Nintendo has just updated its list of the Nintendo Switch’s all-time top selling games. Which is, let’s face it, a two-horse race between Mario Kart and Animal Crossing. But which one crosses the finish line first? Let’s find out.
The list is for worldwide life-to-date numbers, as of September 30, 2021. These sales figures include bundled units and downloaded copies, on top of regular boxed sales.
10. Ring Fit Adventure
Released: October 18, 2019
Life to date: 12.21 million copies
9. Splatoon 2
Released: July 21, 2017
Life to date: 12.68 million copies
8. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!
Released: November 16, 2018
Life to date: 13.83 million copies
7. Super Mario Party
Released: October 5, 2018
Life to date: 16.48 million copies
6. Super Mario Odyssey
Released: October 27, 2017
Life to date: 21.95 million copies
5. Pokémon Sword/Pokémon Shield
Released: November 15, 2019
Life to date: 22.64 million copies
4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Released: March 3, 2017
Life to date: 24.13 million copies
3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Released: December 7, 2018
Life to date: 25.71 million copies
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Released: March 20, 2020
Life to date: 34.85 million copies
1. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Released: April 28, 2017
Life to date: 38.74 million copies
Exercise games, party games, and Pokémon, Zelda and Mario games have always done extremely well on previous Nintendo consoles. And they are doing pretty damn good here, too. No change there.
While the Switch’s top sellers list is filled with the usual suspects—Mario, Pokémon, Zelda, and the like—that’s not always the case for top selling games on Nintendo hardware. Top ten charts in previous hardware generations saw totally new titles, such as the first Splatoon on the Wii U and Tomodachi Life on the 3DS. Maybe as the Switch’s hardware life continues, it’ll see a brand new IP climb the chart. We shall see.
The one franchise that tends to dominate all the top ten lists, though, is Mario Kart. On the Wii U, Mario Kart 8 was the biggest-selling game, moving 8.46 million copies. Likewise, its prequel Mario Kart 7 was also the biggest game on the Nintendo 3DS, selling 18.95 million copies. Mario Kart Wii did not top the Wii’s top ten sales chart (Wii Sports did), but it did come in second at 37.38 million copies, and Mario Kart DS came in third on the DS sales chart after Nintendogs and New Super Mario Bros.
It’s also worth checking out our list of the Switch’s best games, which features many superb titles that don’t make the best-sellers lists.