Mario Tennis Fever is not doing particularly well in the UK, but Japan continues to love Nintendo. According to Japanese publication Famitsu, the latest Mario Tennis entry was the highest-selling game this week in Japan, with over 14,500 copies sold between 16 and 22 February.
Hardware sales were also quite strong for Nintendo, with the Switch 2 selling 63,313 units in the same period. The Switch OLED sold 19,858 units, while the PS5 family sold 10,343. Microsoft continues to struggle in the market, with the Xbox Series selling only a combined 1,188 units.
Not Quite Mario Kart Numbers
It was a relatively quiet week in terms of game sales, but Mario Kart Tennis still managed to lead the charts in Japan. However, these numbers are tiny compared to the first weeks of Mario Kart World, which sold over 100,000 copies in its second week. At this point, Nintendo and its fans treat Mario Kart as a mainline entry to the franchise, but Mario Tennis and stuff like the Mario & Sonic Olympic games don’t get the same love.
It’s also worth noting that, according to current data, Mario Tennis Fever is selling less than its predecessor, Mario Tennis Aces. A lot of fans think that it’s due to the $70 price, which is admittedly quite high for a casual spin-off title. As far as reviews go, it’s a very chaotic and enjoyable game, but that quality just isn’t translating to good sales figures (apart from Japan).
But one big problem with the game is the fact that online play appears to be region-locked. This means that in some regions, it’s much more difficult to find matches because of a low number of players.
Nintendo will likely bounce back with the launch of Pokémon Pokopia during the first week of March. The Pokémon franchise sells well, regardless of the quality of the games, so I doubt Nintendo is worried about Mario Tennis Fever too much right now.
If you’re playing Mario Tennis Fever right now, let us know in the comments how your online experience is going. You might also want to check out our Characters Tier List, as well as our tips and tricks, if you really want an advantage.
