Are you having a good time playing Splatoon 3? Well, you’re very far from being alone on that one. It’s been just-about three days since the Splatoon 3 release time arrived and Nintendo has just confirmed that domestic sales of Splatoon 3 have cleared three million units. Why is this shocking? Well, for one, it has doubled the first-week sales figures for the immensely popular The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. Not only this, but it’s actually shot up to become the biggest ever domestic game launch in Japan, period.
We know this might be hard to believe, but it looks like the completely bonkers pre-release Splatfest Nintendo held for Splatoon 3 paid off. In an official statement from The Nintendo Company, it has been confirmed that (according to Nintendo), Splatoon 3 has shipped 2,45 million units in Japan, which is “the highest domestic sales level for any Nintendo Switch software within the first three days”.
Senior industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, a reputable source for industry news in Asia, has confirmed that this has sold more than Animal Crossing New Horizons, the previous fastest selling Nintendo Switch game in Japan, and Pokémon Black and Pokémon White, the previous fastest selling video game of all time in Japan.
Putting this into some context, in 2017, VGChartz estimated that The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild shipped around one and a half million units in its’ first week. Of this, it looks like only around 16% of these were attributed to Japan – which equates to around 235,000. Yeah, it sold over 14x more units than what is widely regarded as the best Nintendo Switch game of all time.
Adding to this rather impressive feat, Kotaku reported that Splatoon 3 shipped around 671,000 units in the first three days of release, in Japan. While that is an impressive number, it’s nothing compared to what Splatoon 3 has done. Of course, the sheer number of Switch consoles in people’s hands shouldn’t be overlooked, but it’s still a fantastic achievement and a good sign for the future of the Splatoon franchise.
If you’re a fan of Splatoon 3, then you might want to consider picking up this Splatoon 3 Switch bundle and Pro Controller – which will certainly splat your wallet. You can also check out the best Splatoon 3 weapons and best Splatoon 3 abilities right here. It’s clear that this is one of the best Nintendo Switch games available right now – but, it’s surprising just how popular it is already.