As time goes on, changes can be made to the list of the best-selling Nintendo Switch games, and Nintendo has revealed which titles are currently at the top. The latest financial report from the company, covering the fiscal period from April to September 2022, provided new data on how the Switch’s most successful games are faring these days.
Unsurprisingly, the top spot continues to be dominated by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with over 48.4 million copies sold. The game has long ranked as the Switch’s all-time bestseller, and no doubt the ongoing rollout of DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe slated to continue throughout 2023 will help keep it going strong. Trailing not far behind it, though, is the second best-selling game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which has sold 40.2 million copies since its 2020 debut. Should it manage to maintain that momentum, New Horizons could conceivably overtake Mario Kart 8 within the next few years.
Rounding out the Switch’s top five bestsellers are Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with 29.5 million, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with 27.8 million, and Pokemon Sword and Shield with 25.3 million. From there, the rest of the top 10 consists of Super Mario Odyssey (24.4 million), Super Mario Party (18.4 million), Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (14.9 million), Ring Fit Adventure (14.9 million), and Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee (14.8 million). That last spot may soon be overtaken by Pokemon Legends: Arceus, as it is right behind the Pokemon Let’s Go games with 13.9 million copies sold.
It probably won’t come as a shock to see some of the highest-profile Nintendo games of the Switch era dominating the list, though time will tell if all these games will manage to stay on there. The past year has seen several Switch games debut to incredible success, like the aforementioned Pokemon Legends. According to Nintendo’s report, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is now the best-selling Kirby game with 5.14 million copies sold, and Splatoon 3 sold 7.90 million copies throughout September alone. These are impressive numbers, and bound to become even more so with time.
What’s more, the near future looks set to introduce even more contenders for a spot on the top 10, like Breath of the Wild’s sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, launching in May 2023. And with how prominent Pokemon games are on the list, there’s a high likelihood that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the franchise’s first fully open-world games arriving next week, will end up there eventually. It’ll be interesting to see if the current best-selling Switch games can hold onto their spots in the years to come.
Source: Nintendo (1), (2)
