Top 10 Selling Console Games Of All-Time In Japan
In a previous article I wrote about the handheld video games that sold the most units in Japan. The handheld games dominate the video game sales in Japan but there are still a lot of high selling console games as well. Just like the handheld games, the highest selling console video games in Japan come mainly from three franchises: Mario, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
1) Wii Fit (Wii)
Units Sold: 3.53 million
The Wii Fit is the only game on the top 10 best selling console games in Japan that is not from one of the three franchises I mentioned. Wii Fit is also only one of two games on this list on the Wii or for any of the current generation of consoles.
2) Super Mario World (Super Famicom/SNES)
Units Sold: 3.55 million
Super Mario World was the first post-NES Mario game and ranks as one of the best of all-time but this game is still no match for the NES games. Some players do compare this game with GTA because just like the latter, it can use some cheats like gta 5 mod menu ps4. Super Mario World (Super Famicom/SNES) is certainly one if the best selling console games of all time in Japan.
3) Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (Playstation 2)
Units Sold: 3.69 million
Clearly the Japanese prefer old school video games. There were only two video games in the top 10 selling console games in Japan from the current generation and Dragon Quest VIII is the only game on the list from the previous generation. That means there are seven games games from the NES/SNES/Playstation eras.
4) Dragon Quest III/Dragon Warrior III (Famicom/NES)
Units Sold: 3.80 million
In the early days of roleplaying games it was all about either the Final Fantasy series or the Dragon Quest series. Final Fantasy seemed to have a stranglehold on the genre after games VI and VII but the Dragon Quest series was better before that and Dragon Quest III (known as Dragon Warrior III in the US) was probably the best roleplaying game on the NES.
5) Super Mario Kart (Super Famicon/SNES)
Units Sold: 3.82 million
So we’ve already seen Mario do the whole side scrolling adventure a few times now. What can we do to freshen things up? Mario and friends driving vehicles! Genius!
6) Super Mario Bros. 3 (Famicom/NES)
Units Sold: 3.84 million
The consensus seems to be that Super Mario Bros. 3 is the best Mario video game of all-time but even the best Mario game only comes in at number five in Japan.
7) Dragon Quest VII (Playstation)
Units Sold: 3.89 million
Final Fantasy VII got all the attention in North America but in Japan the Dragon Quest series was still on the same level of popularity as the Final Fantasy series.
8) Final Fantasy VII (Playstation)
Units Sold: 3.93 million
Speaking of Final Fantasy VII… The battle between Dragon Quest VII and Final Fantasy VII in Japan was close, only a difference of 40,000 units sold. Worldwide units sold Final Fantasy VII sold over 9 million copies while Dragon Quest VII only sold a little over 4 million worldwide.
9) New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
Units Sold: 4.00 million
New Super Mario Bros. For the Wii just recently took the number spot from Final Fantasy VII but it still has a long way to go to get to number one. The Wii has sold 10 million units in Japan so I guess it shouldn’t be surprised that at least one Wii game is owned by 4 million people in Japan.
10) Super Mario Bros (Super Famicom/NES)
Units Sold: 6.81 million
You can’t beat the original. Okay, maybe in quality it is possible to top the original game but as far as sales are concerned there may never be a video game that sells as many copies in Japan as the original Super Mario Bros.
