While Nintendo might have hit a bit of a slump during the Holiday season when it comes to Switch 2 hardware sales, the company has still managed to stay on top of the Japanese retail market. According to new yearly sales data by Famitsu (as caught by VideoGamesChronicle), 3.78 million units of the console had been sold since its launch. These sales figures have also made it the fastest selling console in Japan so far.
The Switch 2 was followed by the original Switch, which sold 1.52 million units throughout the year. PS5 sold 879,204 units, with the Xbox Series X/S selling only 31,226 units. The last-gen PS4 only sold 1,087 units all year. These sales figures have marked a continuing downward trend for Sony’s consoles in Japan for the second consecutive year. 2024 saw 1.4 million units of the PS5 being sold, down from 2.6 million units in 2023.
When it comes to game sales, Nintendo also ended up dominating the charts there, continuing its 21-year run of dominating the best-selling physical games in the country. The report noted that Switch and Switch 2 games made up 9 of the top 10 best-selling physical games. Among these titles was Mario Kart World—a launch title for the Switch 2—which sold 2.66 million physical copies in the country. Check out the full top-10 bestseller list below.
Nintendo’s success in Japan has also led to the country’s games market having seen overall growth, up from being worth ¥301.32 billion back in 2024 to ¥418.13 billion in 2025. Hardware sales, making up a major part of this growth, went from ¥189.4 billion to ¥282.6 billion.
A report from earlier this month indicated that Switch 2’s launch-year November and December sales in Japan had been lagging behind those of the original Switch during the latter’s launch year. Comparing the two, the difference was noted as only being 5.5 percent. Taking the whole year into account, however, the report noted that the newer console was in a comfortable lead over its predecessor.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was launched back in June, with Mario Kart World being its big launch title. Following up on this, Nintendo has released a few more first-party games, including Donkey Kong Bananza and Kirby Air Riders. These releases were bolstered thanks to the console’s strong third-party support, with games like Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition and Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut coming in to fill the gaps. For more details about the Switch 2, check out our console review.
Top 10 best-selling physical games in Japan:
- Mario Kart World (Switch 2) – 2,668,381 units
- Pokémon Legends Z-A (Switch) – 1,529,823 units
- Pokémon Legends Z-A (Switch 2) – 1,004,154 units
- Monster Hunter Wilds (PS5) – 838,319 units
- Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch) – 498,397 units
- Donkey Kong Bananza (Switch 2) – 435,206 units
- Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2) – 424,837 units
- Minecraft (Switch) – 346,606 units
- Mario Kart 7 Deluxe (Switch) – 342,866 units
- Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake (Switch) – 316,439 units
