Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has published a list of the top 100 retail video games sold in Japan between Jan. 1, 2001 and Sept. 29, 2013.
Let me give you a quick hint about the list, too: Japan loves it some Nintendo, and not a single western developed game appears on the list. Every game was born and bred in the Land of the Rising Sun, which does not seem too feasible in this Western booming video game world.
Check out the list below:
1 6,424,000 NDS New Super Mario Bros.
2 5,827,000 NDS Pokémon Diamond / Pearl
3 5,489,000 NDS Pokémon Black / White
4 5,337,000 GBA Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire
5 5,239,000 NDS Animal Crossing: Wild World
6 5,082,000 NDS Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day
7 4,568,000 WII New Super Mario Bros. Wii
8 4,503,000 PSP Monster Hunter Freedom 3
9 4,156,000 NDS Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies 10 4,003,000 NDS Mario Kart DS11 3,936,000 NDS Pokémon HeartGold / SoulSilver
12 3,847,000 NDS Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
13 3,823,000 3DS Animal Crossing: New Leaf
14 3,724,000 WII Wii Sports
15 3,691,000 NDS Tomodachi Collection
16 3,675,000 WII Mario Kart Wii
17 3,562,000 WII Wii Fit
18 3,555,000 PS2 Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
19 3,143,000 WII Wii Sports Resort 20 3,076,000 GBA Pokémon FireRed / LeafGreen21 2,998,000 NDS Pokémon Black 2 / White 2
22 2,804,000 WII Wii Play
23 2,605,000 NDS Pokémon Platinum Version
24 2,542,000 3DS Monster Hunter 4
25 2,453,000 PSP Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
26 2,410,000 WII Wii Fit Plus
27 2,382,000 WII Wii Party
28 2,325,000 PS2 Final Fantasy X
29 2,323,000 PS2 Final Fantasy XII 30 2,279,000 WII Super Smash Bros. Brawl31 2,229,000 NDS English Training
32 2,197,000 GBA Pokémon Emerald Version
33 2,114,000 3DS New Super Mario Bros. 2
34 2,112,000 NDS Mario Party DS
35 2,087,000 3DS Mario Kart 7
36 2,081,000 NDS Nintendogs: Labrador / Dachshund / Chihuahua and Friends
37 1,961,000 PS2 Final Fantasy X-2
38 1,917,000 NDS Rhythm Heaven: Tap into the Rhythm
39 1,906,000 PS3 Final Fantasy XIII 40 1,882,000 3DS Super Mario 3D Land41 1,723,000 PSP Monster Hunter Freedom 2
42 1,615,000 PS2 Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
43 1,590,000 3DS Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
44 1,590,000 NDS Big Brain Academy
45 1,570,000 NDS Otona no Joushikiryoku Training DS
46 1,552,000 NDS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Darkness
47 1,470,000 WII Mario Party 8
48 1,467,000 NDS Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
49 1,439,000 PS2 Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec 50 1,434,000 3DS Tomodachi Collection: Shin Seikatsu51 1,349,000 NGC Super Smash Bros. Melee
52 1,334,000 NDS Tetris DS
53 1,297,000 NDS Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
54 1,285,000 NDS Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2
55 1,280,000 GBA Famicom Mini: Super Mario Bros.
56 1,253,000 NGB Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Cobi’s Journey
57 1,232,000 NDS Super Mario 64 DS
58 1,222,000 3DS Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshitachi
59 1,221,000 WII Animal Crossing: City Folk 60 1,215,000 NDS Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen61 1,204,000 NDS Kirby Super Star Ultra
62 1,197,000 PS2 Dynasty Warriors 4
63 1,190,000 NDS Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
64 1,174,000 PS1 Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
65 1,157,000 NDS Inazuma Eleven 2: Firestorm / Blizzard
66 1,136,000 NDS WarioWare: Touched!
67 1,129,000 PS2 Kingdom Hearts II
68 1,121,000 NDS Kirby Squeak Squad
69 1,117,000 PS2 World Soccer Winning Eleven 6: International 70 1,112,000 PSP Monster Hunter Freedom Unite [PSP the Best]71 1,110,000 NDS Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop
72 1,100,000 PS2 World Soccer Winning Eleven 7
73 1,083,000 PS2 Hot Shots Golf 4
74 1,077,000 WII Monster Hunter 3
75 1,067,000 PS2 Gran Turismo 4
76 1,060,000 PS2 World Soccer Winning Eleven 8: International
77 1,056,000 NDS Oshare Majo Love & Berry: DS Collection
78 1,054,000 NDS Yoshi’s Island DS
79 1,050,000 PS2 Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 80 1,043,000 WII Super Mario Galaxy 281 1,043,000 PS2 Dynasty Warriors 3
82 1,026,000 WII Super Mario Galaxy
83 1,024,000 PS2 Samurai Warriors
84 1,018,000 NDS Inazuma Eleven 3: Lightning Bolt / Bomb Blast
85 1,008,000 NDS Final Fantasy III
86 1,004,000 PS2 Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny
87 1,003,000 NDS Professor Layton and the Curious Village
88 977,000 WII Donkey Kong Country Returns
89 963,000 PS2 Jissen Pachislot Hisshouhou! Fist of the North Star 90 958,000 NDS Shaberu! DS Oryouri Navi91 946,000 NDS Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day
92 946,000 NDS Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
93 938,000 GBA Mario Kart: Super Circuit
94 934,000 PS2 World Soccer Winning Eleven 9
95 929,000 GBA Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun / Blue Moon
96 928,000 PS2 Onimusha: Warlords
97 922,000 PS2 Hot Shots Golf 3
98 919,000 GBA Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World
99 918,000 PS2 Dynasty Warriors 5 100 917,000 WII Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition
In fact, the only company which can really challenge Nintendo’s supremacy of sales in Japan is Square Enix. Capcom has a few games, but they are all in the Monster Hunter series, and another company does not appear on the list until 49 with Gran Turismo 3, published by Sony.
Level-5, Konami, SEGA, and Koei all make appearances too, but by and large, this is a Nintendo world we’re all trying to survive in.
Another list has also appeared regarding the lifetime sales of each console in that time period.
32,864,000 NDS Nintendo
21,987,000 PS2* PlayStation 2
19,550,000 PSP PlayStation Portable
15,527,000 GBA Gameboy Advance
12,899,000 3DS Nintendo 3DS
12,722,000 WII Nintendo Wii
9,362,000 PS3 PlayStation 3
4,009,000 NGC Nintendo Gamecube
1,774,000 PSV PlayStation Vita
1,603,000 360 Xbox 360
1,071,000 WIU Nintendo Wii U 473,000 XBX Xbox
I think its safe to say that the Nintendo DS has far and away been the best decision Nintendo has made in the past 14 years. The Wii is nothing to laugh about either.
Were there any surprises on either list for you?
