Summary
Nintendohas recently revealed the 30 most-sold games in the Japanese eShop, andSuika Gametakes the top spot. While this may seem surprising at first, considering thatThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomsold over 19.5 million unitsin a single year,Suika Gamewas a huge, surprising hit.
Released on the eShop back in September,Suika Gamebecame a streaming phenomenonrecently. Also known asWatermelon Game, the title was developed by Aladdin X and originally launched for the company’s digital projectors back in 2021, but it failed to garner much attention at the time. After the Switch release,Suika Gamewas streamed by several popular figures such as Sykkuno, QTCinderella, and the Japanese TV celebrity Shingo Katori, and it exploded in popularity.Suika Gameis aTetris-inspired puzzle game in which the player has to drop fruits on top of each other. The game’s objective is to combine similar fruits to turn them into bigger ones and score more points.
InNintendo’s official listof most downloaded eShop games in Japan,Suika Gametakes the top spot, followed byThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,Pikmin 4,Super Mario Bros. Wonder, andDragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. Other highlights includeThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildin 12th place, despite being released back in 2017, andMinecraftin 18th. Curiously,Pikmin 1and2also appear inNintendo’s list, in 29th and 26th place, respectively, despite being around 20 years old. It’s important to notice, though, that the list only includes digital purchases.
Top 30 Most Downloaded Games on Nintendo eShop In Japan
WhileSuika Gameappearing at the top of the list may be surprising, most of the other games in the list are not.Tears of the Kingdomwas clearly Nintendo’s biggest first-party hit this year, closely followed bySuper Mario Bros. Wonder. What is perhaps more surprising is how wellPikmin 4is selling in Japan. The franchise does not have the same weight asZeldaorMario, but the fourth entry is the best-selling title of the series, and it’s highly critically acclaimed.
It’s fair to say that 2023 was a somewhat tumultuous year for the Nintendo eShop. Back in March, the3DS and Wii U eShops officially closed down, making thousands of old games unavailable for purchase. It was a pretty sad event for collectors, and several gamers tried to buy as many titles as possible before the services shut down, as only already purchased games can still be played.
Nintendo
Nintendo is a Japanese video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. While producing highly popular hardware consoles like the Switch, the company is known for its many first party video game franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, Pokemon, and many more.
