Donkey Kong Bananza becomes the second-best-selling game in Japan during its opening days

Today, Famitsu revealed estimated physical sales for Donkey Kong Bananza the week of its release, at least in Japan, and it appears that the Nintendo Switch 2 console sales got a significant boost as well. The new 3D platformer has received some of the highest review scores of the year so far, currently sitting at 90 / 100 on Metacritic, just a few points below Split Fiction, Blue Prince, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In Japan, according to sales data recorded by Famitsu and reported by Gematsu, Donkey Kong Bananza has sold 127,905 copies, making it the highest-selling new game release between July 14th and July 20th, despite being available only for the second half of that period, as it was released on July 17th.

Donkey Kong Bananza is the second-highest selling game in Japan during its launch week

Your first question might be, what’s the best-selling game? Of course, it’s Mario Kart World. Even more than a month after its release, and despite its $80 price that threw some fans into an uproar, Mario Kart World is still selling like hotcakes. But compared to Donkey Kong Bananza, it’s only up by a slim margin. The new Mario Kart sold 135,370 during the same week, only outdoing the newer game by 7,465 copies. But that’s just the power of Mario Kart, with even the eleven-year-old Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still ranking number four in the same period with over 8,000 sales.

Famitsu also reported console sales, revealing that compared to the previous week, the Switch 2 had a sales boost, reaching 152,165 after last week’s 71,885. It’s not impossible that the new Donkey Kong game has had an impact, but Mario Kart World sales also went up. As the newest console, the Switch 2 outsold all other consoles by a wide margin. However, the original Switch is still vying for the coveted “best-selling console of all time” title, selling over 10,000 more consoles between the Switch OLED, Switch Lite, and the original Switch models.

Some other fun facts:

• The third best-selling game was Tamagotchi Plaza, published by Bandai Namco. Specifically, the Nintendo Switch version, not the Switch 2 version. The Switch 2 edition ranked eighth, with sales just under half those of the other version.
• But the sheer drop in numbers shows the power of Nintendo’s first-party software. Tamagotchi Plaza sold just over 9,000 in third place compared to Bananza’s 127,000 in second place.
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons also made the cut, coming in fifth after Mario Kart 8, with 6,664 sales.

These numbers are not the most reliable indicators of success. They are only for Japan, they are only for physical copies, and they are only estimates. Nintendo does not regularly reveal its sales numbers, and even when it does, it doesn’t always disclose digital sales. Therefore, it may take some time to fully understand the scope of what Bananza was able to accomplish.

This is just the beginning of Donkey Kong Bananza’s journey. The Switch 2 might have been the fastest-selling console release in history, reaching five million in sales in its first month, but that number will only continue to grow. More people will jump into the Switch 2, and Donkey Kong Bananza will be right there waiting for them as one of the best, if not the best, exclusives available on the console.

Donkey Kong: Bananza

July 17, 2025

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• Nintendo
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• Nintendo Switch 2