A list of the top 100 best-selling video games in Japan for the year of 2023 was published in the 15th February 2024 issue of Weekly Famitsu.
The number of sales tallied is from 26 Dec 2022 to 31 Dec 2023. Games released prior to this period also have their lifetime sales listed in addition to their 2023 sales.
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 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet with or without the The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC are also listed separately from other versions.
Digital sales are not tallied, but download cards sold in stores are tallied.
Also see:The top 100 best-selling games in Japan, 2024
Japan’s top 100 best-selling games of 2024
Rank. Title (Platform) – 2023 sales (Total lifetime sales)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) – 1,939,603
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch) – 1,549,401
- Pikmin 4 (Switch) – 1,119,027
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Switch) – 907,432 (Total 5,246,363)
- Momotaro Dentetsu World: Chikyuu wa Kibou de Mawatteru! (Switch) – 795,681
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) – 617,223 (Total: 5,631,598)
- Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe (Switch) – 514,581
- DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince (Switch) – 510,477
- Splatoon 3 (Switch) – 503,312 (4,191,126)
- Super Mario RPG (Switch) – 447,687
- Minecraft (Switch) – 434,216 (3,394,222)
- Final Fantasy XVI (PS5) – 429,330
- Nintendo Switch Sports (Switch) – 359,127 (1,246,849)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) – 335,084 (5,400,275)
- Mario Party Superstars (Switch) – 257,641 (1,371,773)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) – 250,450 (7,645,654)
- Fire Emblem Engage (Switch) – 222,235
- Ring Fit Adventure (Switch) – 188,513 (3,507,396)
- Hogwarts Legacy (PS5) – 187,840
- Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa Heisei Reiwa mo Teiban! (Switch) – 176,594 (2,959,527)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PS5) – 166,731
- Taiko no Tastsujin: Dondaful Festival (Switch) – 161,965 (277,216)
- Sekai no Asobi Taizen 51 (Switch) – 160,091 (1,214,978)
- ARMORED CORE VI: FIRES OF RUBICON (PS5) – 154,828
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) –149,398 (2,263,599)
- Jinsei Game for Nintendo Switch (Switch) – 147,308
- Resident Evil 4 (PS4) – 145,123
- WarioWare: Move It! (Switch) – 141,554
- Resident Evil 4 (PS5) – 140,889
- Detective Pikachu Returns (Switch) – 137,528
- Gran Turismo 7 (PS5) – 130,780 (348,793)
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch) – 115,106 (1,084,153)
- Dragon Quest Treasures (Switch) – 198,403
- Super Mario Party (Switch) – 112,679 (2,232,637)
- Octopath Traveler II (Switch) – 106,592
- Super Mario 3D World + Fury World (Switch) – 102,124 (1,209,757)
- Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Special Price (Switch) – 99,834 (118,599)
- ARK: Survival Evolved (Switch) – 92,442
- Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (PS4) – 91,169
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch) – 88,918 (1,309,357)
- Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (PS5) – 87,551
- Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (Switch) – 84,269
- Hogwarts Legacy (Switch) – 82,367
- Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE (Switch) – 82,225
- Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life (Switch) – 78657
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet + The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero (Switch) – 76,112
- Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Switch) – 75,770 (2,682,713)
- Tsuri Spirits: Tsutte Asoberu Suizokukan (Switch) – 75,558 (155,582)
- ARMORED CORE VI: FIRES OF RUBICON (PS4) – 75,364
- Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch) – 72,917 (1,337,876)
- Human Fall Flat (Switch) – 72,737 (382,304)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) – 71,164 (2,451,965)
- Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch) – 71,138 (947,865)
- Fashion Dreamer (Switch) – 68,012
- eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2022 (Switch) – 66,667 (314,533)
- Street Fighter 6 (PS5) – 66,413
- Pikmin 1+2 (Switch) – 66,388
- FIFA 23 Legacy Edition (Switch) – 64,260 (128,725)
- The Battle Cats Unite! (Switch) – 62,895 (243,700)
- EA SPORTS FC 24 (Switch) – 58,862
- Hogwarts Legacy (PS4) – 58,333
- Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Set (Switch) – 57,777 (351,250)
- Like a Dragon: Ishin! (PS4) – 57,198
- WILD HEARTS (PS5) – 55,668
- Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection (Switch) – 53,909
- Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (PS5) – 53,485
- ONE PIECE ODYSSEY (PS4) – 52,438
- Fate/Samurai Remnant (Switch) – 50,407
- Natsumon! 20-Seiki no Natsuyasumi (Switch) – 49,804
- Street Fighter 6 (PS4) – 49,603
- Like a Dragon: Ishin! (PS5) – 49,278
- Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion (Switch) – 48,056 (109,189)
- Forspoken (PS5) – 47,181
- DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age (New Price) (Switch) – 46,819 (288,763)
- Pokémon Sword and Shield (Switch) – 46,326 (4,436,508)
- Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (Switch) – 46,273
- Minecraft Legends (Switch) – 45,243
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch) – 44,591 (2,359,397)
- ONE PIECE ODYSSEY (PS5) – 44,285
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Additional Course Pass (Switch) – 44,007
- Star Ocean: The Second Story R (Switch) – 42,014
- Infinity Strash: DRAGON QUEST The Adventure of Dai (Switch) – 41,982
- Diablo IV (PS5) – 41,173
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (PS5) – 39,676
- Kirby Star Allies (Switch) – 38,323 (1,061,095)
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Switch) – 38,129 (110,029)
- Persona 5 Tactica (Switch) – 36,462
- Tales of Symphonia Remastered (Switch) – 35,794
- Xenoblade 3 (Switch) – 35,756 (214,026)
- Dragon Quest X Offline (Switch) – 35,289 (287,317)
- ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 Deluxe Edition (Switch) – 34,814
- EA SPORTS FC 24 (PS5) – 33,878
- Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) – 33,830 (166,542)
- Wo Long: Fallen Destiny (PS4) – 33,060
- Super Bomberman R2 (Switch) – 32,756
- Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 (Switch) – 31,549
- Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star (Switch) – 31,255 (49,087)
- Winning Post 10 (Switch) – 30,817
- Minecraft Dungeons Ultimate Edition (Switch) – 30,726 (127,951)
- Fate/Samurai Remnant (PS5) – 30,392
Japanese game console sales for 2023
- Nintendo Switch OLED model – 2,856,146 (lifetime total 6,428,158)
- Playstation 5 – 2,238,225 (total 4,298,170)
- Nintendo Switch – 636,083 (total 19,684,424)
- Nintendo Switch Lite – 570,380 (total 5,674,074)
- Playstation 5 Digital Edition – 349,243 (total 666,687)
- Playstation 4 – 73,292 (total 7,915,336)
- Xbox Series X – 72,573 (total 244,984)
- Xbox Series S – 69,139 (total 295,123)
- New Nintendo 2DS XL – 3,033 (total 1,192,744)
Things to take away from the rankings
The sales chart was dominated by the Nintendo Switch, which takes up 74 of the 100 slots for games and completely takes the top 10.
18 PS5 games made it onto the chart, more than double 2022’s 7 and six times 2021’s 3. Contributing to this was Sony solving the stock issue with PS5s in Japan in 2023: Previously, many people in the country who wanted a PS5 ran into problems actually obtaining one due to low stock, but the situation has improved to the point that in most cases one can simply walk into a store and buy one. This can also be seen in the console’s sales, with more than half of the lifetime sales for both the regular and digital editions having been made in 2023.
No Xbox games made it on to the list at all, indication of a low install base. Additionally, sales of Xbox consoles fell to the point that they were below that of the Playstation 4.
