Pokemon Legends Z A Debuts at Number One in Japan

Japan’s game sales chart for the week of October 13 to 19 belonged to Pokémon. Pokémon Legends: Z A launched on October 16 and took both of the top spots, with the original Switch version at number one and the Switch 2 version right behind it at number two.

Between the two releases the new Pokémon title sold well over a million copies in its first week, a strong start that left everything else trailing some distance back.

Mario Kart World held onto third place and continued its steady run, while Ghost of Yotei on PlayStation 5 landed at fourth. The recent Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 collection, Donkey Kong Bananza, Battlefield 6, and Little Nightmares 3 filled out the busy upper half of the chart.

Anime fans will spot Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 holding firm inside the top ten as well. Further down, long lived favorites like Minecraft, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land kept selling, a nice reminder of how much staying power Nintendo’s library has.

My take: A double launch sweeping the top two places shows just how much love there is for Pokémon in Japan. I am curious to see how long Z A can hold the lead.