Nintendo Reveals Japan's "Top 30" Most Downloaded Switch eShop Games Of 2024

Nickelodeon All-Star was not at all what I expected to see, but then again, wasn't the game like 70%-90% off during the entire year.

Of course Human: Fall Flat would be on there.

All-Star Brawl is above Zelda!?!?!?!

Is Japan a big fan of Nickelodeon? 🤔
I guess they must like SpongeBob.

I got Suika game last month. It was pretty solid. Nice to see smaller studios’ games on there (even though I don’t play almost any) 😂

As others have said, it's quite shocking to see Nick All-Star Brawl this high on the list, though I'm sure that was bolstered by steep discounts. That's not the only surprising thing on the list, though--I had no idea Clubhouse Games still had legs in 2024.

Paper Mario: TTYD sold better than Among Us this year, and it's considerably more expensive, so I'll consider that a victory for classic Paper Mario fans. We'll take what we can get.

If anything, this goes to show how much impact online discounting has on sales.

The absence of Balatro tells something about the difference between Japanese and Western markets.

@Not_Soos For whatever reason, Clubhouse Games is constantly on the top page of the Japanese eShop. So the Japanese players must have a thing for it.

@Tyranexx The Exit 8 is perhaps the game that started the trend of horror games about finding anomalies in liminal spaces. Since its release on Steam, a lot of games of this type have been released, some Japanese players refer to them as "Hachi-Ban Deguchi-like" games, that's the Japanese title of The Exit 8.
The games I've noticed are (none of them are on Switch)

ATTA: Find more than 1 anomaly at a time in a hotel floor, then take the elevator and go to the floor corresponding to the number of anomalies. This one stands out becuase you play as not-Mickey Mouse to keep track of the number of anomalies.

Escalator: Go up an Escalator and see if you find any anomalies. If there's one, take the stairs and press the emergency button on the first floor. If not, go through the door on the second.

The Street 10: go through a street and find if there's any anomalies. If there's one, go back from where you came.

False Dream: You're on a Japanese apartment at night. You wake up every 1 hour and find if there's any anomalies, if there is one, photograph it and go back to bed. if not, go to bed. Featuring not-Pablo from The Backyardigans.

False Mall: You're in a shopping mall.

The most notables of these games are probably Shinkansen 0 (find anomalies on a Shinkansen/bullet train wagon) and the follow up to The Exit 8, Platform 8 (same premise but on a commute train. Don't go to the next wagon until you find the anomaly (if any) on the one you're currently in. This one is also on Switch).

A psychological horror game where you are stuck in an endless underground passageway. You have to find little things that "don't quite fit" with the rest (they call "anomalies") in order to find the hidden exit.

There is also a follow-up Platform 8 (there you're stuck on an endless subway car) that is reportedly not as good.

Both are "a cup of coffee" cheap and short.

I know DQ3 is very popular in Japan, but still it's impressive to see it so high in the list considering it's been released at the end of the year.

I'm just glad Unicorn Overlord is up there! Easily the best Switch RPG of 2024.

Congrats, Clubhouse Games!

Exit 8 on 2nd place?! Japanese people still love some horror media, I guess.
They are kings of horror movies and horror video games, after all.

What a great year for indies on Switch. Animal Well, Arco, Balatro, Crow Country, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, 1000xResist. Great games, well priced. Wonder how many made the top 30 … what?!

As a post Christmas gift to myself, think I’ll grab a physical of DQ3. I am a sucker for these 2dHD style games.
Interesting to see MHR still doing well but it has been on sale all year so probably something to do with it

Just came to check Human: Fall Flat made its customary appearance. All is well lol

I wonder how the splits are for eshop titles globally which country downloads the greatest %
Likewise for cloud gaming, I know there is only a few cloud games but do people really download these games?
PSO2, RE, KH just to mention a few.

Cool to see monster hunter generations there

@MontyCircus Given the price, would it be worth grabbing the first one?

Actually, Clubhouse Games has a shooting gallery similar to the one on Wii Play. I need to revisit Clubhouse games soon for that mode. 😊

@Not_Soos I don't see how a new full-priced game selling better than a $5 party game from several years ago is cause for celebration. Especially when it still fell behind titles like Human: Fall Flat, a title from 2017 that is less than $10.

@drypaphmrbro

I mean, The Exit 8 is even on sale right now for 10% off!

That's nearly half a dollar of savings!

Not surprised MH: RISE is up there. I finally broke down and downloaded it as well this Summer. Oh, and SUIKA GAME FTW!!!

Suika "Where has my 30+ hours gone" Game stays winning.

So that means that big titles sell mostly physical in Japan, right?