Nintendo’s surprise title The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club tops Japan’s preorder charts 

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club Collector’s Edition on Nintendo Switch topped Amazon Japan’s video game preorder rankings for July 14 to 20 (source: Famitsu).The first new title in Nintendo’s adventure game series in 35 years, the game will put you in the shoes of two detectives investigating a tragic murder connected to an urban legend about a Smiling Man serial killer. 

The Famicom Detective Club series started in 1988, with Japan-exclusive The Missing Heir.  The popularity of the Collector’s Edition for the latest game shows that the Famicom Detective Club series still has following. The long dormant series’ recognition was boosted by the 2021 release of Famicom Detective Club: The Two-Case Collection. These remakes put the series back in the spotlight and gained it new fans overseas. Other editions of the upcoming Emio – The Smiling Man (releasing August 29) also made the preorder charts at number 7, 8 and 20.  

The second most popular preorder was the Switch version of the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake (the PS5 version also charted at number 6). Hype has been building around the new version of the 1988 game since it was announced back in 2021. Dragon Quest 3’s remake will implement QoL improvements including three difficulty settings and a performance mode for PS5. The game is scheduled to be released on November 14. 

Coming in at number 3 on Amazon’s preorder chart was the first press collector’s edition of Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025, specifically the version with the slipcase featuring popular Japanese baseballer Shohei Ohtani. Releasing on July 18, the game has since come under fire on Japanese social media for being very buggy. 

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is scheduled to be released on Nintendo Switch on August 29. 

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is scheduled to be released for Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series S|X and PC (Windows) on November 14, 2024. The Steam version will be released on November 15.