Splatoon 3 Tops Japanese Charts with Biggest Ever Launch for a Game in the History of Japan

We always knew Splatoon 3 was going to be a massive commercial hit in Japan (and elsewhere), but the game’s incredible start has probably taken Nintendo by surprise as well. Famitsu has released its latest weekly data for gaming software and hardware sales in Japan, and Nintendo’s shooter has taken the top spot with over 1.9 million units sold in just three days on the market.

That, incidentally, makes it the biggest launch for any game ever in Japanese history, beating Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 1.88 million units of physical sales upon launch in 2020. It’s worth noting that these figures only account for retail sales- with digital and physical sales combined, Splatoon 3 sold over 3.45 million units in Japan upon launch, as Nintendo announced earlier this week.

That, as you may have expected, has resulted in a massive boost for Nintendo Switch’s hardware sales as well. All three of the platform’s models put together sold over 182,000 units over the course of the week, comfortably ending the week as its best-selling platform.

You can check out the full software and hardware charts for the week ending September 11 below.

Software sales (followed by lifetime sales):

1. [NSW] Splatoon 3 – 1,934,680 (New)
2. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 12,605 (4,827,754)
3. [NSW] Minecraft – 9,331 (2,786,049)
4. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports – 9,071 (724,712)
5. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure – 7,900 (3,271,715)
6. [PS4] Earth Defense Force 6 – 7,806 (91,183)
7. [NSW] Kirby and the Forgotten Land – 7,115 (883,907)
8. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 5,866 (4,971,812)
9. [NSW] Alice Gear Aigis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix – 5,538 (New)
10. [NSW] Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Set – 4,927 (265,714)

Hardware sales:

• Nintendo Switch – 182,876
• PS5 – 2,864
• Xbox Series X/S – 459