Japanese Annual Best-Sellers

The following is a list of the best selling games in Japan each year. Note that only retail console and handheld games are counted.

1995

1995 was the Saturn's first full year in the Japanese market, but the SNES continued to remain a powerful force. The top two games were RPG's from rivals Enix and Square, with a Saturn game coming only in third. Beyond the top three, the sales were generally dominated by the SNES, including, oddly enough for Japan, two Western-made Donkey Kong Country games. With Land reaching the tenth spot, this can be considered the ape's Golden Age. Also note how both Saturn games on the top 10 are Virtua Fighter titles.

Dragon Quest 6

1. Dragon Quest 6 - 2.4 million
2. Chrono Trigger - 2.0 million
3. Virtua Fighter 2 - 1.8 million
4. Yoshi's Island - 1.7 million
5. Donkey Kong Country 2 - 1.3 million
6. Derby Stallion - 1.1 million
7. Donkey Kong Country - 1.1 million
8. Romancing SaGa 3 - 1.1 million
9. Virtua Fighter - 1.1 million
10. Donkey Kong Land - 0.8 million

1996

1996 will forever be remembered as the year Pokemon entered the market. Since then, this series has become a mainstay of the Japanese market, and has guaranteed Nintendo a spot as both a hardware manufacturer and as a publisher and developer of games. 1996 was also the year the Nintendo 64 was released, in the middle of the year in Japan. The N64's lead titles for the year, the first 3D Super Mario platformer and the second ever Mario Kart, beat out the admittedly strong remaining SNES competition, including yet another Mario game. Also note the presence of Saturn games like Sakura Wars and Nights.

1. Pokemon Green/Red/Blue - 2.5 million
2. Super Mario 64 - 1.8 million
3. Mario Kart 64 - 1.5 million
4. Super Mario RPG - 1.4 million
5. Derby Stallion 96 - 1.0 million
6. Kirby Super Star - 1.0 million
7. Dragon Quest 3 - 1.0 million
8. Sakura Wars - 1.0 million
9. Donkey Kong Country 3 - 0.9 million
10. Nights into Dreams - 0.8 million

1997

Though Pokemon came out the previous year, 1997 was when it truly dominated the market. With over 6 million copies sold within a year, it still holds the all-time record for games sold at retail within a year in Japan. And with Tamagotchi taking up spots 3 and 4, the Game Boy had plenty of fighting spirit in 1997.

Meanwhile on the console front, Square's Final Fantasy 7 merely mantained the series's popularity, as opposed to the growth the franchise saw in the West. Final Fantasy Tactics also sold well, as did Nintendo's own games like Diddy Kong Racing and Star Fox 64.

1. Pokemon Green/Red/Blue - 6.1 million
2. Final Fantasy 7 - 2.4 million
3. Tamagotchi - 1.4 million
4. Tamagotchi 2 - 1.3 million
5. Derby Stallion - 1.1 million
6. Final Fantasy Tactics - 1.1 million
7. Mario Kart 64 - 1.1 million
8. Diddy Kong Racing - 0.8 million
9. Hot Shots Golf - 0.8 million
10. Star Fox 64 - 0.8 million

1998

Pokemon continued to dominate in 1998, with four distinct titles charting in the top 10 on two platforms. The leader was Pokemon Yellow, which sold by far the most copies of any game in 1998. The original Pokemon continued to push hundreds of thousands of sales despite the new version, the first Stadium game was a hit despite a critical panning, and even the notorious Hey You, Pikachu! sold well. Besides these games, the Game Boy continued to have plenty of support from publishers like Enix and Konami, the N64 heavily relied on Nintendo's own games, and the Saturn, which as per usual had plenty of moderately well selling games but few huge hits, had three games sell over a million copies.

1. Pokemon Yellow - 2.5 million
2. Dragon Quest Monsters - 1.6 million
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 1.5 million
4. Pokemon Stadium (Original) - 1.3 million
5. Resident Evil 2 - 1.1 million
6. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - 1.1 million
7. Pokemon Green/Red/Blue - 1.0 million
8. Sakura Taisen 2 - 1.0 million
9. Super Robot Taisen F Kanketsuhen - 1.0 million
10. Hey You, Pikachu! - 0.9 million

1999

The second generation of Pokemon never sold as much as the original in its heyday, but was nonetheless a huge hit, selling over 5 million units in 1999 alone. Pokemon's reach also extended to spinoffs, including the first internationally released Stadium game, a pinball game, and a trading card simulation. Including the appearence of multiple Pokemon in Super Smash Bros, including two of the twelve playable characters, the series composed of half the top ten this year.

Meanwhile, Square had released another Final Fantasy game to much praise and sales, Japan devoured another Western-made Donkey Kong title, and the Saturn had the latest Resident Evil to offer fans.

The second generation of Pokemon games was only slightly less popular than the first.

1. Pokemon Gold/Silver - 5.1 million
2. Final Fantasy 8 - 2.7 million
3. Super Smash Bros - 2.1 million
4. Donkey Kong 64 - 1.2 million
5. Pokemon Stadium - 1.2 million
6. Pokemon Pinball - 1.0 million
7. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - 1.0 million
8. Resident Evil 3 - 0.8 million
9. Pokemon Trading Card Game - 0.8 million
10. Dragon Quest Monsters - 0.7 million

2000

Dragon Quest 7 and Final Fantasy 9 for the N64 were the stars of 2000 in Japan, and helped the platform finally catch up to the now-aging Saturn. Other N64 hits included Mother 3, Kirby 64, and Mario Party 3. Sonic Tennis for the Saturn was a surprise hit, and was widely considered the last killer app for the platform in Japan.

1. Dragon Quest 7 - 3.6 million
2. Final Fantasy 9 - 2.1 million
3. Pokemon Gold/Silver - 1.9 million
4. Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters 4 - 1.6 million
5. Sonic Tennis - 1.1 million
6. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - 1.1 million
7. Mario Party 3 - 0.9 million
8. Mother 3 - 0.9 million
9. Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories - 0.8 million
10. Pokemon Card GB2 - 0.8 million

2001

1. Super Smash Bros Melee - 2.0 million
2. Final Fantasy X - 1.3 million
3. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 - 1.1 million
4. Super Mario Advance - 0.8 million
5. Pokemon Stadium 2 - 0.7 million
6. Mario Kart: Super Circuit - 0.7 million
7. Pokemon Crystal - 0.6 million
8. Pikmin - 0.6 million
9. Metal Gear Solid 2 - 0.5 million
10. Onimusha: Warlords - 0.5 million

2002

1. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire - 3.2 million
2. Super Mario Sunshine - 1.5 million
3. Mario Party 4 - 1.3 million
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - 1.0 million
5. Super Smash Bros Melee - 0.8 million
6. Virtua Fighter 4 - 0.6 million
7. Pro Evolution Soccer 2 - 0.6 million
8. Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land - 0.5 million
9. Resident Evil - 0.5 million
10. Resident Evil Zero - 0.5 million

2003

1. Final Fantasy XI - 2.1 million
2. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire - 1.7 million
3. Mario Kart: Double Dash - 1.5 million
4. Pokemon Colosseum - 1.0 million
5. WarioWare Inc - 0.7 million
6. Mega Man Battle Network 4 - 0.7 million
7. Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart - 0.6 million
8. Dynasty Warriors 4 - 0.6 million
9. Mario Party 5 - 0.6 million
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 3 - 0.6 million

2004

Dragon Quest 8

1. Dragon Quest 8 - 2.8 million
2. Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen - 2.7 million
3. Pokemon Emerald - 1.5 million
4. Pikmin 2 - 1.1 million
5. Mario Party 6 - 0.9 million
6. Dragon Quest 5 - 0.8 million
7. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - 0.8 million
8. Mother 4 - 0.7 million
9. Classic NES Series: Super Mario Bros - 0.7 million
10. Sega Superstars Smackdown - 0.7 million

2005

1. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - 0.8 million
2. Kingdom Hearts 2 - 0.7 million
3. Mario Party 7 - 0.6 million
4. Resident Evil 4 - 0.6 million
5. Pokemon XD - 0.6 million
6. Dynasty Warriors 5 - 0.5 million
7. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 - 0.5 million
8. Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen - 0.5 million
9. Star Fox: Dark Phoenix - 0.4 million
10. Mario Party Advance - 0.4 million

2006

Diamond

1. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - 4.2 million
2. New Super Mario Bros - 3.3 million
3. Brain Age 2 - 3.0 million
4. Final Fantasy XII - 1.7 million
5. Animal Crossing: Wild World - 1.6 million
6. English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills! - 1.2 million
7. Nintendogs - 1.1 million
8. Tetris Nitro - 1.0 million
9. Final Fantasy 3 - 0.9 million
10. Super Mario 64 Deluxe - 0.9 million

2007

1. New Super Mario Bros - 1.5 million
2. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 - 1.3 million
3. Mario Party Nitro - 1.3 million
4. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - 1.3 million
5. Brain Age 2 - 1.3 million
6. Dragon Quest 4 - 1.2 million
7. Yoshi's Island 2 - 1.1 million
8. Mario Kart Nitro - 1.0 million
9. Animal Crossing: Wild World - 1.0 million
10. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - 0.9 million

2008

1. Pokemon Platinum - 2.5 million
2. Revolution Fitness - 2.2 million
3. Super Smash Bros Brawl - 1.7 million
4. Final Fantasy 13 - 1.7 million
5. Rhythm Heaven - 1.6 million
6. Mario Kart X - 1.6 million
7. Dragon Quest 5 - 1.4 million
8. Kirby Super Star Ultra - 1.1 million
9. Animal Crossing: City Folk - 1.1 million
10. Monster Hunter Portable - 0.8 million

2009

Dragon Quest 9

1. Dragon Quest 9 - 5.5 million
2. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - 3.9 million
3. Tomodachi Collection - 2.7 million
4. New Super Mario Bros Revolution - 2.6 million
5. Monster Hunter 3 - 1.3 million
6. Revolution Fitness Plus - 1.2 million
7. Inazuma Eleven 2 - 1.0 million
8. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - 0.9 million
9. Professor Layton and the Last Specter - 0.7 million
10. Resident Evil 5 - 0.6 million

2010

Pokemon Black

1. Pokemon Black/White - 5.5 million
2. Revolution Party - 1.8 million
3. Dragon Quest 6 - 1.5 million
4. Final Fantasy XIV - 1.4 million
5. New Super Mario Bros Revolution - 1.4 million
6. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 - 1.3 million
7. Tomodachi Collection - 1.2 million
8. Monster Hunter 3 Portable - 1.0 million
9. Inazuma Eleven 3 - 0.9 million
10. Super Mario Galaxy 2 - 0.9 million

2011

1. Final Fantasy Zero - 0.8 million
2. Rhythm Heaven Fever - 0.7 million
3. Tales of Xilia - 0.6 million
4. Revolution Party - 0.6 million
5. Pokemon Black/White - 0.6 million
6. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 - 0.6 million
7. Tales of Xilia - 0.5 million
8. Kirby's Return to Dreamland - 0.5 million
9. Mario Kart 3D - 0.5 million
10. Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle - 0.5 million
11. Dynasty Warriors 7 - 0.5 million

2012

Dragon Quest 10

1. Dragon Quest X - 3.3 million
2. Pokemon Black/White 2 - 3.2 million
3. Animal Crossing: New Leaf - 2.1 million
4. New Super Mario Bros 2 - 1.8 million
5. Mario Kart 3D - 1.6 million
6. Resident Evil 6 - 1.2 million
7. Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate - 1.0 million
8. One Piece Warriors - 1.0 million
9. Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D - 0.9 million
10. Mario Party 9 - 0.6 million

2013

1. Pokemon X/Y - 3.9 million
2. Monster Hunter 4 - 3.2 million
3. Animal Crossing: New Leaf - 1.7 million
4. Friend Collection: New Life - 1.6 million
5. Dragon Quest 7 - 1.2 million
6. Puzzles & Dragons Z - 1.2 million
7. New Super Mario World - 1.0 million
8. Stream Party - 0.9 million
9. Super Mario 3D Bros - 0.7 million
10. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 - 0.5 million