Japanese Gaming Market Reaches $3 Billion in 2023

Japan's physical gaming market saw significant growth in 2023, with nearly $3 billion spent on games and hardware, according to Famitsu's annual report. From December 26, 2022, to December 31, 2023, total sales of physical gaming products reached ¥403.8 billion ($2.7 billion), marking a 7.8% increase from the previous year's ¥384.6 billion ($2.5 billion). The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom emerged as the best-selling game, with 1.9 million copies sold since its release in May. Super Mario Bros Wonder followed closely, with 1.5 million copies sold since October. The top ten best-selling games were all for the Nintendo Switch, with seven titles published by Nintendo. In terms of hardware, the Nintendo Switch OLED model led the way, with 2.8 million units sold, followed by the PlayStation 5 at 2.5 million units and the Xbox Series X|S at 141,712 units. The top ten best-selling boxed games for the period were: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (1,929,603), Super Mario Bros Wonder (1,549,401), Pikmin 4 (1,119,027), Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (907,432), Momotaro Dentetsu World: The Earth Spins with Hope (795,681), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (617,223), Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe (514,581), Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince (510,477), Splatoon 3 (503,312), and Super Mario RPG (447,687).