This viral puzzle game has sold more than four million copies. Despite its simple appearance, its concept proves to be extremely addictive.
He addicts us. Marketed worldwide since October 20th (and in Japan since December 2021), Suika Game is one of those video games that doesn’t look like much. Simplified graphics, no translation into French, little variety in the gameplay… It is difficult to be seduced by the images and videos of the title, while the year 2023 is considered by experts in the field to be one of the greatest years in the history of Video games characterized by ambitious, big-budget productions.
And yet Suika Game is a tidal wave. Developed by Aladdin X, this Japanese game has sold more than four million copies internationally on Nintendo’s portable console, the Switch. It has also occupied first place in sales for several weeks in the Japanese giant’s online shop, the e-shop. The high price of 2.99 euros obviously weighs the scales, but it’s clear that Suika Game owes its popularity to its decidedly addictive concept.
Very sweet fruits
Located halfway between the legendary Tetris and the no less famous 2048, Suika Game is what we call a “puzzle game” or, in French, a thinking game. The goal is to drop different fruits (pear, strawberry, pineapple, etc.) into a basket with a simple push of a button to get the best possible score. When two identical fruits touch, they merge into one larger fruit and give the player points. This is how two cherries merge into one strawberry, two strawberries into one grape, two grapes into one tangerine and so on up to watermelon – which, by the way, is the French translation of “Suika”. The player must therefore ideally place the fruits he receives at random in such a way that the basket does not overflow, a sign that the game is over. But don’t panic, the game isn’t particularly complicated. It is therefore in line with those other games that make fruits their main characters, such as Fruit Ninja, which is intended for the general public.
After several hours of testing by Le Figaro, we discovered that the concept is surprisingly more profound than it seems. Since each fruit has unique physical behavior due to its size, we must occupy space intelligently, keeping in mind that the next merger could block the spaces we previously imagined. The games follow each other and our focus on these sweet fruits – which display typical “chibi” expressions – quickly makes us forget the game’s intoxicating music as well as its poor interface and unique fixed setting.
Also read: Super Mario RPG: Why this cult video game from the 1990s remained unreleased in France
Software integrated into a projector
Defects that the developer Aladdin X will likely fix over time and expand the game’s content. The company told Nippon TV that Suika Game was originally just a simple software that was integrated into a projector sold in Japan, the “popIn Aladdin”. In order to promote this device, sold for almost 99,000 yen (around 600 euros), Aladdin X decided to export its title to other platforms. “We initially envisioned marketing it as a smartphone application. But ultimately we turned to the Nintendo online store, where we had the best chance of standing out,” the group told Japanese media. Remember that 30 million copies of the Nintendo Switch have been sold in Japan since 2017.
Originally released in Japan in 2021, it still took more than two years for the game to go viral, just a few weeks before it was released in the West. This impressive success, comparable to that of Vampire Survivors, is thanks to the local and then international content creators who streamed for hours on YouTube and others. In October, the game reached 9.29 million viewing hours, compared to less than two million the previous month, our colleagues at report. In November, Suika Game surpassed the two million hour mark in just nine days. With all these amazing results, there are numerous copies of the game on the Internet. Aladdin X also regretted the existence of a replacement called Watermelon Game in the App Store. “Be careful when downloading similar applications,” the company warned, warning of the danger of viruses.