Mario Kart 8 Deluxe topped last Japanese charts of 2017

Nintendo unsurprisingly won Christmas in Japan. What’s more surprising is that it topped the last weekly charts of the year with a title that released back in April, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe charting at No.1 (according to sales data collected by Famitsu from December 25th to 31st 2017).

With 89k units sold, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe came back at the top for the first time in Japan since the second week of June, Famitsu said. The second and third spots were also taken by Switch titles, with Splatoon 2 selling 80k copies that week and Super Mario Odyssey shifting 79k units, losing the top spot it held the previous week.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon made it to No.3 with 58k copies sold, helping its cumulative sales to hit the 2m milestone in Japan.

There was only one new release in the Japanese charts, with 3DS title Mario Party: The Top 100 taking No.5 with 56k copies sold that week. 

Nintendo platforms took most of the Top Ten except for No.9, with PS4 exclusive Earth Defense Force 5 making it to that spot thanks to 14k units shifted.

As far as hardware is concerned, the Switch unsurprisingly made it to No.1 that week with 115k units shifted. Sales were down 60 per cent week-on-week but Famitsu said they were likely to go up again very soon as “in-store stock levels of the Switch appeared to have been largely replenished for the New Year shopping season.”

Here’s the Japanese Top Ten from December 25th to December 31st 2017 (data courtesy of Famitsu):

1. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo)
2. Splatoon 2 (Nintendo)
3. Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
4. Pocket Monster Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon (Pokemon)
5. Mario Party: The Top 100 (Nintendo) – NEW
6. Yo-kai Watch Busters 2: Hiho Densetsu Banbaraya Sword/Magnum (Level-5)
7. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
8. 1,2, Switch (Nintendo)
9. Earth Defense Force 5 (D3 Publisher)
10. Arms (Nintendo)