It’s Wednesday, so we have another batch of Media Create numbers – for video game hardware and software sales in Japan – on our hands. As has been the case almost every single week for months now, the Nintendo Switch tops the hardware charts, with almost 50,000 units sold last week- 48,944 units, to be specific. The PS4 continues to slump, with 20,000 units sold, while the 3DS continues its free fall, with just under 7,000 units – 6,800 – sold.
The Switch’s rise to the top was propelled by the launch of Mario Tennis Aces, which topped charts with 123,000 units sold, as well as Minecraft, which got a retail release on Switch at last, and which sold almost 62,000 units. So those two, plus the continued long term performance of several evergreen games – Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Kirby Star Allies, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Nintendo Labo -kept the Switch right at the top of the pack.
On a side note, the hype for Kingdom Hearts 3 and the World Cup seems to have also given boosts to Kingdom Heats 1.5+2.5 on PS4 and FIFA 18 on Switch. Of course, with a variety of high profile releases coming up in the next few months, it remains to be seen whether or not they can keep their positions.
