Nintendo has quietly taken over the UK sales charts with half the top 20

A combination of Mario Kart World, Animal Crossing, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A shows Nintendo’s dominance at UK retail, as even Metroid Prime 4 does well.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is the fastest-selling console ever, with sales in the US and UK outpacing those of the original Switch, despite some Christmas slowdown – which is important for Nintendo, as the UK is traditionally their weakest major market.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) failed to make an impact in the UK when it launched – years late and grossly overpriced – in 1987, and that had a knock-on effect when the SNES was easily beaten by the Mega Drive and the Nintendo 64 and GameCube also floundered.

Things only really began to turn around with the Nintendo DS and Wii, which sold over eight million units in the UK, after which Nintendo’s popularity has continued to grow.

The Wii U was a flop everywhere but the Switch has sold over 7.2 million units since it launched in 2017. According to The Game Business, UK sales for the Switch 2 in its first year are 6% higher than the original, so it seems as if Britons are increasingly warming to the House of Mario.

This renewed hold on British hearts and mninds has translated to the UK physical game charts for the fifth week of 2026 (from January 25 to January 31). The top four games on the chart – Mario Kart World, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – are all published by Nintendo, with six titles in total in the top 10.

Mario Kart World has retained the top spot for a third week, while Animal Crossing: New Horizons has moved up one place – still riding the renewed interest from the 3.0 update and the Switch 2 Edition.

There’s a 71% versus 29% sales split between the original Switch and Switch 2 version, though, which suggests people are picking up the original and perhaps upgrading to the Switch 2 version later.

The only games not published by Nintendo in the top 10 are GTA 5, Minecraft, Ghost Of Yōtei, and new entry Code Vein 2 at number nine.

Beyond the top 10, there are some notable leaps in position, with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond jumping from 29th to 16th (no doubt because it’s been discounted on Amazon). Similarly, EA Sports FC 26 has jumped up 20 places to number 15, with 69% of sales being on PlayStation 5.

Nintendo has consistently had several games inside the top 10 since the start of 2026, notably Mario Kart World, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but this week is the most spots they’ve occupied this year, with Donkey Kong Bananza and Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 creeping into the tail end.

While it shows Nintendo’s progress in the UK, this chart is also emblematic of the split between physical and digital sales across different systems.

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S players might predominantly buy digital these days, but Nintendo’s more family-orientated audience is still clinging onto physical, albeit at a declining rate. According to The Game Business, sales of new Switch games across Europe were 80% physical in 2024.

Nintendo appears to be pushing a stronger digital focus with the Switch 2, with cheaper prices on digital titles and its Mario Kart World bundle, but it remains to be seen if the audience will make the digital transition as fast as it would like.

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