The PS5 and Xbox Series X are around the corner, but Nintendo is still going strong in Japan, as Switch games are dominating the sales charts in the region.
Nintendo has had an incredibly profitable 2020, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons being a sales juggernaut and a social media darling during the lockdown. The Switch has an uncertain future, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X are here. The Switch has been able to handle some third-party games, including some surprising ones, like The Witcher 3, but it’s going to struggle running PS5 and Xbox Series X games in the future.
The Switch is still dominating the sales charts in Japan. According to Famitsu, the top ten sales chart from November 2 to November 8 included nine Switch games. Pikmin 3 continues its run at the top spot from last week. Ring-Fit Adventure is second place, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is third, Pokemon Sword & Shield + the Expansion Pass is fourth, Shadowverse: Champion’s Battles is in fifth place, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is in sixth place, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is in eigth place, the Switch version of Minecraft is in ninth place, and Pokemon Sword & Shield is in tenth place. The only non-Nintendo game on the charts is the PS4 version of Watch Dogs: Legion, which is in seventh place.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe maintaining its place is a surprise, considering that it’s a remaster of a Wii U game with minimal additions. Seeing Animal Crossing, Ring-Fit, and Mario Kart 8 in the chart is not surprising in the slightest, as they have been the Switch’s killer apps all year.
It will be interesting to see if the Switch can hold onto its run next week when the first batch of PS5 and Xbox Series X games enter the charts. The Switch is likely to kill the competition this holiday season, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X don’t have any huge games in the pipeline for December, and the consoles themselves are being gobbled up by scalpers. The Switch is entering this generation in a powerful position, but it remains to be seen how long Nintendo can hold this lead, especially when the technology gap starts becoming an issue for third-party games.
