought sales numbers would be higher but will wait to see if it has legs.
@IronMan30 did you have a bad experience on Push Square? They actually often cover and give credit to other consoles. I’ve seen many times regarding Japanese chart sales that the Switch is THE console there. As for the general community… well, I’m on all 3 sites, I don’t see much difference in terms of bias and toxicity. Anyway, they do cover other consoles, especially Nintendo when it comes to Japanese charts.
@Vil @Vil I got flack for talking about the abundance of JRPG’s and farming simulators, during the last major, Nintendo Direct. I couldn’t believe how many they showed. People made it seem like there was something wrong with me. I also agree with you, when it comes to the movie. Hopefully, Nintendo won’t miss the opportunity, to release an original game, along with the movie.
@SpaceboyScreams,
For most of the userbase Mario Kart is a brand new game, as Mario Kart 8 sold around 8 million copies on the Wii U, plus you have all the new DLC which pretty much gives you double the courses, so everyone is a winner.
As for Pokemon, I have enjoyed every entry on the Switch, and with the sales lots of others outside of the core have too.
Nintendo dominating the charts again? No way lol
PS5 stock has actually improved considering the higher figures, wonder if it will last into the new year and leading up to the release of FF16. I just started Pokemon Scarlet recently and it's been surprisingly good so far
@Enriesto not really, my point is more that Nintendo Life goes out of its way to cover other non-Nintendo devices more than I've noticed from the other sites. I don't visit Pushsquare THAT often. I only go there to compare the stories that affect both consoles and even then, I don't ever leave comments there. Tbh, I prefer my perception of that coverage since if you cover a certain console because at least fanboying for it makes sense there.
Pokémon Scarlet/Violet sales are up 44% from last week. Congrats to Game Freak!
Sadly, 2DS could not maintain it's momentum from last week and has fallen behind XBSX again, but the PS4 is still going strong! Always funny when last gen outsells current gen.
It’s been obvious for years what Nintendo are doing with Mario Kart, no? It’s their biggest system seller. So they will release the next one to sell their next system.
🤷
Nintendo Switch outsold ps4 worldwide and is about to OUTSELL the gameboy/gameboy color.
@IronMan30 that’s fine, and I do the same. Comparing stories, sales, multi-platform game overviews, and the author’s perspectives. I just don’t think it’s as bad on the other sites (like push square) as you think it is. I remember them giving a nod to the upticks in Xbox series sales before the holidays this year and ‘21. I also don’t think it’s even worth mentioning that the Switch is dominating in Japan. It’s a long established fact, not news to any of us really.
You should go and leave comments in PS! I love when people engage in disagreement so long as it’s not aggressive. It’s good, healthy! Maybe avoid posts about the “deal” that’s currently underway - I got bodied pretty hard on one post for being critical of Sony. 😂
@Sam_ATLUS Considering recent rumors of Sony planning to make a modular PS5 which will be replacing the original PS5 and the digital edition PS5, that may had persuade most gamers to get the disc-based PS5 system asap as the rumor reports Sony is planning to discontinued both the disc based and digital edition PS5 by the end of 2023. The new modular PS5 console will come with the ability to easily swap out the disc drive making it a fully digital console if player wanted (similar to the Pioneer's LaserActive and Playmaji's Polymega consoles where you could easily swap in and out different modules that support another platform's game media format). The rumors of Sony also making other disc modules for this new console which could include support from the PS3, PSP, PS2, and PS1 physical library were also discuss but not confirm. If the rumors are true, the new modular PS5 may be Sony's answer to fan's recent backlash about the lack of native backwards compatibility for the console. This rumor could be legit too as right now Sony is planning to launch a modular PS5 DualSense controller (the DualSense Edge) come January 2023 as well so it seems Sony is taking the module route going forward.
mario kart 9 is mario kart tour, and this game released only 3 years ago, get over it.
Splatoon 3 at over three and a half million sold! Wow! Great game.
I think it's a good thing that we're seeing the Tour stages released onto Mario Kart 8. I strongly suspect that Tour's going to wind down in the near future as Nintendo is offloading its experiments with mobile gaming, and that this is a way of preserving that work. They've already largely removed the gacha elements from Tour as is.
@Scoopz There is so much room for improvement in Mario Kart that they need several games for Mario Kart to reach its full potential. Tour's shown some of it, but as a mobile gacha game it's one step forward and one step back and we need a console game that includes its upgrades (and no, not just the courses ported to the Booster Course pack). Holding off on a new entry until next gen delays the improvements needed and makes the series feel somewhat dated in some ways when a MK9 released around this time could've included a bit more of the modernizations it needs.
@Narrator1 It's a good thing that we're seeing Tour content released on MK8D, but they picked the worst content to port to 8D. It honestly feels like a tossup whether or not the Booster Course pack is better than nothing. There are so many better mechanics from Tour that would've been more worthwhile and would've reinvigorated the gameplay, variant courses, the score system, frenzies, the return of special items, an actual freaking shop system. But nope, all they want is to bring back Tour's basic bitch track design which is largely copy/pasted from 7 and other recent MK games so it just feels like you're playing the same old tracks with a new coat of paint. Massive disappointment and massive waste of potential for what they expect to be the major stopgap until the true MK9. Mario Kart deserves better than this.
'Happy Christmas, mate! I got you a PS5!'
'Cheers! I got you a box of Quality Street'
@Rambler 'How come the Quality Streets are already opened?'
@GrailUK 🤣
I'm glad Mario Kart 9 isn't coming out anytime soon, as it will no doubt cost $60 or more, while I'm still quite enjoying the Mario Kart 8 (plus booster pack) I already have for no additional money.
I understand wanting new entries in narrative-driven, or level/world-design focused titles like Zelda and Super Mario. I think it's dumb, but I also sorta see the logic in pro-sport games getting new entries annually with updated rosters. I admit Splatoon 3 is mostly a redundant, iterative release with some QoL improvements, but even it it has a new (albeit short) campaign mode. But the Mario Kart franchise has no storyline, no campaign mode, and its rosters are fairly consistent. The Switch doesn't need another entry.
A MK9 might add or substitute some new racers, and add precisely one new gameplay gimmick. They're not going to completely reinvent the basic gas/brake/turn/items that have been withe series from the start. Other than that it would just be a new track pack, which is what we're already getting now with the MK8 booster pack.
I know MK8 debuted on WiiU like a decade ago, but far and away it more known and played as a Switch entry. Sorry if you're bored with it, but I'm not sorry I'm not.
since 8s release we have only got gp dx, an arcade vr game, fun w the cats w home circuit, weekly updates for tour and the booster course pass but Im still gonna be snarky bc its a trendy thing to do on here and I seek yalls approval so where is 9?
and people still ask, why Nintendo dont release another mainline Mario Kart on Switch, here the reason why, the next mainline Mario Kart will be only on Switch sucessor
@MS7000 the next Mario Kart will be on Switch sucessor, is not advisable to release another Mario Kart, when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling so well, Nintendo dont want this Mario Kart to canabilize the sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
@Giancarlothomaz I'm sure from a business sense it makes perfect ******* sense, not disputing that. Regardless, new Mario Kart would be great.
Serpenterror wrote:
This is the most melodramatic post I ever seen in a while.
My guy spinoffs are called spinoffs for a reason, they're supposed to differentiate themselves from their respective mainline series. If you want to play turn based games so bad the mainline games are right there, heck spinoffs like DQ Monsters have turn based comeback too.
Tell me did you have this same reaction when DQ Heroes and DQ Builders were revealed?
The concept of spinoffs don't damage or influence the main series in anyway the main series in anyway, DQ is still going to be turn based, what you just did was basically throw a temper tantrum over something existing and was extremely childish of you.
@GrailUK lol, that would be something.
@iLikeUrAttitude You probably didn't understand jack of what I just said. I'm saying that's the reason why the game didn't sold quite well compare to the turn based one. Had it was a turn based game spinoff or not, it would had sold much better than what it currently did. The Dragon Quest Monsters series were turn based and sold very well compare to the action based Musou slob that was the Dragon Quest Heroes games. Yes a DQ spinoff doesn't had to be turn based since it could venture into another genre but of course if it's an RPG that's just another way of saying let's hope it doesn't end up becoming garbage.
@Serpenterror Well that's a baseless assumption on your part due to your heavy bias towards turn base games showing, there are obviously multiple factors to why this game didn't sell as well.
Lack of advertisements and release timing easily could've played a party in this.
Well the monsters series is more popular and less niche than the musou genre so naturally it will sell well.
This seemed less about you trying to be objective on why the game sold less desirably and moreso you personally not liking the direction it turned out in and it heavily shows that.
Nintendo better put out a new console quick! Playstations have gotten almost half of the sales of Switch this week. I'm sure any day now Nintendo will go 3rd party, if only they'd have released the Switch Pro.
@Giancarlothomaz Not to mention it'd be hard to top the Switch.
I remember Mario Kart Wii sold an extra 7million during the WiiUs lifespan, which isn't bad thing, but when MK8 on WiiU sold 8million. I'd wager Iwata had endless frustration as he watched their software perform so well overall, but where the gen 8 performance of the Wii's evergreen sellers may have been a barrier to convincing people to buy a WiiU.
I don't think we'll see a Switch 2 until MK8D sales has dried up, to prevent the Switch and potential Switch 2 competing with each other and tripping the latter over.
@Vil (sorry, but you're the one who started it yet again) and everyone else talking about it.
As a big Mario fan I'd love to see a new game in the series, or any Nintendo series for that matter... but what does that have to do with other companies releasing ports, remasters, JRPGs and farming sims (of which genres I'm not even the biggest fan, definitely play and have played other ones more) on the Switch?
I for one welcome them since there are a lot of games I've always wanted to play but couldn't either because they were exclusively on non-Nintendo consoles or I simply missed them and even those that don't interest me since I'm sure there's someone else who's gonna enjoy them!
@Vil Like I said, nothing against you personally and I'm a big Mario fan so I'm happy to hear that the movie is looking great to you, too!
@JohnnyMind Honestly, I totally get why people would feel this way, so no worries. I just really want new Mario games that are not just ports, remakes or cheap sports games and it just feels like all these JRPG's and farming sims are making the chances of that less likely, with Nintendo also focusing way more on those genres than they used to. Nothing at all against those games, though, of course, and I get that it might sound a bit entitled and whiny to some. I'm just a bit desperate, as I said, with the only new Mario Kart this generation being a spruced- up Wii U port and the newest 3D Mario pushing past 5 years old lol
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