By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
noshten on 26 November 2020
Edit Thread

3rd Party Top 10 Switch

  1. Minecraft (Microsoft Game Studios) - 1.568.365
  2. Dragon Quest XI S (Square Enix) - 545.836
  3. Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! (Bandai Namco) - 522.289
  4. Fishing Spirits: Nintendo Switch Version (Bandai Namco) - 508.626
  5. Yo-kai Watch 4 (Level 5) - 358.356
  6. Momotaro Dentetsu (Konami) - 345.697 (NEW)
  7. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Sega) - 333.678
  8. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate* (Capcom) - 309.596
  9. Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Square Enix) - 295.237
  10. eBaseball 2020 (Konami) - 236.075

TOTAL: 5.023.755

Just wanted to highlight that with the launch Momotaro is already the 6th best selling 3rd Party game on the Switch physically. By next week it will be in 5th position with the biggest hardware weeks still to come, so it will easily be the 2nd best selling 3rd Party game by the end of the year. Konami is in a really good position with all their games launched on the Switch surpassing >200K - Momotaro, eBaseball 2020, Super Bomberman R & Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2019. They will also be the first Japanese 3rd Party with a game that surpasses 1 million. 

Back in January I said that I expect that the first Japanese 3rd Party Seller would be a smaller budget game that resonates with the audience and it seems Momotaro was able to hit all the right notes:

noshten said:

I know I've said that every year but it never lived up to expectations, but 2020 will hopefully change this and we will finally get a Japanese 3rd Party 1M seller on the system. I though Yo-kai 4 would do it this year, but I guess Level-5 aren't able maintain a successful IP. I think based on Ring Fit and that other Boxing game the 1M seller won't be a big budget game but rather - something that resonates with an audience. If I was a Japanese 3rd party right now, I'd be thinking about a complimentary game to Animal Crossing with small budget, something that would be attractive to a female audience. Since I'm neither Japanese or a women, I can't really think of something but that would be a smart idea. But Japanese 3rd parties are so far behind the curve that I think maybe a smaller indie dev might eat their lunch at this point.

Hell, Human Fall Flat platform-puzzle video game developed by a single Lithuanian has probably sold more digital copies than any 3rd party game not named Minecraft. I don't think I've ever seen that game exit the top 10 in Japan since releasing. The game had sold 5M copies world wide across all platforms by Feb 2019, I wouldn't be surprised if it's close to 1M in Japan with it's lower price, constant promotions and constant place in the Top of the Digital Charts in the last few years. Overcooked 1/2 is another one I'd say has been doing pretty well in Japan and Japanese 3rd Parties are simply not doing enough and experimenting enough.

Obviously if a new Monster Hunter does end up on the Switch I expect that to easily sell more than 1M but judging from Capcom's output on the system so far, I will believe it when I see it. 

Starting this fall - we've finally seen the type of support you would expect for the market leading platform in Japan. Sakuna is potentially the game that compliments Animal Crossing audience a lot but because of supply problems, I'm not sure what exactly the potential of the game is. 

Also great to finally get a new Monster Hunter and other exclusives like Monster Hunter Stories 2, SMT V, BOND, Bravely Default 2, Olive Town and Rune Factory 5. 

Last edited by noshten - on 27 November 2020