Splatoon 2 really is the game that just keeps on giving. More content, more online events, more cash for Nintendo…. it’s just unstoppable. Which game dominated the August sales charts? You’re dang right it was Splatoon 2.
Now, you’d think that there comes a time when sales have to stagnate. Logic dictates that, after a certain time, everyone who has any interest in a product is already in on it. That’s not how capitalism really works, sure, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it.
It’s an interesting phenomenon, isn’t it? The barnstorming success of Grand Theft Auto V, for instance, just kept rolling and rolling and rolling. Is there anyone left on the planet who doesn’t own a copy? Apparently not. In April, it was announced that Rockstar’s masterpiece had made around $6 billion, more than any other entertainment product ever. Period.
Crossing back over to the land of Nintendo Switch, then, it would be tough to deny that the planet’s going a little mad for the system just now. Nintendo fans who remember the dark days of Wii U don’t know what’s happening. 2018 may have been a little sparse for Switch releases (the mega-success of retro-tinged RPG Octopath Traveller aside), but that doesn’t seem to be dampening people’s enthusiasm. The whiff of the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee isn’t doing any harm either.
Who can you rely on to always have Nintendo’s back? The Japanese, that’s who. They’re still buying Splatoon 2 in particular in droves. The game may have been released way back in July last year, but apparently lots of people didn’t get that memo. As Nintendo Enthusiast reports, August’s Japanese software sales data has been released, and Splatoon 2 is right there on top.
Granted, the game has done more than most to keep players coming back. A regular stream of Splatfests, new weapons, the recent Octo Expansion… that doesn’t quite explain how this happened, though. Still, it seems there are some people in the country who don’t yet own a Switch and are picking up the top titles. Either that, or the multiple-Switches-per-household thing is catching on.