Kirby And The Forgotten Land Is Japan’s Biggest Kirby Launch Ever

Kirby and the Forgotten Land has had the biggest launch of any game in the series in its home country. Kirby launch sales in Japan have historically been rather tame compared to other Nintendo franchises like Pokémon and Mario. Kirby and the Forgotten Land looks to have been the change that fans have been waiting for. Other recent entries in the series like the Switch’s Star Allies and 3DS’ Triple Deluxe weren’t able to beat the records of much older games.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land didn’t just beat the previous biggest launch, Super Star Ultra, the new entry demolished it. Kirby and the Forgotten Land launched with sales of 380,060 during its first week. That’s a massive 120,000 copies more than Super Star Ultra which sold 260,867 copies during its first week in 2008. Even compared to other 2022 releases, Forgotten Land is faring well. According to Game Data Library, it is the second biggest launch of the year. With Pokémon Legends: Arceus in first and Elden Ring in third.

As the first 3D game in the Kirby series, Forgotten Land may be a little overdue. Fans have been clamoring for a 3D Kirby game for years. The first week of sales in Japan shows that Nintendo was wise to heed the fans’ wishes. For the full list of Kirby launch sales in Japan, check out the full list below courtesy of @GameDataLibrary.

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