Why Splatoon 3 is so incredibly successful in Japan

Splatoon 3 is a great game. Colourful, entertaining, equally suitable for beginners and series fans, with useful innovations and established mechanics that work wonderfully. But you can read more about that in our Splatoon 3 review. Nintendo’s latest take on a multiplayer shooter has been out for over a month. To set a record in Japan, the title needed only three days. 3.45 million copies of Splatoon 3 were sold there during this period, digital and retail editions combined. That’s enough to put other heavyweights on the back burner, not just titles for Nintendo Switch but cross-platform.

Animal Crossing: New Horizonseven Pokemon: Black and White Edition have to admit defeat. The life simulation benefited a lot from the lockdowns at the time, the start of the pandemic almost coincided with the release and apart from that it is a big thing for Japanese players. So what does Splatoon 3 have (buy now €44.99)that it can outperform this and other successful games so easily?

Japanese love mascots, Japanese love the “kawaii” aesthetic. Characters with big eyes and childlike proportions are considered kawaii, the Japanese word for “cute” or “sweet” (although there are of course exceptions). In Europe and North America, mascots are commonly associated with sports teams. In Japan, television companies have mascots (Domo-kun), holiday regions in the country (kumamon), or they are used in activities such as earthquake safety drills (Namazu). For years, hundreds of mascots even competed in a popularity contest, until the contest was canceled – because the prefectures, brands and other mascot fathers were so aggressively jostling for victory.

Also interesting: The great Splatoon 3 weapons guide for newcomers

Accordingly, the Japanese not only like to consume media with cute characters, but also like to buy merchandise and everyday products with such a design. Nintendo has a knack for optics that are well received in the Far East – of course, after all, the company is based there. And just like Kirby, Splatoon as a brand is very popular simply because of the looks of the characters. While it’s hard to find Splatoon merchandise in this country, aside from Chinese fakes and unlicensed stuff, there’s plenty of it in Japan: Towels, breakfast boxes, glasses, water spray guns, plush figures, playing cards, key chains, hats and much more – plus candy with Splatoon branding or foods like instant ramen.

The Japanese supermarket chain 7-11, which can really be found everywhere there, has been bringing up a whole Splatoon menu since August 29, 2022, featuring a squid burger, an apple and grape battle jelly, tofu dessert, donuts in the game’s colors, and more. Splatoon 3 is actually advertised here in Europe, but to a much lesser extent than in Japan – Nintendo is broadcasting six different commercials on TV in Nippon. So it’s clear: the Japanese are much more aware of Splatoon 3 than players in the rest of the world, so the number of pre-orders and the general hype surrounding the release are correspondingly high.

Reason 2: Portability and local multiplayer

Splatoon 3: Incredible success in Japan – we clarify what’s behind it (1)

Source: Nintendo



There are cultural differences between Japanese gamblers and gamblers in Europe or North America. The country is one of world’s largest markets for mobile gaming. The average Japanese gambles differently than a German: people like to gamble on the go, as many use public transport instead of the car to get to work or school. The Nintendo Switch was born not only from the Wii U’s lousy financial performance, but also from the realization that handheld gaming doesn’t have to be dead, as the great mobile market numbers show. That’s another reason why Nintendo decided to deliver its own brands on smartphones, despite Iwata’s concerns, with Super Mario Run starting the game.

Provided an interesting insight into the differences between the Japanese gaming market and the international one, as perceived by Nintendo itself Director Shinya Takahashi in an interview with Time Magazine:

“I think there might be some differences in the perception of local multiplayer between Japan and the West. For us it’s a much more natural thing. Partly because of the DS or 3DS – kids in Japan walk to school and home together. That there are a lot of them and then they play together after school. They have more opportunities to play face to face locally with each other. From what I hear in the US there are fewer such daily opportunities because of the kids’ schedules. For us, on the other hand, it’s a natural part of life, since the Famicom days where you sat down with two controllers and played with a friend in front of the TV. For us, local gaming is very normal.”

Let’s continue on page 2!