Buzz
(Homeland) - Unsurprisingly, Splatoon 3, the colorful ink shooter game, continues to dominate the Japanese gaming market.
Building on the success of Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch, Splatoon 3 aimed to deliver a more expansive experience for fans of this vibrant game series right from the start. As a result, the game promised to introduce more ink-spraying devices for players, with gameplay modes also customizable to individual preferences.
Launched in mid-September 2022, Nintendo's ink shooter game Splatoon 3 made a sensational debut. Within the first three days of release, the game achieved an impressive milestone, selling 3.45 million copies in Japan.
The 'sweeping' power of Splatoon 3 shows no signs of waning. Recently, according to the Japan Monthly Report for September 2022, this game surpassed Pokémon Legends: Arceus, confirmed as the best-selling video game in Japan in 2022.
According to Game Data Library, Nintendo's shooter game sold over 2.9 million retail units in September alone. This means that within a single month, it exceeded the 2.295 million retail sales of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. However, it's important to note that if overall profit includes digital sales figures, as of October 2nd, Splatoon 3 has sold over 4 million units.
It's not surprising, given Splatoon's immense popularity in Japan. However, seeing the enormous numbers the game has achieved in a short time is still fantastic. Nintendo's game maintains a strong momentum, with no competitors knocking it off the top spot in Japan.
From now until the end of the year, if we talk about potential contenders to dethrone Splatoon 3 as the best-selling video game in Japan in 2022, it can only be Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. This game is set to release on November 18th, giving them the last 6 weeks of the year to compete with Splatoon.
