Nintendo Switch sweeps Japanese sales charts in historic fashion

Despite releasing a little over four years ago, the Nintendo Switch continues to break records and collect accolades. Famitsu, a Japanese website that compiles sales data in the video game space released its expanded charts for last week and the Switch won out in a big way.

Initially, Famitsu releases a top 10 list for both hardware and software sales on Thursdays. It is typical to see the Switch take up the majority of this first list, occasionally even claiming every spot, like last week. However, a second, more exhaustive list is released the following day and includes data for a full top 30.

‌‌And in today’s list, the Switch executed a clean sweep, taking all 30 spots:

1. [NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 14,912 (2,102,413)
2. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (Nintendo, 07/16/21) – 13,873 (234,224)
3. [NSW] Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi – Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi (Neos, 07/15/21) – 13,798 (156,274)
4. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 13,615 (3,958,065)
5. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo, 10/18/19) – 12,282 (2,734,231)
6. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! (Konami, 11/19/20) – 10,927 (230,976)
7. [NSW] Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin (Capcom, 07/09/21) – 10,135 (205,463)
8. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo, 12/07/18) – 8,978 (4,367,573)
9. [NSW] eBaseball Pro Baseball Spirits 2021: Grand Slam (Konami, 07/08/21) – 8,950 (159,492)
10. [NSW] Game Builder Garage (Nintendo, 06/11/21) – 8,925 (200,100)
11. [NSW] Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo, 02/12/21) – 8,248 (836,565)
12. [NSW] Super Mario Party (Nintendo, 10/05/18) – 6,780 (1,952,132)
13. [NSW] Miitopia (Nintendo, 05/21/21) – 6,536 (217,957)
14. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 03/20/20) – 6,529 (6,844,545)
15. [NSW] Mario Golf: Super Rush (Nintendo, 06/25/21) – 6,057 (161,785)
16. [NSW] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (Nintendo, 06/05/20) – 5,077 (762,996)
17. [NSW] Pokemon Sword / Shield (The Pokemon Company, 11/15/19) – 4,974 (4,099,325)
18. [NSW] Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom, 03/26/21) – 4,748 (2,303,192)
19. [NSW] Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Sega, 11/01/19) – 4,639 (397,154)
20. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Nintendo, 07/21/17) – 4,460 (3,915,901)
21. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo, 03/03/17) – 4,210 (1,852,012)
22. [NSW] The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Capcom, 07/29/21) – 3,737 (18,197)
23. [NSW] NEO: The World Ends With You (Square Enix, 07/27/21) – 3,229 (22,028)
24. [NSW] The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II (Clouded Leopard Entertainment, 08/05/21) – 2,853
25. [NSW] New Pokemon Snap (The Pokemon Company, 04/30/21) – 2,756 (265,980)
26. [NSW] Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun (Bandai Namco, 07/19/18) – 2,620 (613,725)
27. [NSW] Ace Angler: Nintendo Switch Version (Bandai Namco, 07/25/19) – 2,577 (604,827)
28. [NSW] Human Fall Flat (Teyon Japan, 06/25/20) – 2,447 (168,897)
29. [NSW] Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition (New Price Version) (Square Enix, 12/04/20) – 2,274 (122,574)
30. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo, 06/28/19) – 2,256 (1,116,046)

‌‌Keep in mind that this achievement hasn’t been witnessed since 1988, when the chart data was only comprised of games from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). ‌

So what’s next for the Switch? — If the past four years are any indication, the latest Nintendo console will continue to enjoy success. The console had its biggest sales period over the most recent holiday period and rumors of the upcoming Switch Pro releasing sooner rather than later have been swirling.

Sometimes it helps to have a less splashy release and enjoy sustained success, which seems to be the route most Nintendo consoles take. If the Playstation 5 sucks, then I’d like to go on record saying the Switch is good.