Pokémon Legends: Z-A Dominates Japanese Sales Charts, Boosting Nintendo Switch 2 Hardware Success

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Dominates Japanese Sales Charts, Boosting Nintendo Switch 2 Hardware Success This past week, Famitsu's Japanese sales charts unveiled another strong showing for Nintendo, with the highly anticipated Pokémon Legends: Z-A debuting in remarkable fashion across both the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 systems.

The latest title from The Pokémon Company has quickly asserted its place atop the market, reinforcing Nintendo’s hold on the Japanese gaming landscape and giving its latest hardware a notable boost. In its launch week, Pokémon Legends: Z-A captured the two leading positions on the charts.

The Nintendo Switch release moved 872,552 units, while the Nintendo Switch 2 version followed closely behind with an impressive 612,905 units sold.

Combined, these numbers bring the week's total sales for Pokémon Legends: Z-A to just under 1.5 million units, a figure that slightly surpasses the debut week of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which opened at 1.42 million, but remains below the outstanding 2.5 million set by Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in their release period. Outside of Pokémon, prominent Nintendo franchises continued to perform well.

Mario Kart World for the Switch 2 secured the third spot with 55,996 units sold this week, boosting its cumulative total to nearly 2 million units (1,931,393).

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, another fan-favorite compilation, retained its top-five placement on Nintendo Switch with 11,129 copies sold this week, bringing its total to 79,477 units. Other notable entries in the top ten include Ghost of Yotei for PlayStation 5 at fourth place (18,930 units this week), Donkey Kong Bananza for Switch 2 at sixth (9,785 units), and the atmospheric Little Nightmares III for Nintendo Switch at eighth (5,315 units this week, total 23,121).

Evergreen titles like Minecraft for Switch also continued their impressive run, reaching over 4 million lifetime sales. This surge in software sales has translated directly to hardware successes, particularly for the Nintendo Switch 2.

During the same period, Switch 2 led the hardware charts, posting 201,684 units sold and pushing its lifetime sales to an impressive 2,402,587.

The Switch OLED Model followed with 14,552 units for a running total of 9,245,296, while the Switch Lite moved 7,015 units, making its total 6,695,354.

In comparison, combined PlayStation 5 models sold 12,085 units. The Nintendo ecosystem as a whole remains robust, with continued consumer demand evident both in major new releases and through persistent support for classic franchises.

This trend underscores the enduring popularity of Nintendo’s hardware platforms in Japan, particularly as the Switch 2 continues to gain momentum fueled by high-profile launches like Pokémon Legends: Z-A. As Japanese gamers flock to these new and returning favorites, all indicators point to continued success for Nintendo’s hardware and software strategy heading into the next quarter.

For full software and hardware chart breakdowns, industry professionals and enthusiasts alike turn to resources like Famitsu for comprehensive sales data, helping illustrate the current state and future trajectory of the market.

Nintendo Switch 2 Pokémon Nintendo Switch Nintendo Japan Switch 2 Switch Pokémon Legends: Z-A Success Switch 2 hardware Z Pokémon Legends Legends: Z-A Mario Kart World Super Mario Galaxy Donkey Kong Bananza Little Nightmares III PS5 Ghost of Yotei Battlefield 6 Minecraft Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba Switch Lite Switch OLED Xbox Series X Xbox Series S PlayStation 4