Switch Sales See 300 Percent Surge In Latest Japanese Charts

Famitsu has released the latest weekly video game hardware and software sales in Japan for the week ending September 1st. On the software side of things, you’d expect that Nintendo and PlatinumGames’ newest Switch exclusive, Astral Chain, would have debuted on top of the charts – like it did in the UK – but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Azure Lane: Crosswave instead debuts on top, selling over 33,000 units. Astral Chain, meanwhile, has still sold a decent amount, debuting in second place, with not much of a gap between it and the game above it, having sold over 32,000 units. Super Mario Maker 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and other Switch exclusives also rank in the top 10 the way they usually have been doing.

Wha’s the most impressive bit of data in sales this week, however, is the Switch’s performance in the hardware charts. Thanks to improved Switch hardware now being available, Japanese audiences have gone out and bought the system in a flurry. It’s sold over 90,000 units this week as compared to the other 30,000 last week, which is roughly a 300 per cent increase- which is just staggering.

Software charts (followed by lifetime sales)

01.[PS4] Azur Lane: Crosswave – 33.763 / NEW
02. [NSW] Astral Chain – 32.236 / NEW
03. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2 – 22.580 / 582.001
04. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 11.114 / 3.233.205
05. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 9.725 / 2.431.605
06. [NSW] Fishing Spirits: Nintendo Switch Version – 9.715 / 144.136
07. [NSW] Minecraft – 9.340 / 907.250
08. [NSW] Fire Emblem: Three Houses – 7.641 / 229.097
09. [NSW] Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! – 6.697 / 1.619.353
10. [NSW] Super Mario Party – 5.544 / 1.097.721

Hardware sales (followed by last week’s sales)