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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - What will be the best selling 3DS game in Japan this year?

 

What will be the best selling 3DS game in Japan this year?

Pokemon Sun/Moon 95 81.20%
 
Yokai Watch 3 7 5.98%
 
Monster Hunter Stories 2 1.71%
 
Dragon Quest XI 12 10.26%
 
Other 1 0.85%
 
Total:117

For a system in its 5th year on the market, the 3DS is looking to have an exceptional lineup this year in Japan. Four heavy hitters in particular have a shot at becoming the best selling game of the year in Japan, but which one will take the title?

Pokemon Sun/Moon, recently unveiled for the system, will likely launch sometime this fall-winter and will be the second pair of mainline releases on the 3DS (succeeding Pokemon XY, which sold over 4.3m units following its launch in 2013). Considering the speculation of Nintendo's next system, Sun/Moon may not have as much time as X/Y to sell on the 3DS if they decide to launch their next handheld within its release window.

Yokai Watch 3 will launch this summer for the system, and is following the success of Yokai Watch 2 Ganso/Honke (over 3.1m copies) and Shinuchi (over 2.6m copies). However, the brand overall has been noted to be less powerful than it was at the time these games launched, so it will be interesting to see how the third iteration performs.

Monster Hunter Stories is a brand new spinoff for the franchise, taking on a more kid-friendly nature along with turn-based combat. Recent releases in the series include Monster Hunter 4 (over 3.4m copies), which launched in 2013 and Monster Hunter X (over 2.7m copies), which launched late 2015. Stories is a much different case than these, however, so its impact in the market it's targeting could go either way.

Finally, Dragon Quest XI, while not officially revealed to have a 2016 release date, has a decent chance of releasing this year on the 3DS so it's being included. The last mainline game in the series, Dragon Quest IX for the DS, sold over 4.3m copies in Japan, making it the best selling title in the series there. One thing potentially holding this version's sales back is that it's multiplatform with the PS4, so sales will be split in some form.

What do you think?



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I still say Pokemon.



Yokai Watch 3 no doubt.



 

Sun and Moon.

I don't see Yokai Watch 3 outselling it.



"Just for comparison Uncharted 4 was 20x bigger than Splatoon 2. This shows the huge difference between Sony's first-party games and Nintendo's first-party games."

I'm going to go with Pokémon S&M but I'm sure that Yo-kai Watch 3 will definitely give it a run for it's money given the popularity of the franchise and that it will be on store shelves for much more of the year.



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Sun and Moon!
Taking all bets :D



It'll be between Pokemon and Dragon Quest. Remember, Dragon Quest XI is an anniversary game paying homage to old and new school gamers. To put things into perspective, Pokemon X and Y sold 4.32 million in Japan according to VGC and Dragon Quest IX sold 4.35 million according to VGC. It's gonna be close. Yokai Watch 3 won't surpass either, although it'll do well. Monster Hunter will do amazing but not on either DQ or PKMN's level.



I'd say Pokemon, though i imagine all will perform well, and might surprise me and pull ahead of Pokemon, but we shall see!



 

NNID: b00moscone

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Pokemon S&M. No doubt.



NNID: garretslarrity

Steam: garretslarrity

Oh Wow! 3DS is going to have awesome year again! Nice way to end the 3DS!

Mmmmmmmmmm......... It depends on when these releases would release. Nintendo usually have awesome legs! Sooo im stuck with Pokemon or Yokai Watch 3....... But I think 3DS users are CRAVING for some pokemom now.



Pocky Lover Boy!