Switch 2
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

Famitsu has shared its rundown of 2025's best-selling games in Japan, and it'll come as a surprise to no one to hear that it was yet another good year for Nintendo.

You might recall that Nintendo revealed the most-downloaded eShop titles in the region at the end of last year, but Famitsu's list accounts for the industry at large, giving PlayStation and Xbox titles a chance to get in on the fun.

That said, only one non-Switch release was able to make the 2025 top 10, with Monster Hunter Wilds breaking in at fourth with some PS5 representation.

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As you might expect, Mario Kart World led the proceedings, with over 2.5 million sales in the region since the Switch 2 launched in June. Pokémon Legends: Z-A was a big enough hitter on Switch 1 and 2 that it occupied the remaining spots on the podium, and other Switch 2 exclusives like Donkey Kong Bananza and Kirby Air Riders snagged a spot too.

Oh yes, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still outselling most new games in Japan, too. Because of course it is.

Here's Famitsu's full list of the best-selling games in Japan in 2025:

Position Game Platform Unit Sales (2025) Total Unit Sales
1 Mario Kart World Switch 2 2,668,381 NEW
2 Pokémon Legends: Z-A Switch 1,529,823 NEW
3 Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Switch 2 1,004,154 NEW
4 Monster Hunter Wilds PS5 838,319 NEW
5 Super Mario Party Jamboree Switch 498,397 1,452,658
6 Donkey Kong Bananza Switch 2 435,206 NEW
7 Kirby Air Riders Switch 2 424,837 NEW
8 Minecraft Switch 346,606 4,109,192
9 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Switch 342,866 6,510,483
10 Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake Switch 316,439 NEW

As you might expect from those numbers, the Switch and Switch 2 also nabbed the top two spots in Famitsu's total hardware sales for 2025. The new system came out on top, naturally, with almost 3.8 million units to its name since launch (over half of all home consoles sold in the region last year), but the Switch 1 clung onto second while the PS5 sat in third.

Here's Famitsu's list of the best-selling consoles of 2025 in Japan — note, the 'Switch' entry includes sales for the Lite and OLED models, 'PS5' comprises base, Digital and Pro editions, 'Xbox Series X|S' also accounts for the Series X Digital Edition, and 'PS4' adds in any Pro sales:

Position Console Unit Sales (2025) Total Unit Sales
1 Switch 2 3,784,067 NEW
2 Switch 1,520,384 36,416,143
3 PlayStation 5 879,204 7,298,210
4 Xbox Series X|S 31,226 688,927
5 PlayStation 4 1,087 9,505,874

All of this means that Japan's game market is in a pretty healthy position thanks to the last 12 months. Famitsu estimates that the market has grown by 38.8% in the last year, with hardware spending at 282.69 billion yen (up 49.3%) and software spending at 135.44 billion yen (up 21%).

What do you make of Japan's best-selling games and consoles of 2025? Are there any surprises? Let us know in the comments.

[source famitsu.com]