Suika Game, the surging hit Tetris-like fruit puzzle game that streamers have been obsessed with, is now available worldwide on Nintendo Switch.
Switch users around the world can access Suika Game much more conveniently moving forward thanks to the Oct. 20 international eShop launch, adding an extra sweet jolt of energy to a game that’s been rapidly sweeping the streaming scene in recent weeks.
Spearheaded by the efforts of Aladdin X, a Japanese electronics company, Suika Game—also known as Watermelon Game—was initially developed as a built-in application for a ceiling projector in 2021. Thanks to the game’s rising popularity, the game soon hit the Japanese eShop for the Switch eight months later.
Since this September, however, things appear to have been taken to yet another level thanks to streaming. According to TwitchTracker, Suika Game seemingly first started to rise up the viewership charts on Sept. 15 with a peak of nearly 18,000 viewers across just four channels. In October, the game appears to have already cracked northwards of 26,000 on two different occasions and is often being streamed by over 60 channels daily.
In an interview with Nippon TV (H/T Automaton), Aladdin X said that sales of the Switch version have increased “by more than 50,000 times” compared to two years ago before the game went viral. As for its presumed reasons for its recent boom, the company attributed it to the game’s “cute and friendly art,” “the simplicity of the game’s rules,” and its “atmosphere that encourages you to try to do better next time even if you fail.”
Those descriptors perhaps paint a great picture as to why the game has been such a huge hit for VTubers and casual gamers alike. Similar to Tetris, Suika Game allows players to flex their cognitive fibers in a fun, competitive setting. Then, with its relaxing background music and lack of a running timer, the fruit challenge sets the stage for chaos to ensue.
At the time of writing, Suika Game has just surpassed over 1.4 million downloads (H/T GoNintendo) and remains the No. 1 most-downloaded game in the Japanese eShop. For those planning on picking up the newly released title in their regions, the game is still only playable in Japanese, but that shouldn’t stop you from generating ginormous watermelons and setting high scores.
