Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble Does Well in North America

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble isn’t doing particularly well in Japan, but that’s not the case in North America. In a new interview in Famitsu, Nobuhiro Suzuki, the producer of Super Monkey Ball, revealed that Sega focused on North American markets when working on the newest title in the franchise.

“It is hard to understand if you are in Japan, but overseas Super Monkey Ball is popular, and sells particularly in North America,” Suzuki said.

“The sales percentage of the last game, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, shows a large portion of sales were in North America, too. So this time as well, the audience we first tried to focus on was North America.”

The Super Monkey Ball series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game Monkey Ball, which was later ported to the GameCube. Since then, 20 games have followed, with the upcoming Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble set to be the 21st in the series.

“There isn’t really an explanation,” said Suzuki when asked about the game’s inexplicable popularity. “You can tilt the ground with the control stick and make the ball roll, but it’s like a toy where you roll a ball on a board.

Because it’s an instinct, even inexperienced players can play too. With simple controls, anyone can enjoy it, but that does not mean it is easy. The more you play, the deeper and more addictive it is.”

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble was released on the Nintendo Switch on June 25, 2024. The game includes over 300 items that can be used to customize your character, including headwear, clothing, and accessories.