A completely unknown game sold better than Zelda and Mario on the Nintendo eShop in Japan in 2023

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The relatively unknown game Suika Game became a complete success in Japan, even overtaking Zelda and Mario. MeinMMO tells you what’s behind it.

What game is it? It’s a simple fruit-stacking fun game that has taken the gaming world by storm, but hardly anyone here really knows about it. We’re talking about Suika Game from 2021, a watermelon game from Aladdin X for the Nintendo Switch.

A 2.99 euro puzzle game that became a hit, especially in Japan, in 2023 and overtook classics like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pikim 4 and Mario Bros Wonder.

The success is probably also due to the low price, but let’s take a closer look.

Here you can get a little insight into the game:

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Suika Game overtakes Zelda and Mario in Japan

How is success shown? The game celebrated its release in 2021, but it wasn’t until two years later that it achieved great success. Especially after it was streamed by Japanese live streamers and Vtubers such as Hololive Production.

Suika Game is currently number 1 in the annual Nintendo Switch download ranking in Japan, followed by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pikim 4 and Mario Bros Wonder. You can read the complete ranking on Nintendo’s official Japanese website. The ranking only takes into account eShop downloads, not physical sales and only sales figures in Japan.

Although it was initially only available in the store in Japan, it was also released for download in other countries – including Germany.

If you look at the monthly ranking for the German Nintendo eShop, you will also find Suika Game, but almost at the end of the list.

The new Zelda game was a huge hit, but couldn’t keep up with Suika Game everywhere.

An advertisement for the new Zelda game shows a man finding his way back to gaming

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A look at the gameplay

What kind of game is this? Suika Game is about stacking different fruits in a box without letting them fall over the edge. The game has simple, difficult to master mechanics that are difficult to get rid of so quickly:

  • Combine fruits: You have to combine two identical fruits by stacking them on top of each other. This creates the next largest fruit in the cycle. The biggest possible fruit is the coveted watermelon in this game.
  • Strategically Plan Placement: Since you can’t predict which fruit will fall next or whether a nearby one will burst, the game requires strategic planning when placing fruit.
  • Preventing overflow: The main goal is to prevent the fruit from falling over the edge of the box. When this happens, the round ends and your points are displayed.
  • Continuous Play: The game continues as long as you successfully combine fruits without them overflowing. You can try to beat your high score and other players’ high scores and produce bigger and bigger fruits.

    • Support from international streamers

    Suika Game’s success outside of Japan can also be attributed to support from popular English-language streamers such as Ludwig, LilyPichu, and QTCinderella, which helped spread the game further.

    Despite its initial obscurity, Suika Game has become a phenomenon that has surprised the gaming world. There are also some clones of Suika, including My Suika on Steam, which came out in November this year.

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