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Top 20 most played Switch games of 2018 (EU/US)

Raijinto

Raijinto

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Oct 28, 2017
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Just seen this in the featured news section of my Switch. Here's the list in full:

1. Fortnite
2. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. Splatoon 2
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. FIFA 18
7. Minecraft
8. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu
9. Pokemon Let's Go Eevee
10. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
11. Skyrim
12. Rocket League
13. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
14. Pokemon Quest
15. Stardew Valley
16. Dragonball Xenoverse 2 for Nintendo Switch (just in case you were unsure which platform you were playing on)
17. Octapath Traveller
18. Super Smash bros Ultimate
19. Paladins
20. Super Mario Party
21. Mario Tennis Aces

So yeah I dunno why it actually list 21 when the title is 20. And it is based solely on EU accounts for which data sharing is enabled.

Any surprises here for anyone?

Edit: source is obviously Nintendo and specifically the Nintendo News section on Switch.

Mod Edit: US List
1. Fortnite
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. Splatoon 2
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. FIFA 19
7. Minecraft
8. Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu
9. Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee
10. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
11. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
12. Rocket League
13. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
14. Pokemon Quest
15. Stardew Valley
16. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
17. Octopath Traveler
18. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
19. Paladins
20. Super Mario Party
21. Mario Tennis Aces

SOURCE: Nintendo News App
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Last edited by a moderator:
Redcrayon

Redcrayon

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Oct 27, 2017
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I'm actually a little surprised Mario is in the top ten (bear with me) considering the rest of it is online timesinks and huge RPGs/Zelda etc.
 
SinCityAssassin

SinCityAssassin

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Oct 25, 2017
15,171
Pokémon Quest over Smash is the one that really surprises me. I mean yeah Quest is free but at the same time why would you.
 
The Great Khali

The Great Khali

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Oct 30, 2017
3,005
Mario Tennis should have been a budget title game. I'm not saying as cheap as $20. But even $40 would have helped it alot.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

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Oct 27, 2017
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Maybe it's 21 because Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee are basically the same game?
 
DrArchon

DrArchon

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Oct 25, 2017
15,485
I wonder how much lower a lot of the online games will be after a full year of needing Switch Online to play.

I'm sure that's not going to do Splatoon 2 any favors.
 

Deleted member 36622

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Sardello said:
Well... 70-80 hrs per gamer. I don't see it very surprising. I don't think there are many games on switch you are "obliged" to play for so long if you want to complete the main story
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You're right, but below that there are games listed here like Rocket League, Stardew Valley, Paladins, or even Smash that are potentially infinite, so it is still a great result.
 
Redcrayon

Redcrayon

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Tofer said:
I have someone on my friends list with 260 hours in the game. Not really sure how but it's there
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I suppose the collectibles add a lot? If it's total hours of all players rather than average playtime, I suppose it selling a lot helped too. Fair play, when I was a kid I spent months looking for secrets/exits in SMB3/SMW, and Odyssey looks like a cool playground of a game.
 

Deleted member 10737

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is the list based on everyone's playtime combined, or average playtime of users?

Ramala said:
Would have been nice to see [...] Celeste.
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i would think most people would drop the game once they actually got to the end of it (if they did), which takes less than 10 hours. i don't think many would bother with the collectibles or post game stuff.
 
GokouD

GokouD

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Oct 30, 2017
1,124
DrArchon said:
I wonder how much lower a lot of the online games will be after a full year of needing Switch Online to play.

I'm sure that's not going to do Splatoon 2 any favors.
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I doubt it'll make much difference. Outside of this insane, stingy forum bubble, most people just subbed and forgot about it. I certainly haven't seen any population drop in Splatoon 2.
 

Deleted member 12833

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Redcrayon said:
I suppose the collectibles add a lot? If it's total hours of all players rather than average playtime, I suppose it selling a lot helped too. Fair play, when I was a kid I spent months looking for secrets/exits in SMB3/SMW.
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Yea, I think this person is a kid as they also mostly play fortnite. They sent me a friend request from Maro Kart
 
NSESN

NSESN

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Oct 25, 2017
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Sardello said:
Well... 70-80 hrs per gamer. I don't see it very surprising. I don't think there are many games on switch you are "obliged" to play for so long if you want to complete the main story
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Well, at least it puts to rest the theory that people just bought the game and didn't play it fully
 
Gnorman

Gnorman

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Jan 14, 2018
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Mostly predictable, biggest suprise is the lack of Diablo. Have we had any sales numbers for it?
 
jts

jts

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Oct 26, 2017
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There is a LOT of overlap with my own list. FIFA being 6th most played game on Switch for that sample is a big thing. And people were doubting there would be a FIFA 19. FIFA is here to stay on the Switch.
mazi said:
is the list based on everyone's playtime combined, or average playtime of users?
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What's the difference?
 
jts

jts

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Oct 26, 2017
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mazi said:
game X is played by 1 million people, each have played 10 hours.
game Y is played by 20K people, each have played 100 hours.
if it's combined playtime, X would be higher on the list, if it's average playtime Y would be higher.
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Ah I understand now, average playtime per game. That would make sense seing how high FIFA is, because even though it doesn't set the charts on fire (but not too shabby either), the average FIFA player sinks a lot of hours into it.

But if the title on the piece is the same as this thread's, it should be combined playtime. 1 single player buying a game and playing it 1000 hours doesn't make it one of the most played games of the year.
 
Eoin

Eoin

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Oct 27, 2017
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I'm a little surprised Warframe didn't make it. It was late in the year, but it being free and being widely publicised as a graphical showcase for the Switch should have helped mitigate that to some extent.

Moderately interesting to see FIFA 18 on the chart but not FIFA 19. The World Cup (and the €20 sale during the World Cup) would have boosted FIFA 18 significantly so it makes sense for it to be high up, but FIFA 19 launched early enough and has been on sale long enough that if was racking up the same kind of play time as FIFA 18 had, it probably should appear on the chart.
 
Jahranimo

Jahranimo

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Oct 25, 2017
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So now I see why EA had that one LinkedIn profile working on the Frostbite engine for the Switch!
 
Bazry

Bazry

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Oct 30, 2017
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This thread says Fifa 18 but the one just closed says Fifa 19, which was it?
 
OP
OP
Raijinto

Raijinto

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Oct 28, 2017
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So the US list is the same apart from FIFA being this year's rather than last year's? Weird. It's definitely 18 on the UK list at any rate, I just double checked just in case and yup it's 18.
 
Megatron

Megatron

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Oct 27, 2017
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Sardello said:
Well... 70-80 hrs per gamer. I don't see it very surprising. I don't think there are many games on switch you are "obliged" to play for so long if you want to complete the main story
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True, but only a small percentage ever finish a game anyway. I got about 15 hours into it before I dropped it.
 
prodyg

prodyg

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Oct 28, 2017
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Tofer said:
I have someone on my friends list with 260 hours in the game. Not really sure how but it's there
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its my most played game on switch. I can play in short bursts when im on the road or in marathon sessions when im at home and enjoy myself either way. Some games are just not that flexible.
 
dmoe

dmoe

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Oct 25, 2017
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Is splatoon 2 worth it if you don't play online? i watched some videos and it looked ok, but wouldn't mind adding a game to my switch
 
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