Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Leads Japanese Game Charts as Nintendo Switch Titles Dominate

Japanese video game sales charts have been released for the week, shining a spotlight on Nintendo's continued dominance in the region’s software market.

According to the latest data provided by Famitsu and reported by Gematsu, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe once again holds the top position, selling 16,458 copies during the week.

Although this number represents a drop from the previous week’s 21,014 sales, the absence of major new releases has kept the landscape steady for Nintendo on the charts. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, was released on February 24, 2023.

The title’s cumulative sales have now reached 373,615 units, demonstrating strong ongoing demand for Nintendo’s classic franchises among Japanese players.

The robust performance of this title contributes to a trend of sustained chart presence for Nintendo-published software throughout 2023. Meanwhile, Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 for PlayStation 4 secured the second spot with 11,472 copies sold, narrowly outperforming the PlayStation 5 version of the same title, which took sixth place with 8,301 sales.

Resident Evil 4, launched on March 24, 2023, has accumulated 113,447 sales on PS4 and 116,473 on PS5, underlining the enduring appeal of established franchises across multiple platforms. Nintendo Switch mainstays continued their impressive showings, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe moving an additional 9,991 units, pushing its lifetime sales to an extraordinary 5,234,484 copies.

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, developed by The Pokémon Company and available since November 18, 2022, collectively sold 9,812 copies this week, adding to their already impressive 4,981,875 sales to date.

Splatoon 3 maintained its place in the upper ranks with 8,712 copies sold, while Minecraft for Nintendo Switch, published by Microsoft, added 7,718 to its total of over 3 million units. Rounding out the software top ten were Nintendo Switch Sports (5,556 sales), Super Smash Bros.

Ultimate (4,916), and Mario Party Superstars (4,019), further illustrating the sustained popularity of long-running Nintendo titles.

In total, eight of the top ten best-selling games in Japan for the week were Nintendo Switch titles, reinforcing the platform’s strong presence in the domestic market. On the hardware side, this week saw PlayStation 5 edge out Nintendo Switch OLED Model for the top spot, with 39,836 units sold compared to 37,536 for the OLED version of Nintendo’s console.

Additional hardware figures included 8,991 for the standard Switch and 5,983 for the Switch Lite.

However, when aggregating sales of all Nintendo Switch models, Nintendo's hardware outsold the combined PlayStation models.

Xbox Series X, Series S, and New 2DS LL continued to trail behind, as expected in the Japanese marketplace. These latest results showcase the continued vitality of established franchises and hardware on the Japanese market, with Nintendo firmly at the forefront.

The Nintendo Switch’s extensive software library, combined with consistent hardware sales, reaffirms its status as a leading platform as the industry moves into the latter stages of this hardware generation.

Kirby Nintendo Switch Nintendo Famitsu Switch Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Kirby's Return to Dream Land