Image : Nintendo

Kotaku East East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. Prev Next View All

The Switch has been out for a while now. Wondering how it’s now doing in Japan? Pretty dang well, that’s how.




Here is how the best-selling video games at Japanese retail for the week of August 13 to August 19.

1. Minecraft (Switch): 25,948 copies sold

2. Splatoon 2 (Switch): 24,188

3. Taiko no Tatsujin Nintendo Switch Version (Switch): 21,109

4. Mario Kart 8 DX (Switch): 20,346

5. WarioWare Gold (3DS): 20,142

6. Mario Tennis Aces (Switch): 18,520

7. Pro Yakyuu Famista Evolution (Switch): 13,259

8. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Switch): 12,111

9. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch): 9,682

10. Kirby Star Allies (Switch): 8,707

11. Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon (3DS): 8,447

12. Octopath Traveler (Switch): 8,002

13. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch): 7,066

14. Yakuza 3 (PS4): 6,753

15. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (3DS): 5,766

16. Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy DX (Switch): 5,101


17. Okami (Switch): 4,758

18. Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit (Switch): 4,703

19. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2018 (PS4): 3,449

20. Fire Pro Wrestling World (PS4): 3,326

The Switch also dominates hardware sales. During the week of August 13 to August 19, there were 54,647 Switch consoles sold at retail, which was 57.2 percent of game hardware sold that week.

Below are the retail hardware sales numbers:

1. Switch: 54,647

2. PS4: 20,911

3. New 2DS LL: 7,872

4. PS4 Pro: 4,932

5. New3DS LL: 3,316

6. Vita: 3,083

7. 2DS: 708

8. Xbox One: 51

9. Xbox One X: 45

Maybe it’s just this week, you might think. However, if you look at the previous week’s numbers, thirteen of the top twenty games were on the Switch (another three were on the Nintendo 3DS). Yakuza 3 on the PS4, which launched that same week, was number one, while Fire Pro Wrestling World, which also launched, was number four. The PS4 version of the then just released Bullet Girls Phantasia shooter was number ten and its PS Vita version was number 19.


By comparison, these best-selling Switch titles have been out for a while. Yet, they continue to sell and sell and sell.