Splatoon 3 has been out for three days. Nintendo released sales numbers for the game’s launch in Japan, revealing that domestic sales for the title boast more than 3.45 million units. This number includes both physical and digital sales, and it’s the highest domestic sales level for any Nintendo Switch software within the first three days.
While Nintendo’s announcement about Splatoon 3’s sales made a note of it being the best-selling Switch game based on three-day sales (beating the previous record-holder, Animal Crossing: New Horizons), it also looks like this is the biggest launch of all time for any game sold in Japan. According to Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners, it beats Pokémon Black & White, the previous fastest-selling game of all time in Japan.
Pokemon Black & White sold 2.63 million copies at launch, but this was within two days. There doesn’t seem to be data for the first three days after launch. So, while the sales data isn’t directly comparable, it’s clear that Splatoon 3’s launch in Japan is absolutely massive. This comes as no surprise, given that Splatoon 2 sold 13.3 million copies as of March 2022, making it one of the best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch.
Splatoon 3 sales
Splatoon 3 sold 3.45 million units within its first three days after launch. Splatoon 2 sold 648,000 units in its first few days, while the first Splatoon sold 144,000 in its first week. Check out the launch trailer below to see if you want to contribute to its massive sales.
For more, check out our Splatoon 3 review to see if it’s something you fancy picking up (spoilers: the game is excellent).