Japanese Gamers Buy New Releases in Large Numbers as Newcomers Take Entire Sales Podium

Famitsu has published its weekly Japanese game sales chart. Tales of Eternia Remastered took the top spot, and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse placed among the leaders on two platforms.

New releases led the chart for October 12 to 18. Tales of Eternia Remastered filled three of the top five places with its Nintendo Switch 2, Switch, and PS5 versions.

According to Famitsu, the Switch version of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse also placed in the top three. Other notable releases include Ace Combat 8 for PS5 and the Kingdom Hearts Collection [1–3] bundle for Switch 2.

Top 10 game sales in Japan (October 12–18):

1. [NS2] Tales of Eternia Remastered – 17,911 copies.
2. [NS] Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse – 15,630.
3. [NS] Tales of Eternia Remastered – 14,003.
4. [NS] Rhythm Heaven Groove – 13,084 (total 1,093,427).
5. [PS5] Tales of Eternia Remastered – 10,390.
6. [PS5] Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse – 7,621.
7. [PS5] Ace Combat 8 – 5,834 (total 82,648).
8. [NS2] Kingdom Hearts Collection [1–3] – 5,404 (total 28,815).
9. [NS2] Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave – 5,221 (total 177,755).
10. [NS] Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream – 5,212 (total 1,633,297).

For the first time in a while, new releases filled the entire podium, and two different versions of the same game placed in the top three. The autumn release season has noticeably shifted the balance of power in the Japanese market.