Konami stocks have been on the rise starting August, with the company hitting its highest share price since listing for two consecutive days on August 5 and 6 (as reported by GameBiz). Financial journals like The Nikkei attribute the sudden increase to the success of eFootball and the announcement of Momotaro Dentetsu 2 – a sequel to one of Konami’s longtime domestic best-sellers.
As announced during the recent Nintendo Direct, Momotaro Dentetsu 2: Anata no Machi Mo Kitto Aru – the next installment in the 35-year-old Japan and Asia-exclusive game series – will launch for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on November 13.
Momotaro Dentestsu is a digital board game franchise that has you travelling across Japan via different modes of transportation. Similar to Monopoly, you can acquire properties and encounter unique challenges, such as the “God of Poverty,” that will test your money-making skills. The first Momotaro Dentetsu game was released for the Famicom in 1988 and has since spawned several console and mobile games that have all been big hits in Japan. The series has sold 18.9 million units as of June 30, 2025. Among recent releases, 2020’s Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! sold over 4 million copies despite releasing on only one game system (the Nintendo Switch) and only in Japan.
Despite its naming, Momotaro Dentetsu 2 is the 25th console game in the franchise. It will include two huge maps, depicting Eastern and Western Japan, and feature over 1,000 stations and 6,000 properties. Playing to its strengths as a Japan-exclusive title, the maps in Momotaro Dentetsu are based on real life, with areas containing modern and historic trivia disguised as unique events.
Since Momotaro Dentetsu games are family-friendly and teach players about real-life Japan, it seems that those who grew up with the earlier titles have passed their love of the franchise down to their children. Regardless of Momotaro Dentetsu 2’s reception, the game has shown that there are still many people who are willing to bank on Konami’s older but still popular IPs.
I’m certain that “Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!” was released outside of Japan at least in select Asian regions: there exists a multi-language “Asia Edition” of the game that features English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Japanese, and the game has been featured in the Taiwanese weekly Top 5 best-selling physical games chart as late as this June.
Japan did clearly provide the overwhelming majority of its sales, though!