Niche new title tops Nintendo Switch sales charts in Japan, ousting Princess Peach 

The Nintendo Switch Game sales charts in Japan got a surprising shake-up this week- with a brand new, niche game unexpectedly ousting Nintendo’s own IP from the top spot.  

Developed by LicoBiTs and published by Broccoli, Utakata no Uchronia (The Ephemeral World Uchronia) is a Japanese otome adventure game/visual novel set on a utopia-like floating island that combines elements of Asian fantasy with steampunk. The player takes on the role of a young noblewoman who crosses paths with various handsome young men as she tries to discover the dark truth beneath this seemingly perfect world. 

With a well-known cast of anime voice actors, eye-catching visuals, and an intriguing fantasy setting– it is easy to see why fans of the otome genre would rush out to buy it. However, it is surprising for such a niche game to shoot straight to the top of the charts in its first week. 

According to Famitsu’s Nintendo Switch game sales chart for the week from April 8 to 14, Utakata no Uchronia sold 11,553 copies (the game was released on April 11). Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remained at No. 2, selling 11,247 copies, followed by Princess Peach: Showtime!, Super Mario Brothers Wonder, and Nintendo Switch Sports.  Therefore, the newcomer at number 1 was the only non-Nintendo IP in the top 5. 

At the time of writing, Utakata no Uchronia is only available in Japanese- with localization plans yet to be announced. Princess Peach: Showtime! previously outsold both Rise of the Ronin and Dragon’s Dogma 2 in their first week on sale in Japan, showing how coinciding release dates can impact the initial sales success of a game. On the same topic, Atlus recently revealed that they will not be releasing Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance in the same week as the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.