Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Was Nintendo’s “Best-Selling” Switch Game In May 2024 (US)

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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Image: Nintendo

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door topped the charts in the UK and Japan when it arrived on the Switch in May 2024, and some new data about its release in the US has now been shared.

According to Circana (formerly NPD) via industry analyst Mat Piscatella, it debuted in second place right in the “Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games” right underneath Ghost of Tsushima and just ahead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023).

“Ghost of Tsushima generated a slightly higher consumer spending total across physical and digital game sales than did physical-only sales of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo is not a digital data sharing publisher).”

The one other first-party Nintendo game represented in the top 20 best-selling games in the month of May was Mario Kart 8 in 15th place.

US Charts - Circana
Image: via Mat Piscatella on X / Circana

In terms of the “top 10 best-selling” Switch games for the month of May, Paper Mario debuted in top spot, with Mario Kart 8 in second and Princess Peach: Showtime! dropping down to third spot.

US Charts - Circana
Image: via Mat Piscatella on X / Circana

On the hardware front, video game hardware spending reportedly declined by 40% year-over-year, with Switch also showing “the most significant drop” in double-digit percentage declines year-on-year in 2024. One major difference last May was the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom:

“The May 2024 Console spending declines versus a year ago across hardware, content and accessories spending can be partially attributed to the strength of the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the May 2023 comparable period… May video game hardware spending declined 40% when compared to a year ago, to $202M, and is now 30% lower YTD. Through May, all current generation hardware platforms are showing double-digit percentage declines year-on-year in 2024, with Switch showing the most significant drop.“

If you haven’t played Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door before, the Switch release is a great chance to give it a go. You can learn more about this GameCube classic and how it’s been updated in our full review here on Nintendo Life: