Japanese Sales Charts: PS4 Back on Top as Switch Numbers Plummet

I think if you put PS4 and Pro together it just by a slight bit beats the 3DS family of Systems (for this week note) by literally near 100 units

Sad to see no new PSV games being released or charting. Last time I checked they were performing decently, so I don't see why devs have given up on it while 3ds keeps getting games after all this time.

Anyway, decent ps4 numbers. Does anyone know when the ps4 will be getting its next big game in Japan? Dragon Quest gave it a pretty decent boost.

Given stock surges over the past few weeks, this week is a reprieve. Remember, Monster Hunter XX is next, I expect there was a week of low shipments to accommodate the (Hopefully) inevitable high shipments and demand coming with that game, just as they did for Splatoon 2: A few weeks low, then a few very high.

With regards to PS4, nice to see it at the top where it belongs.

@naruball they probably gave up on Vita because look at the lifetime numbers. Then look, more so, at the Western install bases. What would you do?

@naruball I don't think it'll be for a while

Ik even tho it's intended for Western players when Monster Hunter: World hits next year exclusively for PS4 in Japan it'll still explode and PS4s will sell

Dragon Quest XI slowing down gradually, but it has done very well altogether. And it will still keep selling in lower numbers for a long time, even if the chart position will start to drop.

@naruball There's Trails of Cold Steel 3 in late September, at least.

@BLP_Software
Lifetime sales don't matter much at all. People who own the system are not as important as people who actually use it (in other words, the ps3 has sold more than ps4 but releasing a game on ps3 would be dumb at this point). So even though at the moment it has the biggest install base it's ever had, last year a game released on it could have sold better, because by now a lot of owners haven't touched it in months/years.

Plenty of Japanese games have done well on the vita and that's all Japanese developers need to look at. Not how many people own it but what kind of numbers their game can do on it. If they believe that people have moved on, then fair enough.

@Mahe Nice. Thanks.

@naruball 15 million compared to 66 million. Where do you put your money, if you are developing a game? Especially if you want an international audience?

It's nice to see successful AAA console game on japan

@SwitchGlitch it's only thier first year man oki

@naruball I think there's a gundam game but I don't think it'll reach Splatoon levels maybe more Persona 5 levels...

@BLP_Software
First thing first.
Are you gonna keep ignoring everything I say and keep repeating what you said which has no relevance to my point? Please tell me because, if that's the case, I'll stop wasting my time here.

@Derpie1 Persona levels would be great.

Splatoon is one of the most successful games in Japan since... I honestly don't know. Monster Hunter 3(?) on psp?

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi And they dont make anymore PS3 consoles. 😀 😁 😂 🤣

@naruball Sure. Japanese games do well on Vita in Jaoan. But they do just as well if not more so on 3ds.

Then think internationally. Would you release on Vita for Japan and 3DS for the rest because more use one in a region than another?

Then also think, to a Japanese develooer: 22 million domestic 3ds units. 5 million domestic Vita units. One of these games will be cheaper to make and has a potential audience greater than the other, even if less people actively use it, but we have no way of verifying this. So understandably the cycle goes on.

Im not ignoring your point, Im answering it. From the view of the developer would you spend more to make a game to then sell less copies of it?

@BLP_Software
Ok, now we can talk.
First of all, I'm not saying they should make exclusive games on psv. It can be multiplats (ps4/3ds/psv or 3ds/psv).

My point is that the 5 million number that you keep mentioning is irrelevant for the very simple reason that a ton of games have been released on psv and many of them did very well. So, the real question is, why stop now? It can't be because of the install base, because it's larger than it's ever been. If it didn't stop them in the past, it can't be a reason now.

So, there are two possibilities:
a. Developers see psv as dead so they don't bother.
b. PSV ownners have moved on (they own a switch or don't game on handhelds any more). In order to claim this, you have to look at psv numbers on multiplat games. Last time I checked they did well enough when it came to big releases.

So to answer your question, what you say makes little to no business sense. Just because a title will do better on x platform, it doesn't mean that it won't also be profitable on z platform. So, the best solution is to make it multiplat unless you believe that the sales of the weaker platform won't be enough to cover the port. Also, keep in mind that just because a game has a better install base, it won't automatically sell better. Tearaway and Gravity Rush are perfect examples of that. They sold better on psv than ps4 despite the massive difference in consoles sold. There were also other niche games that were available on psv and 3ds and did better on psv, I just can't recall which ones they were to provide a relevant leak.

Nintendo, as usual, is its own worst enemy.

I'm curious to see how MH World goes over in Japan. The series is HUGE over there, but most of its fanbase is used to playing these games on portable devices.

Clearly the Japanese are still willing to shell out en-masse for games on stationary platforms if they're really excited about them.

@Ralizah I think it'll do at least 1.5m on ps4, though I'm not sure if that's good enough for Capcom.

@naruball Just out of curiosity (since I don't follow the Vita all that much), what are some Vita games released recently that did particularly well? I know Compile Heart is a pretty big developer for it, and on top of my head I think their Vita games only sell around 20k copies at launch.

Also, one game released for both 3DS and Vita that did better on the Vita is Zero Time Dilemma (5k vs 3k units iirc, not that different tbh)

@triforcehero It's right there in the chart:
[PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition (SIE, 03/19/15) – 3,942 (1,195,570)

But Minecraft is a very rare exception, very few Vita games reach even 100,000 units sold. And of course, Minecraft is not very "recent" either.

@naruball
So I'm gonna chip in here.

PS4 has international viability which grants it games that were PSV only in Japan, but PS4/V in the west. The reverse does not happen.
Sony has no choice but to push it in Japan as well, since it is so successful in general.

Final Fantasy: R, XV, Dissidia, Monster Hunter World, DQ XI, MGSV, Shenmue III, Resident Evil VII & RE2R and so on. The fact that DQ did so well in comparison to 3DS considering previous history bodes well for MH World if Capcom doesn't Capcom. Vita did not have major games nor did it have any games which cracked a million (Minecraft sells good anywhere, so I don't where to place it due to MS).

TLDR: Vita has been phased out of society now, most of its exclusive franchises has either moved to PS4 or stayed on PSV. 3DS is being supported because of High selling software, PSV is not being supported due to low selling software. Simples.

Let`s wait 2-3 weeks and we`ll see where the PS4 will be.