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A list of the top 100 best-selling video games for the year of 2022 was published in the February 16th 2023 issue of Weekly Famitsu.

The number of sales is tallied from 27 Dec 2021 to 25 Dec 2022. Games released prior to period also have their lifetime sales listed.

Multi-platform games have each version tallied separately. Re-releases with different prices such as DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age (New Price) and different versions of games such as Monster Hunter Rise with and without the Sunbreak DLC are also listed separately from other versions. Digital sales are not tallied, but download cards sold in stores are tallied.

Also see: Top 100 best-selling games in Japan, 2021

Japan’s top 100 best-selling games of 2022

  1. Pokémon Scarlet/Violet (Switch) – 4,338,931
  2. Splatoon 3 (Switch) – 3,687,814
  3. Pokemon Legends: Arceus (Switch) – 2,314,806
  4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch) – 969,047
  5. Nintendo Switch Sports (Switch) – 887,722
  6. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) – 742,018 in 2022 (lifetime sales total 5,014,375)
  7. Minecraft (Switch) – 548,415 (total 2,960,006)
  8. Mario Party Superstars (Switch) – 485,594 (total 1,114,132)
  9. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) – 441,053 (total 5,065,191)
  10. Elden Ring (PS4) – 356,711
  11. Ring Fit Adventure (Switch) – 327,193 (total 3,318,883)
  12. Animal Crossing New Horizons (Switch) – 311,967 (total 7,394,204)
  13. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Switch) – 293,828 (total 2,606,943)
  14. Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Set (Switch) – 293,473
  15. Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa Heisei Reiwa mo Teiban! (Switch) – 283,433 (total 2,782,933)
  16. Dragon Quest X Offline (Switch) – 252,028
  17. eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2022 (Switch) – 247,866
  18. Gran Turismo 7 (PS5) – 218,013
  19. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) – 205,127 (total 2,114,201)
  20. Dragon Quest Treasures (Switch) – 198,403
  21. Sekai no Asobi Taizen 51 (Switch) – 183,105 (total 1,054,887)
  22. Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (Switch) – 178,877
  23. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) – 178,270
  24. Touken Ranbu Warriors (Switch) – 146,087
  25. Yawaraka Atama-juku: Issho ni Atama no Stretch (Switch) – 145,996 (total 301,019)
  26. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (Switch) – 145,507
  27. Elden Ring (PS5) – 141,741
  28. Triangle Strategy (Switch) – 137,514
  29. Gran Turismo 7 (PS4) – 136,388
  30. Super Mario 3D World + Fury World (Switch) – 136,215 (total 4,128,165)
  31. Splatoon 2 (Switch) – 134,760 (total 4,128,165)
  32. Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) – 132,712
  33. Live A Live (Switch) – 132,083
  34. Pokémon Sword and Shield (Switch) – 127,744 (total 4,390,182)
  35. Taiko no Tatsujin: Dondaful Festival (Switch) – 115,251
  36. Earth Defence Force 6 (PS4) – 107,786
  37. eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2022 (PS4) – 107,222
  38. Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch) – 96,299
  39. Human Fall Flat (Switch) – 95,754 (total 309,567)
  40. Monster Hunter Rise Best Price (Switch) – 92,136 (total 98,159)
  41. Horizon Forbidden West (PS4) – 90,836
  42. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch) – 90,710 (total 1,220,439)
  43. Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch) – 90,098 (total 1,264,959)
  44. Super Mario Party (Switch) – 83,572 (total 2,119,958)
  45. Dragon Quest X Offline (PS4) – 81,676
  46. Tsuri Spirits: Tsutte Asoberu Suizokukan (Switch) – 80,024
  47. Persona 5 Royale (Switch) – 79,683
  48. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) – 79,324 (total 2,380,819)
  49. The Battle Cats Unite! (Switch) – 78,807 (total 180,805)
  50. DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age (New Price) (Switch) – 72,258 (total 241,944)
  51. Kirby Star Allies (Switch) – 74,572 (total 1,022,772)
  52. Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version! (Switch) – 72,501 (total 743,357)
  53. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Switch) – 71,900
  54. Fifa 23 Legacy Edition (Switch) – 64,465
  55. Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion (PS4) – 62,346
  56. Bayonetta 3 (Switch) – 61,683
  57. Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch) – 61,410 (total 876,727)
  58. Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion (PS5) – 61,400
  59. Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion (Switch) – 61,133
  60. Minecraft Dungeons Ultimate Edition (Switch) – 59,800 (total 226,257)
  61. Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm and Exercise (Switch) – 58,543 (total 226,257)
  62. NieR Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition (Switch) – 57,655
  63. SD Gundam Battle Alliance (Switch) – 57,492
  64. Tactics Ogre Reborn (Switch) – 55,082
  65. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (PS4) – 53,557
  66. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A New Power Awakens Set (Switch) –  51,911 (total 143,965)
  67. Sonic Frontier (Switch) – 51,758
  68. Super Bomberman R Smile Price Collection (Switch) – 50,894 (total 235,539)
  69. Disney Magic Castle My Happy Life 2: Enchanted Edition (Switch) – 50,718 (total 87,070)
  70. Tsuri Spirits: Nintendo Switch Version (Switch) – 49,810 (total 707,508)
  71. God of War Ragnarok (PS5) – 49,648
  72. Fifa 22 Legacy Edition (Switch) – 49,025 (total 100,789)
  73. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim (Switch) – 48,081
  74. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PS4) – 47,610
  75. Nobunaga no Yabou: Shinsei (Switch) – 46,766
  76. Soul Hackers 2 (PS4) – 46,725
  77. Fifa 23 (PS4) – 46,483
  78. Dying Light 2: Stay Human (PS4) – 46,346
  79. Taikou Risshiden V DX (Switch) – 44,532
  80. Eiyuu Densetsu: Kuro no Kiseki II -CRIMSON SiN- (PS4) – 43,900
  81. Harvestella (Switch) – 43,861
  82. Witch on the Holy Night (Switch) – 43,223
  83. Fortnite Minty Legends Pack (Switch) – 43,015 (total 90,815)
  84. New Pokémon Snap (Switch) – 42,877 (total 355,808)
  85. Pawapuro-kun Pocket R (Switch) – 42,350 (total 81,733)
  86. Dragon Quest X Offline (PS5) – 41,579
  87. Valkyrie Elysium (PS4) – 41,573
  88. Nobunaga no Yabou: Shinsei (PS4) – 41,179
  89. Pikmin 3 Deluxe (Switch) – 40,744 (total 642,696)
  90. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 – 40,050 (total 187,585)
  91. Ultra Kaiju Monster Farm (Switch) – 39,483
  92. Navi-tsuki! Tsukutte Wakaru Hajimete Game Programming (Switch) – 39,474 (total 313,695)
  93. Digimon Survive (Switch) – 38,889
  94. Star Ocean: The Divine Force (PS4) – 37,730
  95. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (Switch) – 37,247 (total 174,050)
  96. Earth Defence Force 6 (PS5) – 36,985
  97. Undertale (Switch) 35,493 (total 93,337)
  98. eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2021 Grand Slam (Switch) – 35,293 (total 259,126)
  99. Miitopia (Switch) – 34,318 (total 309,230)
  100. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch) – 33,871 (total 303,578)

 

Additionally, the magazine also tallied console sales for the year of 2022.

Japanese game console sales for 2022

  1. Nintendo Switch OLED model – 2,799,884 (lifetime total 3,572,012)
  2. Playstation 5 – 1,030,819 (total 2,059,945)
  3. Nintendo Switch – 1,311,752 (total 19,048,341)
  4. Nintendo Switch Lite – 692,910 (total 5,103,694)
  5. Playstation 5 Digital Edition – 123,235 (total 317,444)
  6. Xbox Series S – 170,617 (total 225,984)
  7. Xbox Series X – 99,120 (total 172,411)
  8. Playstation 4 – 22,823 (total 7,842,044)
  9. New Nintendo 2DS XL – 10,449 (total 1,189,711)

 

Things to take away from the rankings

The sales chart was dominated by the Nintendo Switch, which takes up 77 of the 100 slots for games.

Most multi-platform games available on both the PS4 and Switch sell better on the Switch, with the sole and thus notable exception being Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion

Seven PS5 games made it on to the list, more than doubling the platform’s presence from the three in 2021’s sales ranking.

No Xbox games made it on to the list at all: In addition to a small install base, many game stores in Japan do not carry Xbox games, and the majority of Japan’s Xbox install base owns Series S consoles, and digital purchases (and Game Pass games) are not tallied in this ranking. In stark contrast to this, the digital-only version of the Playstation 5 sold significantly less copies than the regular version, showing that Japanese gamers at the very least prefer to have games on disc as an option.

Also see:

Our 10 favorite 2022 Japanese games

Japanese games to look out for in 2023

 

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