Nintendo reveals Japan's top Switch downloads of 2023

With just a handful of days left in 2023, we have more than enough data to see what the biggest games of the year were on Switch in terms of downloads. Nintendo has already gone ahead and crunched the numbers for 2023 as far as Japan goes, and we now know which title took the top spot overall.

While it might be surprising to some, those who’ve been paying close attention to the weekly charts won’t be shocked to see Suika Game come out as the year’s most downloaded game in Japan. The title has been killing it since it launched in Japan just a few months back, and the vast majority of downloads came from that region. That said, the rest of the world has been catching up following the worldwide launch, helping to push the total downloads over 5 million now.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom managed to take the second place spot in Japan with a very strong showing. While there’s no doubt many Nintendo fans would have expected Tears of the Kingdom to secure the #1 spot, you have to remember that Tears of the Kingdom is both retail and digital, while Suika Game is digital only. That’s not to mention how Suika Game is just $3, while Tears of the Kingdom was Nintendo’s first $70 game.

Rounding out the top 3 is Pikmin 4, which definitely goes to show just how much a breakthrough entry this installment was for the franchise. It certainly bodes well for growth of the Pikmin IP going forward, and with the game still regularly charting in the top 10, it seems like Pikmin 4 is going to have some very long legs on it.

To see the rest of the charts for Japan in 2023, you can see the complete breakdown here.