In the latest industry white paper preview released by the well-known Japanese game magazine "Famitong", one data is particularly eye-catching: the top three Japanese physical game sales in 2005 to 2024 were all won by Nintendo.This statistics not only confirms Nintendo's dominant performance in the local market, but also reveals how the two major handheld consoles of Switch and NDS reshape the Japanese game market structure.
The three largest physical sales
1. [Switch] "Collection! Animal Crossing Club" (released on March 20, 2020) - 8,022,435 copies
The "digital utopia" phenomenon-level work during the epidemic lockdown period set a record for the highest single-selling sales of Japanese Switch games.
2. [NDS] "New Super Mario Brothers" (released on May 25, 2006) - 6,435,077 copies
A milestone in the revival era of handheld consoles, laying the foundation for NDS's Japanese national game console status.
3. [Switch] "Malio Kart 8 Deluxe Edition" (released on April 28, 2017) - 6,167,617 copies
The family-friendly works that have been sold for 7 years continue to occupy the top 20 of the weekly sales list.
It is worth noting that Switch and NDS each account for one and a half of the list ("Animation Cross" and "Carriage 8" vs. "New Super Mario Brothers"), implying that Switch has completely inherited the mantle of NDS's "national game console".Some analysts pointed out: "To shake this list, I'm afraid that only Nintendo can have a chance to use "The Legend of Zelda" or the next-generation console to escort masterpieces."
