Cyberpunk 2077 was unquestionably one of the biggest games of the year, and it even managed to find an audience in Japan, moving a very respectable 104,687 boxed copies on the PlayStation 4. It wasn’t enough to top the charts – Nintendo Switch title Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban had that honour – but it’s still a satisfying result for CD Projekt RED.
It’s been a while since we checked in with the Japanese sales charts – honestly, there’s very little to report in the PlayStation department these days – but according to Famitsu, the PlayStation 5 sold 11,056 units this week, while the PlayStation 4 managed 9,154 units. Compared to the Nintendo Switch’s monstrous 229,698 units, it’s all pretty insignificant really.
In fact, it’s early days and it’s supply constrained, but the PS5 is trending heavily behind the Nintendo Wii U in the region right now, which is not particularly flattering company to be in. Of course, as we’ve seen with the PS4, Sony is tapping into many new and emerging markets to make up for the shortfall it’s facing in Japan – and given the PS5 is its biggest launch ever, it seems to be working well.
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[source famitsu.com, via gematsu.com]
Comments 62
Sad times. Given I'm less keen on the cinematic focus of the more recent first party efforts, I hope improved Japan sales spur a reason to make games for that market as well.
What a shame that Japan has turned its back on Sony but continues to embrace the far more juvenile Nintendo.
Nostalgia is a real bitch!
Here in the West we still love you, Sony.
❤️
Doesn’t help when you show the Japanese people and developers you don’t think it’s morally acceptable to release their games unmolested. I absolutely don’t blame them for getting the switch instead, especially given all the travel they do and the limited time they generally have for leisure.
@pip_muzz To be fair, the big Japanese publishers are all looking to sell their games in the West now as well. Stuff like Resident Evil sells much better overseas than it does domestically.
Japan is already lost to mobile games, even nintendo only survive because the switch can be used as a handheld machine.
Thankfully japanese developers can breathe a sigh of relief because international audience like their games, for example the moment monster hunter world leave handheld and go to playstation 4 console, it become the best selling monhun game ever
@thefourfoldroot it's not like they embraced the wiiu either. Home consoles have been struggling in Japan for quite a while now.
@wiiware exactly
@naruball Japanese people just didn't have time to play console games at their homes because they spend most of their times at work, the only way for sony to compete in japan is to make another playstation portable.
Im surprized no one has pointed out that the avalibility of the PS5 could be the biggest factor.
Didnt Sony say they have sold every PS5 in their inventory for the time being?
Its difficult for the PS5 to sell anymore -if there is none in stock.
@naruball
That’s true too. Mainly for the limited leisure time other than commuting reason I mentioned. Just said it didn’t help.
PS5 selling worse than the Wii U or whatever is meaningless if the stock situation hasn't been resolved there. Can't sell consoles you don't have.
@wiiware @naruball These generalizations don't really explain certain aspects of the Japanese market. Like the hybrid Switch outselling the decently cheaper Switch Lite by a large margin. Or third-party games generally selling better on home consoles than on Nintendo Switch. Or games like Ring Fit Adventure, Monster Hunter World, Dragon Quest XI, etc. selling as well as they have.
None of which is to discount the impact mobile gaming has had on the Japanese market, or the general preference for handheld gaming, but you can't dismiss Japanese data with "lol handhelds."
And, frankly, probably a lot of Sony's struggles there have to do with a lack of titles that appeal to the Japanese market as well.
@thefourfoldroot
What do you think about the DHC/Suntory controversy?
My brother lives in Osaka. Last I heard he wasn't able to get a PS5 at launch as Sony had shifted some of Japan's allocation to the US. Local shops were running a lottery system.
@RPE83
I try not to have opinions on other people’s cultures unless it directly threatens my own. Japan is a more homogeneous country, they are going to have a small subset with these views, but even if it was the entire country who thought like this, it’s genuinely none of my business.
@thefourfoldroot
Thanks for the response to a slightly related question!
@TheLightSpirit Ha, adults can like juvenile things. Have you met Anti-Matter?
😉
They do aim at the family market and all of their icons are child friendly. The day Mario becomes a third person RPG is the day Nintendo has truly grown up in my humble opinion.
@wiiware
Pretty much.
The last console that really sold like hot cakes there was the PlayStation 2.
@Col_McCafferty
I have a Switch and love it.
Breath of the Wild is my favorite open world game of all time, full stop. I wish more developers would adopt some of its ideas, namely its freedom.
IT'S THE CENSORSHIP
SONY WHAT ARE YOU DOING????!!!
What did Sony expect? They are selling a home console in a market that is mostly handhelds and PC. I don't see a way forward for Sony in Japan.
@TheRedComet It's the only worthwhile game it's got, everything else is for kids.
@TheLightSpirit I was having a dig!
Some gamers grow up, others don't.
😉
@Col_McCafferty they have quite the competition there like Sega and Square Enix. If sony decides to compete with tem in Japan it will prob hurt their western operation which is much much bigger and more important.
You mean it was beaten in Japan by a game that involves a peach?
PS5 is going to sell worse than PS4 did in Japan which is disappointing.
Which also probably means 104,687 refunds were attempted.
PS5 has a massive stock shortage in Japan, just like everywhere. It would have sold way more otherwise
Seems like mobile gaming is really the focus there.
Maybe they got brainwashed to buy only Nintendo or they just hate western games and anything related to the west or they just simply have $#!¥ taste simple as that
@Burntbreadman thanks for saying this. I'm shocked 11,000 units were sold because I've been searching high and low and on a daily basis and I can't find anywhere that has one for sale. I'm sure if there were more available they would all sell out and I for one would buy one ASAP.
Given the size of this (beautiful?) monstrosity, it hasn't helped sales of the PS5, but I wonder how much it's actually hurt it? I think FFXVI and the next Dragon Quest will definitely move a lot of hardware for Sony. Also, are PS5's even available to purchase in Japan right now?
@TheRedComet Same. I sank more than 300 hours in it, i would like to see another open world rpg-ish game to do that too for me on the PS.. Don't use my Switch much tbh, i love Nintendo but the library makes me wanna cry. I will hold on to it because of BotW 2 and some little niche title, i believe it's called something like Metroid Prime 4..🙄
Let’s be honest the size of the PS5 puts me off let alone Japan. Small cutie and portable is needed in Japan.
This is better than Witcher 3 on PS4 (64K) or Switch (8K). So I guess an improvement.
They do not buy their games. All of Asia (the entire thing) is just 8% of sales for them.
If I wanted to play a Train simulator that looked like a Mobile game from the 90s. I would not spend $500 on a PS5 either
@GKO900
You understand the irony in saying “or they just simply have $#!¥ taste simple as that” when you have a Japanese character for profile right?
I have no teardrop.
dry up
The bigger problem I think is the lack of attractive titles for PS5. Here in Singapore, the biggest market in Southeast Asia for gaming (and PS), the PS5 sold less than 2000 units since launch on Nov 19. That is due to both lack of stock allocation and also launch titles that many people I know were not interested in at all, including myself.
Superhero games like Spider-Man generally do not attract much attention in East Asia, unlike in the West where that title was considered a very anticipated launch game. Other launch games on PS5 are either shooters, racers, or very casual ones that cater more to Western tastes, since they either are set in Western countries, or feature Western actors/characters.
We prefer RPG and multiplayer games much more than singleplayer ones. And especially games that feature places, characters and art styles we are more familiar with. Games like Monster Hunter World sell very well here, because of the aesthetic, RPG elements, a fantasy style and multiplayer gameplay. Singleplayer games do not achieve high sales in East Asia.
Games with serious and/or political themes like Fallout or Cyberpunk also have low popularity. Games with more carefree attitudes and cuter graphics or don't take things too seriously are more popular, like Yakuza games.
The taste for PS games, PC games and Mobile games here are very similar. The most common and popular games are all multiplayer and RPG types, like MOBAs which combine both elements. On PC, the most popular game is League Of Legends, on Mobile it is Mobile Legends.
I don't really know anyone who say they prefer singleplayer over multiplayer. Social aspects in games is very important to East Asian gamers. Multiplayer music/dance games like Audition and HighStreet5 ruled the PC and mobile scene for almost 20 years and are still popular on mobile today.
The graphics are also very important. We do not like serious-looking characters or people. Western games tend to have characters that look too rough or aggressive, which does not appeal to us. We like soft and gentle-looking male and female characters, with warm attitudes. You can also see this contrast in beauty ideals and the features available in the most popular apps (SnapChat vs Meitu) in Western and East Asian countries respectively.
This is a major reason why more cartoonish graphics are more popular than realistic graphics. Personally, I prefer realistic graphics that retain a highly idealized or stylized look versus a completely photorealistic look, like Monster Hunter World style versus Last Of Us 2 style. Or Yakuza style versus GTA style, respectively.
On PS5 none of the launch titles attract me at all, except for Demon's Souls. I am very confident Japanese gamers also feel the same way, with lack of games that fit their taste, resulting in less popularity for PS over time as PS games become more Westernized. Even I am thinking of switching to PC gaming if this trend continues. I used to be an exclusively PC and Mobile gamer before becoming a PS-only gamer starting October 2017. But that may soon change.
@ScottyG Well they used to have great taste in gaming but now they eat anything that it’s release for Switch just look at those games and the number one as for anime that’s another story
And that Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban game probably runs better too
@Col_McCafferty I think the core gaming community will stick for a long time to come, hence ensuring the continued existence and innovations of console and PC hardware products.
@Col_McCafferty "The day Mario becomes a third person RPG is the day Nintendo has truly grown up in my humble opinion."
...so Nintendo truly grew up in 1996 with the release of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars?
"It's the only worthwhile game it's got, everything else is for kids."
It's more accurate - and less divisive - to call it an all-ages platform. For example, is Doom: Eternal for kids? Is The Witcher 3 for kids? The answer is basically nope, they count as "mature content". Adult-focused single player games with mature themes. Grow up, man 😂
@Hampie you lot have crap taste then.
😜
@zekepliskin oh dear, I'm talking about ganes that Nintendo actually makes not third party ports. Don't be silly now!
@Ralizah Far from the truth. The ps4 has had plenty of titles that appeal to Japanese gamers. You're just focusing on the exceptions that prove the rule.
@wiiware yup. Make another portable and support it properly with portable games, like Monster Hunter, the game that the psvita didn't get and led to its demise worldwide due to the snowball effect.
@Dezzy70 A small system or a ultra silent let me think about that.
@Hampie Following your logic Tearaway and Sackboy must be pretty successful, right? Right?
@Col_McCafferty Something you didn't specify originally. Are you backtracking to justify it by any chance? Hehe.
@zekepliskin don't have to justify anything BUT I was clearly talking about their own icons.
@Col_McCafferty
"They do aim at the family market and all of their icons are child friendly. The day Mario becomes a third person RPG is the day Nintendo has truly grown up in my humble opinion"
Um nope, no you weren't "clearly talking about their own icons." Might have been clear to you but not anyone else.
Also I notice you've just glossed over the fact I mentioned Nintendo already released a third person Mario RPG in 1996 which suggests you didn't even know that when you were pontificating that that would be the day they grew up as a company. That was on the SNES, by the way. It plays a bit like an old school JRPG.
While we're here, I would debate that Samus is a child friendly icon, especially during the Metroid Prime series which takes on some pretty dark themes and has her shooting all manner of horrific aliens.
Basically you don't know your Nintendo history at all and are writing them off as a kiddy toy company, when that's not their whole deal. If you don't want someone calling you out, then don't say ignorant, uninformed things that ignore the facts.
@zekepliskin Jesus, in my first comment I did and the whole Mario RPG thing wasn't meant to be taken seriously.
Never heard of that game, sounds rubbish anyway. It must have been a failure as all subsequent games have reverted to type.
😜
Wow, one slightly adult icon. Bravo Nintendo. I know their history as to me thats where they belong. FFS you do realise this is a PS site don't you?
🤦
@Col_McCafferty "Jesus, in my first comment I did and the whole Mario RPG thing wasn't meant to be taken seriously."
From the uninformed way you present yourself it's hard to take anything you write seriously, if I'm honest! 😂
"Never heard of that game, sounds rubbish anyway. It must have been a failure as all subsequent games have reverted to type."
Yep, don't bother to do anything as simple as Google for an easily available piece of information that would tell you it's actually quite beloved, scores highly, and today is regarded as something of a cult classic. It's not really my type of game but for that type of JRPG it's good, to be honest, from the little I've played.
https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/09/02/super-mario-rpg-legend-of-the-seven-stars-review
Here you go, LMGTFY 😏😁
"I know their history as to me thats where they belong."
You didn't know that there was SNES era Mario RPG, so you don't know their history, you don't know what you're talking about. Seeing you try to lamely front like you do though, that's amusing, feel free to continue. It always amazes me how people will say something so easily proven wrong and then go "it was obvious that I meant that even though I didn't say it or anything remotely like it" to try and weasel their way out of the fact they just clearly demonstrated their ignorance on a public forum rather than, y'know, do something simple like use a search engine and not talk ill-informed smack about an entire genre/company.
"FFS you do realise this is a PS site don't you?"
Why no, I didn't know that, thanks for enlightening me. What gave it away, the use of the PS buttons on the website theme, the fact that PushSquare and PlayStation have the same initials capitalised... 🤦♂️
So is your line of "logic" that because this is a PlayStation site, it's okay to talk smack about Nintendo and spout off all kinds of inaccurate BS about them as a company, am I reading that right?
Dude, you're hysterical. Carry on... 👍
@zekepliskin Mate, you're not worth the effort. On ignore you go.
@Col_McCafferty Suit yourself bud. That just means when you say something ignorant and incorrect I can correct you on it and you won't know about it and turn it into a deniability battle, that's fine. People who use the ignore button never realise that. 😂
I have family in japan and they say game developers and people are mostly saying the same thing about sony, that sony has turned their back on japan with the ps5 claiming japanese company's are not ready for it and games company's there say they've been ready for year's and that sony snubbed them and the people with the ps5. I don't blame their attitude against sony: ***k em. Just seem's like a case of sony forgetting japan's part in helping making the playstation brand what it is, now sony is too big for them but unlike the japanese people, sony will come crawling back when sales hit a low same way they do with other countries.
@Flaming_Kaiser
I was just stating what I think sells in Japan.
Of course form factor relates to potential other issues, just like I overall design.
Personally I think the PS5 is the most unsightly large console I have ever owned and just size wise is a disappointment to me, even horizontal it sits on a stand and it’s not ridged and moves easy.
Looks so out of place in my entertainment centre.
@Col_McCafferty Funny how Nintendo is supposedly for kids yet most of their games have far more depth (in terms of mechanics and design) than what Sony has to offer.
Oh, I forgot. People who use descriptors like "juvenile" and "for kids" aren't actually looking to play videogames, they're looking for the 10 hour long D-tier watered down Hollywood imitations AAA devs ***** (edit: ahem, "excrete") out year after year.
@Col_McCafferty You’re right. I don’t understand adults who would prefer Nintendo’s library of games (any Nintendo generation).
We can’t forget the magnitude that mobile gaming have replaced console gaming. That’s another thing I really don’t understand. I get the convenience but the quality of the games and lack of setup (tv or monitor for screen size and controller). I don’t get it.
@PotatoTheG Yes I agree with this. Most Nintendo games tend to have amazing, tight control methods as well. I was playing Mario: Tennis Aces online the other day and I was surprised how fluid everything felt, and how much depth a simple cartoony tennis game had been given in terms of controls and strategy. Always more than meets the eye with Nintendo games.
Don't worry, if you read his comments you'll find that he's been spouting a load of inaccurate nonsense about Nintendo the entire time now. He didn't even know they'd made a Super Mario third-person RPG! Pretty ignorant and ill-informed.
@djdizzy "You’re right. I don’t understand adults who would prefer Nintendo’s library of games (any Nintendo generation)."
Well they are an all-ages game maker, for the most part, so there are plenty of adults out there who do prefer their fun, colourful worlds to darker, gloomier RPGs or FPSes. What I particularly like about Nintendo is they tend to have a much higher percentage of female gamers too, which feels more inclusionary; there are plenty of ladies out there who love Animal Crossing titles with a passion, and fair play to them. I don't like those games, personally, but I'm glad people enjoy them!
Me personally, I wouldn't say I prefer them, but they can all be taken and enjoyed as part of a "balanced diet" of gaming, something to take the edge off the more intense, bloody, adults-only titles I like such as Bloodborne.
"We can’t forget the magnitude that mobile gaming have replaced console gaming. That’s another thing I really don’t understand. I get the convenience but the quality of the games and lack of setup (tv or monitor for screen size and controller). I don’t get it."
Now this one I totally agree with. Mobile gaming, for me, is horrible. Touchscreen controls, dumbed down gameplay, janky graphics, pay-to-win mechanics - in many ways truly all the worst things about gaming. Even using emulators without a gamepad is painful - the device you use to control the game should not be the device you use to view the game, in my opinion.
@zekepliskin “a balanced diet of gaming” lol I like it. You made some good points
@djdizzy 3 months ago is long enough I forgot I ever wrote it, but thanks 😊👍
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