Kirby and the Forgotten Land has reportedly had the franchise’s biggest ever launch in Japan and has even outsold Elden Ring in the region.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land has reportedly had the biggest launch in the series’ history in Japan, beating out Elden Ring in launch sales and sitting just behind Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Kirby and the Forgotten Land received positive reviews at launch, with many citing it as the best Kirby game to date.
The Kirby series has mostly consisted of 2D platformers. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first 3D platformer in the series, with many players comparing it to Super Mario Odyssey in terms of scope. Kirby’s repertoire of moves has also been updated to reflect the larger world he now inhabits, as his new Mouthful Mode lets him combine with gadgets and vehicles, which drastically change his moveset. Kirby also has the ability to upgrade his old Copy abilities, making them more powerful over the course of the game. By far the biggest star of the game is Kirby’s Carby Mouthful Mode, which lets Kirby turn into a car that can be driven around the stages.
According to Game Data Library on Twitter (via. Nintendo Life), Kirby and the Forgotten Land has had the biggest launch in the franchise’s history in Japan, with nearly 400,000 copies sold in its launch week. What’s more impressive is that it’s also the second-biggest launch of 2022 so far, with the incredibly popular multi-platform Elden Ring sitting in third place. Only Pokémon Legends: Arceus has had a better week so far.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land had the 𝗕𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛 for the series in Japan, with a 70% increase over launch sales of Triple Deluxe.
It’s the second biggest launch of 2022 in Japan so far, behind Pokémon Legends and above Elden Ring. pic.twitter.com/6Vlmp1tOq4
— Game Data Library (@GameDataLibrary) March 31, 2022
A big part of the reason why Kirby and the Forgotten Land has done so well in Japan is due to the Switch’s incredible popularity in the region. The Switch has outsold the Wii worldwide and it’s currently dominating the marketplace in Japan, with Famitsu‘s sales lists being overrun with Switch titles. The massive fanbase of diehard Nintendo lovers was hyped for a new Kirby game and even its proximity to other major releases didn’t stifle the enthusiasm for the game.
The Nintendo Switch has seen some surprising success stories, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons becoming a sales juggernaut that almost dethroned Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, while Pokémon Sword and Shield managed to outsell Pokémon Gold and Silver. 2022 is likely to be a huge year for the Pokémon franchise on Nintendo Switch, thanks to the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the upcoming release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and BOTW 2 being delayed to 2023. Kirby and the Forgotten Land could be a surprise success story for the series and it will hopefully lead to more 3D platformers to come.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Game Data Library/Twitter, Nintendo Life
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