Splatoon 3 Is Already The Best-Selling Video Game Of 2022 In Japan

Splatoon 3 just continues to splatter ink over all sorts of records, especially in Japan where the IP is huge. And it’s just surpassed another one — with the release of the Japan Monthly Report for September 2022, it’s now been confirmed that Splatoon 3 is the best-selling video game in Japan in 2022.

The data from the report was shared by Game Data Library on Twitter, and it reveals that Nintendo’s third ink-based shooter sold just over 2.9 million retail units in the month of September alone. That means, in just a month, it’s surpassed Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘ 2.295 million retail unit sales.

It’s worth emphasising that this is just based on retail units, but if we were to include digital sales too (of what we currently know thanks to Nintendo revealing some sales figures when Splatoon 3 launched), that means that the game has sold over 4 million units already (up to 2nd October).

We’re not surprised, let’s say, more like staggered. We know how popular Splatoon is in Japan, but seeing these huge figures in such a short space of time is pretty amazing. It’s still yet to be knocked off of the top spot in Japan!

When Splatoon 3 launched on 9th September, it became the fastest-selling Switch game in Japan ever in its opening weekend, selling nearly 2 million physical copies in those first few days.

There’s only really one potential contender to take the crown for the best-selling video game in Japan in 2022 — Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. The ninth generation of Pokémon games launch on 18th November, so they’ll have six weeks to try and take Splatoon’s ink-splattered crown. It could be a close race.

Are you happy or surprised with Splatoon 3’s success? Have you picked up the game yet? Let us know in the comments!