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Sales Data Nintendo reveals the top 30 most-downloaded games on the Japanese Switch eShop for 2023

mazi

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To close out 2023, Nintendo has provided a look at the 30 most-downloaded games on the Japanese Switch eShop.

Note that the list is based on games sold between January 1, 2023 and December 20, 2023.

  1. Suika Game
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  3. Pikmin 4
  4. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
  5. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
  6. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
  7. Splatoon 3
  8. Overcooked 2
  9. Super Mario RPG
  10. Fire Emblem Engage
  11. Monster Hunter Rise
  12. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  13. Pokémon Violet
  14. Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2
  15. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
  16. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
  17. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
  18. Minecraft
  19. Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1
  20. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe
  21. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  22. Human: Fall Flat
  23. Persona 4 Golden
  24. Among Us
  25. Momotaro Dentetsu World: Chikyuu wa Kibou de Mawatteru
  26. Pikmin 2
  27. Pokémon Scarlet
  28. Nintendo Switch Sports
  29. Pikmin 1
  30. Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban
 
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mazi

mazi

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Some estimates for eShop top sellers (thanks to chris1964 from installbase)

Pikmin 4 - 500k
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 350k
Fire Emblem: Engage - 200k
 

ItWasMeantToBe19

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Intentional shortages are probably a pretty good strategy from publishers to maximize profits if the game is popular enough.

A third party’s cut goes from ~50% to 70% and a first party’s cut goes from ~65% to 100% when a retail consumer buys digitally.
 

oomoepoo

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Botw just short of the top 10 in the year of the release of its successor (and likely last full year of Switch) is very impressive to me.

Edit: Also, Persona 4 being the only Persona game in the top 30 is interesting. Or is that because it never came out physically for Switch?
 

Linkstrikesback

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Intentional shortages are probably a pretty good strategy from publishers to maximize profits if the game is popular enough.

A third party’s cut goes from ~50% to 70% and a first party’s cut goes from ~65% to 100% when a retail consumer buys digitally.

Not quite that high; there's a big chunk from the first parties cut that goes to payment processers, lots of digital purchases are still done through eshop cards, etc.

Whatever theoretical gain there is from a "popular enough" title is also going to be subject to some loss because a lot of people will only have a fleeting interest and if they can't buy it from amazon or whatever store of choice they have, they'll move on to one of the other thousands of titles vying for their time.
 

SirArthur

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Some estimates for eShop top sellers (thanks to chris1964 from installbase)

Pikmin 4 - 500k
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 350k
Fire Emblem: Engage - 200k
Those numbers are a bit odd. Because, we know Momotaro Chikyuu sold a million and the last known physical sales were from Dec 17 at 603K, so add 10k (its probably more) for the 3 additional days the list covers, and at the very least we have 300k plus digital.

TOTK is over 1 million, lets say 1.5, so the range from 2 to 25 is from 1.5 million to 300k. Once the Feb report comes out we might get a better idea.
 

Zellia

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Interesting that Violet is so far ahead of Scarlet.

Good to see MMBN collection did well. I expect nothing, but hope Capcom revisits it in some way.
 

Rellik

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Those numbers are a bit odd. Because, we know Momotaro Chikyuu sold a million and the last known physical sales were from Dec 17 at 603K, so add 10k (its probably more) for the 3 additional days the list covers, and at the very least we have 300k plus digital.

TOTK is over 1 million, lets say 1.5, so the range from 2 to 25 is from 1.5 million to 300k. Once the Feb report comes out we might get a better idea.

Nothing odd with the numbers. For Momotaro you should include retail shipments, and the game was still at 60-80% per famitsu at 603.000 so the retail shipment could be one million and digital sales = 0 when they announced the million sales for all we know.

We should wait for Nintendo numbers on February to give better estimates on digital sales.
 

SuperPhil64

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Nice to see Pikmin doing so well on Switch! Not just 4 but the first two making top 30 is nice to see. I didin't play 4 yet but watched my wife 100% it and it looked absolutely fantastic.
 

BlackthornOrion

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I had no idea Suika Game was a thing.

Have I been living under a rock or is it a regional phenomenon restricted to Japan?
it was Japan-only for I think a couple years, but it went viral this year after a bunch of vtubers started playing it and people started making Japanese eshop accounts just to buy it, so they just put it out internationally earlier this year


There was also an NSO trial for it a couple weeks ago
 

Forks

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Fire Emblem Engage in the top 10 is nice to see. And they were trying to says our game was terrible Engagebros.....
 

Pillydillsy

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Happy to see Mario RPG already up in the top 10. Pikmin 4 beating out wonder is insane
 

ziggyrivers

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
I’m surprised the Great Ace Attorney didn’t make it. If anything, this could be indicative that Ace Attorney 7 will be under the Phoenix Wright brand, regardless of who the main character is.


Megaman Battle Network da best
Woord! Here’s to whenever they release Star Force collection!


And it’s a shame: Scarlet has the better Paradox Pokemon


Or is that because it never came out physically for Switch?
Probably. It’s also based on the Vita game: a game not many people bought. And I presume that not enough gamers downloaded Royal because, whoever wanted to play P5, they must have done so by the time it got re-released for the Switch


but hope Capcom revisits it in some way.
MMBN is one of those series that had a nice ending. Twice, haha. That said, they could make a revisit via Star Force, seeing as how the fourth entry was gonna be directly connected to that era of Megaman
 
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mazi

mazi

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I’m surprised the Great Ace Attorney didn’t make it. If anything, this could be indicative that Ace Attorney 7 will be under the Phoenix Wright brand, regardless of who the main character is.
in japan the games never had a character's name in the title. they are just called gyakuten saiban 1 to 6, gyakuten kenji 1 and 2, and dai gyakuten saiban 1 and 2
 

JoshuaJSlone

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Ace Attorney's digital legs surprise me, considering it had a physical release that only sold about 10K copies on Switch.
 

Shareholder Chad

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8ap6pk.jpg


Lets get it done.
 

buildz

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I’m surprised the Great Ace Attorney didn’t make it. If anything, this could be indicative that Ace Attorney 7 will be under the Phoenix Wright brand, regardless of who the main character is.

I guess it is worth noting that The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles wasn't new in Japan either, seeing as Dai Gyakuten Saiban had released in 2015 and its sequel in 2017. I suspect most who wanted to play it in Japan may have already done so on 3DS! I certainly don't recall either setting the charts on fire to begin with real, especially the sequel as Japanese players weren't particularly happy with the cliffhanger ending of the first game - though that isn't to say they did badly! The original trilogy has always reigned supreme, really - if you're new to the series, most would tell you to start there, before trying anything else.
 


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