Japan Video Game Rankings September 15 to 21 Led by Mario Kart World

Japan’s video game retail rankings for September 15 through 21 were led by Nintendo Switch 2’s Mario Kart World, which sold 33,861 copies that week for a cumulative total of over 1.76 million. The standout news was the debut of Nihon Falcom’s Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, which launched simultaneously on both PlayStation 5 at number 2 with 21,511 copies and Nintendo Switch at number 3 with 21,453 copies.

Donkey Kong Bananza held fourth place on Nintendo Switch 2 with 11,300 copies and a running total of 318,441. Other new arrivals included Castlevania Dominus Collection at number 5 with 9,503 copies, Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 at number 6 with 7,170 copies, and Gotōbun no Princess: Gensō to Shinen to Mahō Gakuin at number 10 with 5,077 copies. Minecraft remained at number 8 with 5,762 copies on a lifetime total exceeding 4 million.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons appeared at number 12 with 4,318 copies on a cumulative total of over 8.2 million, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sat at number 18 with 2,899 copies on a total approaching 5.6 million. Rankings are based on physical retail sales data from Famitsu across Japan.

My take: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter landing well on both Switch and PS5 in its debut week is a welcome sight. It is good to see a classic JRPG series making a strong showing even in a week where Nintendo titles dominate the top spots.