SEGA talks Super Monkey Ball series sales and more

Although some fans may have been concerned about sales of Super Monkey Ball, especially data that followed the release of Banana Rumble, SEGA says that the series is doing perfectly fine.

In its first week, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble sold just 1,500 copies. That quickly prompted some concern. However, producer Nobuhiro Suzuki recently spoke about the franchise’s sales in a Famitsu interview and pointed to North American players as the current focus of the series and that’s where the IP has done well.

We’ve translated the following excerpt:

Could you please confirm just in case – the Super Monkey Ball series sells very well, doesn’t it?

Suzuki: That (question) certainly comes from an interesting angle. It is hard to understand if you are in Japan, but overseas Super Monkey Ball is popular, and sells particularly in North America. The sales percentage of the last game, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, shows a large portion of sales were in North America, too. So this time as well, the audience we first tried to focus on was North America.

I also want to ask, why is it that it’s selling well?

Suzuki: It’s very instinctual. There isn’t really an explanation. You can tilt the ground with the control stick and make the ball roll, but it’s like a toy where you roll a ball on a board.

Because it’s an instinct, even inexperienced players can play too. With simple controls, anyone can enjoy it, but that does not mean it is easy. The more you play, the deeper and more addictive it is. It might be frustrating to fail, but it’s a good feeling when you clear a stage. This is Super Monkey Ball’s charm.

Suzuki was also asked about why Switch was specifically chosen for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble. Many games are multiplatform these days, but at least right now, the title is only available on Nintendo’s console.

“Our number one reason was to deliver stable quality online play for 16 players, which was the selling point this time. By narrowing down the hardware, I think we could adjust the level of enjoyment for players.

The reason we chose Switch and not another console was simple. Of customers who bought the last game, the Switch was the most common. If there is demand from customers then I think we will consider expanding to other platforms in the future, so please support Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble.”

Also, Suzuki shared some other interesting comments about potentially growing Monkey Ball beyond games. Here’s that exchange:

… would you want its popularity in Japan to grow, too? Do you have any plans in mind?

Suzuki: First of all to increase the level of recognition, we are considering areas outside of game development. If we can express the appeal of the characters’ charm with manga, anime, and the release of promotional items too, then the sales of the game will begin to increase. However, because the budget is not large, I feel like we are steadily continuing to lay the groundwork and seeds.

Speaking of the development of manga and characters, are you targeting a younger audience?

Suzuki: It may seem like that as for SEGA games, it is one of the few titles intended for kids and families. Given the fact it has sold in America and is similar in direction to the Sonic series, we hope it will become like Sonic in the future.

Finally, Suzuki thinks there’s a connection between Super Monkey Ball and Nintendo:

“It is a little hard to describe but, I would say it is not very SEGA -like, it is a title that matches the Nintendo hardware… I think. In the past, it was also released as a Nintendo hardware launch title, so among customers, it seems there is quite a lot that think the series is more like a Nintendo title.”

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is currently available on Switch worldwide. We have a review of the game here.

Translation provided by SatsumaFS, Simon Griffin, and Philip Proctor on behalf of Nintendo Everything.