First Japan's biggest stars, soon the entire world: Switch puzzler Suika Game sees sales jump "50,000 times" after an Among Us-grade viral boom
Oct. 10, 2023Sales of Suika Game, or Watermelon Game, have hit the moon
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Watermelon Game is the latest Nintendo Switch game to go viral - two years after its release.
As reported byAutomaton, Watermelon Game’s developer, Aladdin X, has said that sales of the Switch game have increased “by more than 50,000 times” compared to before the game went viral - which is pretty incredible. The company attributes the game’s recent success to its “cute and friendly art that appeals to a wide audience” as well as “the simplicity of the game’s rules.”
Although its easy-to-learn gameplay was surely a factor, the game’s also been riding high on an Among Us-grade wave of promotion from major celebrities ranging fromJapan’s biggest vtubersto height-of-their-fame artistslike Ado. On Twitch alone,TwitchTrackershows a 25.9 millionpercentjump for the game’s viewership between May and August, and a more realistic but still staggering increase of 56.5% – up to 2.84 million hours watched monthly – for last month.
If you search for ‘watermelon game’ on Twitter, you’ll find a number of different vtubers sharing clips of themselves playing Suika Game - with many of them calling it “addictive” and “so much fun.” The streamers at leading vtuber agency Hololive, which has inadvertently become a giant billboard for a variety of gamesranging from Deep Rock Galacticto Final Fantasy 14, have introduced millions of viewers to the game alone. The good news is if you were considering trying this one out it’ll only cost ¥240, that’s the equivalent of $1.61 or £1.31.
The bad news is that it isn’t available outside of Japan, although you can set up a Japanese eShop account if you’re desperate to try the game out yourself. There’s also afree browser version(thanksPolygon) you can try.
Need to take a break from Watermelon Game? Take a look at ourbest Switch gameslist to find out what else you could be playing.
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After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I’m also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.
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