Rhythm Heaven Groove and Splatoon Raiders Rule Japan's July Charts

Japan’s July 2026 retail charts are a two-game story with one clear theme: handheld-first design still sells. Rhythm Heaven Groove debuted at 674,592 physical copies on Switch, and Splatoon Raiders followed at 474,684 on Switch 2. Those two titles powered Nintendo to roughly 1.43 million software units at retail — about eight times the 177,000 Konami managed in second place.

Rhythm Heaven has always been a portable superstar, and Groove’s Switch homecoming leans into the same quick-hit design that made the DS and 3DS entries cult favorites. The Switch 2 story is just as clear: Splatoon Raiders, an exclusive for the new hardware, moved nearly half a million physical copies and helped push the console to 137,000 units after a soft June. This is the first real proof that Switch 2 has a system seller — and that portable play is the core of Nintendo’s strategy.

Rhythm Heaven’s Portable DNA Is Unbeatable

A rhythm game is the ultimate test of a handheld. Timing has to feel precise, sessions have to be easy to start and stop, and the pause button has to work instantly. Rhythm Heaven Groove’s 674,592 physical launch in Japan proves the Switch is still the genre’s natural home — and the fact that it’s a Switch, not Switch 2, release is a deliberate move to keep the enormous existing install base fed while the new console ramps up.

Skipping the platform transition here was smart. Rhythm games don’t need bleeding-edge hardware; they need low-friction portability. By placing Groove on Switch, Nintendo gives its mass-market handheld audience a reason to keep playing while Switch 2 exclusives like Splatoon Raiders pull early adopters forward. For anyone with a backlog of portable rhythm classics, this is the exact payoff of owning a hybrid console.

Splatoon Raiders Hands Switch 2 Its First Monster Hit

474,684 physical units is a jaw-dropping debut for a new console exclusive, especially after the Switch 2’s June sales dip left the new console’s momentum in question. The July rebound to nearly 137,000 consoles is directly tied to Splatoon Raiders — the first game that feels like a legitimate ‘buy a Switch 2 for this’ moment. Splatoon’s core design, short matches, bright arenas, and constant movement, has always translated perfectly to portable play, and ‘Raiders’ adds a new flavor to that formula on the new hardware.

The timing matters as much as the number. With a holiday lineup still taking shape, Nintendo needed July to prove Switch 2 wasn’t an early-adopter curiosity. Splatoon Raiders delivered that proof in physical retail alone; Famitsu’s charts don’t count digital, so the real footprint is even larger — and it already dominates Japan’s July Switch 2 digital charts. Expect it to keep Switch 2 on top of Japan’s hardware chart for the rest of the summer, while Rhythm Heaven Groove runs up the kind of long tail that makes a rhythm classic a forever cartridge in your handheld rotation.