This Week In Sales: Taiko no Tatsujin Drums Up A Nintendo Switch Version

Period: The week of July 16 – July 22 (2018)

Top-seller: Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version 69,984 (Switch)

Nintendo Switch sales: 53,745 (Last week – 50,239)

Nintendo 2DS sales: 437 (448)

New Nintendo 2DS LL sales: 8,296 (4,176)

New Nintendo 3DS LL sales: 2,844 (2,507)

PlayStation 4 sales: 14,035 (12,431)

PlayStation 4 Pro sales: 6,274 (5,165)

PlayStation Vita sales: 4,277 (4,112)

Xbox One sales: 709 (47)

Xbox One X sales: 56 (32)

<< Last week’s software sales chart

<< How to read and understand sale

Last week, Japan only had one new title in the top-20 but it wasn’t exactly a quiet one with Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version drumming up a new release that did quite well for itself. Japanese sales tracker Media Create released the latest video game software and hardware sales data from the week of July 16 through July 22, 2018.

The #1 spot of the week goes to none other than Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version which sold a whopping 69,984 units in its debut. Here’s how it stacks compared to the Taiko Drum Master games of the past few years:

• (2013) Taiko Drum Master: Wii U Version! [Wii U] – 19,265
• (2014) Taiko Drum Master: Don to Katsu no Jiku Daiboken [3DS] – 53,095
• (2014) Taiko Drum Master: Tokumori! [Wii U] – 11,769
• (2015) Taiko Drum Master: V Version [PS Vita] – 46,101
• (2015) Taiko Drum Master: Atsumete Tomodachi Daisakusen [Wii U] – 10,007
• (2016) Taiko Drum Master: Doko Don! Mystery Adventure [3DS] – 32,369
• (2017) Taiko Drum Master: Session de Dodon ga Don! [PS4] – 28,245

Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version saw the best debut for the series to date. It’s safe to assume that a big selling point for the Nintendo Switch version came from its Joy-Con controls, meaning players wouldn’t have to dish out extra money if they didn’t want to play on a traditional controller. You can read more about how it works in Alistair’s playtest.

Octopath Traveler charted at #2 in its second week with 22,438 units sold on Nintendo Switch. Splatoon 2 was back in its familiar spot at #3 with 21,913 units sold and soon approaching the 2.5 million milestone via retail in Japan.

At #4 we have Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker with 20,547 units sold. Next at #5 it was Mario Tennis Aces with 19,709 units sold on Switch, followed by Minecraft at #6 with 16,265 units sold, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with 13,435 units sold. The Nintendo Switch had overall solid software sales last week with the top-7 being Switch games and the only seven to hit five-digit figures in the list.

As far as any other notable titles, Animal Crossing: New Leaf –Welcome amiibo went from #33 last week to #14 this week with 4,354 units sold on 3DS. This is the first time in a couple months that the game makes it back into the top-20. Mario Kart 7 also managed to squeeze into the #20 spot with 2,614 units sold on 3DS after failing to chart in the top-50 last week.

As for hardware sales, the PlayStation 4 sold 14,035 units and the PS4 Pro sold 6,274 units to combine for 20,309 units between the two. The Nintendo Switch sold 53,745 units to make up for 59.3% of all hardware sales of the week. Going by Media Create’s figures, the Nintendo Switch is currently at 4,654,456 units sold in Japan since its launch in March 3, 2017.

The top-20 chart of the week is as follows:

Sales data acquired from 4Gamer and Media Create.