CESA White Book 2021: additional shipment data for Nintendo games (Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS)

1 May 202215 August 2022 Lite_Agent CESA, CESA White Book, CESA White Book 2021

Every year, the CESA (Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association, the Japanese equivalent of ESA in North America) publishes their White Book, which provides lots of data about video games companies in Japan. That includes shipment data for particularly successful games, which allows us to see how those games fared in Japan and worldwide. This is particularly useful for publishers that aren’t prone to share regular updates, like Nintendo.

Nintendo do share sales data alongside their quarterly financial results, but it’s always for specific games released during the past quarter, or games that have sold at least one million units during the current Fiscal Year. And so, it’s fairly hard to get up to date sales/shipment data for most games, which is why the CESA White Book is a precious source of information for anyone interested in additional data.

Below, you will find shipment data (physical shipments + digital sales) for several games published by Nintendo (including third-party games only published by Nintendo outside Japan) as of December 31st 2020:

Nintendo Switch

Mario Tennis Aces – 3.66 million units (+370 000 units since June 30th 2020)
1-2-Switch – 3.45 million units (+ 140 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze – 3.42 million units (+490 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Kirby Star Allies – 3.42 million units (+270 000 units since June 30th 2020), including 1.09 million units in Japan (+230 000 units since March 2019)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – 3.40 million units (+380 000 units since June 30th 2020), including 580 000 units in Japan
ARMS – 2.56 million units (+90 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Yoshi’s Crafted World – 2.56 million units (+470 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – 2.17 million units (+120 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Octopath Traveler (excl. Japan) – 1.90 million units (+220 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – 1.77 million units (+190 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX – 1.60 million units (+170 000 units since June 30th 2020), including 360 000 units in Japan
Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit – 1.42 million units (+50 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order – 1.31 million units (+180 000 units since June 30th 2020)
ASTRAL CHAIN – 1.21 million units (+70 000 units since June 30th 2020)
Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training for Nintendo Switch – 1.05 million units

Wii U

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – 2.02 million units
Wii Party U – 1.79 million units
Splatoon (Japan-only) – 1.79 million units (+10 000 since December 2017)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 1.70 million units
Yoshi’s Woolly World – 1.57 million units
Mario Kart 8 (Japan-only) – 1.43 million units
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – 1.37 million units
New Super Mario Bros. U (Japan-only) – 1.35 million units
Pikmin 3 – 1.27 million units
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD – 1.15 million units
LEGO City Undercover – 1.15 million units
Super Mario Maker (Japan-only) – 1.08 million units

Nintendo 3DS

Luigi’s Mansion 2 – 6.44 million units, including 1.31 million units in Japan
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – 6.34 million units
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Japan-only) – 5.95 million units (+100 000 units in 2020, and +60 000 units in 2019)
Nintendogs+cats – 4.67 million units
Pokémon X and Y (Japan-only) – 4.56 million units
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – 4.21 million units
Pokémon Sun and Moon (Japan-only) – 3.95 million units
Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS – 3.76 million units, including 1.26 million units in Japan
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer – 3.51 million units, including 1.60 million units in Japan
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (Japan-only) – 3.46 million units
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D – 3.36 million units
Mario Kart 7 (Japan-only) – 3.08 million units
Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright / Conquest / Revelation – 3.03 million units
Mario Party: Island Tour – 2.93 million units
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D – 2.91 million units
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (Japan-only) – 2.91 million units
New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan-only) – 2.76 million units
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – 2.67 million units
Kirby Triple Deluxe – 2.63 million units
Paper Mario: Sticker Star – 2.48 million units
Fire Emblem Awakening – 2.33 million units
Super Mario 3D Land (Japan-only) – 2.30 million units
Tomodachi Life (Japan-only) – 2.22 million units
Yoshi’s New Island – 2.04 million units
LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins – 2.04 million units
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon – 1.66 million units
Kirby: Planet Robobot – 1.60 million units
Mario Tennis Open – 1.57 million units
Yo-kai Watch (excl. Japan) – 1.49 million units
Nintendo Presents: New Style Boutique – 1.44 million units
Pokémon Rumble Blast – 1.40 million units
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity – 1.38 million units
Kid Icarus: Uprising – 1.36 million units
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes – 1.36 million units
Miitopia – 1.21 million units
Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits / Flashy Souls / Psychic Specters (excl. Japan) – 1.20 million units
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam – 1.07 million units
Star Fox 64 3D – 1.05 million units
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (excl. Japan) – 1.02 million units
Rhythm Heaven Megamix – 1.01 million units

More up to date data will be included in the CESA White Book 2022, to be released later this year (the 2021 paper was originally slated for a 2021 release, but was delayed to April 27th 2022).

Source: CESA White Book 2021
Data compiled by oracion (Install Base) [Post 1 / Post 2] / Tbone5189 (Install Base) [Post 1] / Celine [Post 1 / Post 2]