The stereoscopic 3D console celebrates its 10th anniversary and, therefore, Famitsu reveals the 30 most successful titles to date in the Japanese country.
Nintendo 3DS has celebrated its tenth anniversary this past February 26 since it was released in Japan that same day in 2011. Famitsu magazine, also aware of the physical sales of video games in Japan —information that they share every week in their copies—, has published a special dedicated to the console with its 30 best-selling video games throughout this decade.
- It may interest you: the 15 best Nintendo 3DS video games
This type of report is of special interest to market Reviews enthusiasts, as it reflects not only what aroused the most desire to buy in the country of the Rising Sun, but also the differences with respect to other markets such as North America or the West, in JRPG-based licenses and simulators with more irreverent or crazy themes are generally less successful.
The first five models of the Nintendo 3DS family.
Because surely works like Tomodachi Life or Yo-kai Watch are not understood in the same way in Japan as in the West; While licenses such as Monster Hunter were, at the beginning of the last decade, a mass phenomenon – the portable video game par excellence in those lands – they were considered here as niche series. There are others, however, that do not understand regions, such as Pokémon, which tops the list with several deliveries in the top-10. Special mention for Pokémon X / Y, the beginning of Generation VI, the beginning of the three-dimensional era in Pokémon and the debut of elements such as the Fairy type or Megaevolutions.
The podium is continued by Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which has always worked really well in Japan – in fact, New Leaf failed to exceed the sales of Wild World, the Nintendo DS delivery – while the bronze is held by Pokémon Sun / Luna, the start of Generation VII in the Alola region. We leave below the top-30 in full.
The 30 best-selling Nintendo 3DS video games in Japan in physical format (2011-2021)
- 1. Pokémon X / Y – 4,504,626 units
- 2. Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 4,476,950 units
- 3. Pokémon Sun / Moon – 3,844,977 units
- 4. Monster Hunter 4 – 3,591,334 units
- 5. Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits / Fleshy Souls – 3,210,295 units
- 6. Pokémon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire – 3,170,976 units
- 7. Mario Kart 7 – 2,887,908 units
- 8. Monster Hunter Generations – 2,833,860 units
- 9. Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters – 2,655,357 units
- 10. New Super Mario Bros. 2 – 2,624,127 units
- 11. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS – 2,613,529 units
- 12. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – 2,571,350 units
- 13. Pokémon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon – 2,529,930 units
- 14. Yo-Kai Watch Blasters – 2,191,034 units
- 15. Super Mario 3D Land – 2,178,637 units
- 16. Tomodachi Life – 1,826,729 units
- 17. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age – 1,817,915 units
- 18. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate – 1,691,202 units
- 19. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – 1,589,804 units
- 20. Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sushi / Tempura – 1,516,996 units
- 21. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer – 1,507,126 units
- 22. Puzzle & Dragons Z – 1,477,621 units
- 23. Yo-Kai Watch – 1,303,281 units
- 24. Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past – 1,238,660 units
- 25. Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS – 1,196,045 units
- 26. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon – 1,057,454 units
- 27. Monster Strike – 999,955 units
- 28. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King – 929,179 units
- 29. Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland 3D – 921,310 units
- 30. Kirby Triple Deluxe – 851,295 units
