Nintendo Reveals Top 10 Best-Selling Switch Games

New data from Nintendo has revealed the top-selling games for Switch as of September 30. The results are a mix of the usual heavy-hitters like Mario and Zelda, along with a few games that you might not expect to sell dozens of millions of copies.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to sell exceptionally well, with over 48.4 million copies sold. However, the unlikely hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons has claimed the second spot, with an astounding 40.2 million copies sold. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Pokemon Sword & Shield round out the rest of the top five, with sales of 29.5 million, 27.8 million, and 25.3 million respectively.

The rest of the top 10 includes Super Mario Odyssey at 24.4 million, Super Mario Party at 18.4 million, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl at 14.9 million, and Ring Fit Adventure at 14.9 million. Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu & Let's Go Eevee sit at the number 10 spot, with 14.8 million. If you're curious, data from January of this year indicates that Pokemon Legends: Arceus sits at number 11 with 13.9 million copies sold.

As a whole, this list really demonstrates the continued cultural dominance of the Pokemon franchise, given that it claims three of the 10 spots. The impressive sales of Ring Fit Adventure are definitely a plus, given that it's a new franchise. However, for me, the biggest surprise continues to be the ascendance of Animal Crossing, which has gone from one of Nintendo's lesser-known franchises to one of its biggest ever hits in just one entry. You can thank the pandemic for that.