Tag: Japan - Page 2
News Final Fantasy 16's Painterly Japanese Commercial Is Epic
Packing a punch
The Japanese commercial for Final Fantasy 16 goes hard – alarmingly so. This extended television spot features several renaissance (?) style paintings, which are animated in a kind of stop-motion style to bring them to life. While dramatic music plays in the background, a voiceover speaks in Japanese, presumably spouting deeply...
News Jim Ryan: Japanese Market Still Very Important to Sony
It's the "birthplace" of PlayStation
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has reinforced Sony's commitment to the Japanese gaming market in a new interview with Famitsu, where he states it continues to be an important region for the company. Ryan explains (via Google Translate): "The Japanese market has been and will continue to be one of the most important...
News Japan Sales Charts: Golden Week Helps Drive PS5 Just Shy of 100k Units
All yellow
The latest Japanese sales charts, compiled and published by gaming bible Famitsu, account for two weeks of data, which is worth pointing out right away. Golden Week was kind to the PS5, however, driving the system to sales just shy of 100k units, specifically 99,938. Sony’s system was, as usual, handily outsold by the Nintendo Switch,...
News Toro Inoue Fronts PlayStation's Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2023 Booth
Meet PlayStation's mascot
PlayStation mascot Toro Inoue could be spotted greeting attendees at Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2023 today, as Sony setup a pretty large booth at the weekend event. The company was giving away badges and fans, while SEGA was also in attendance at the parade. The platform holder has backed various Pride events around the...
News Japan Sales Charts: PS5 Sales Beaten by Switch But Remain Steady
Just shy of 40,000 consoles bought
Sales of the PS5 in Japan flatlined last week, stopping the steady decrease in console purchases Sony has seen in the region for the past month or so. Since hitting the highs of 65,000 systems shifted in the space of seven days, sales are beginning to rest around the 40,000 mark when both models are combined. Case...
News Japan Sales Charts: Huge Drop in PS5 Sales But Still on Top, Just
Only 1,004 units in it
Sales of the PS5 console in Japan are down for a second week running, but the system still shifted just enough units to be named the country's best-selling box last week. 34,156 PS5 disc consoles were sold during the week beginning 13th March 2023 while 6,255 PS5 digital editions got bought. The PS5's closest rival was the...
News Japan Sales Charts: PS5 Is Slowing But Still Soaring
Another solid week
PS5 has absolutely exploded in Japan this year, crossing the three million units milestone, and overtaking the PS4 and PS3 launch aligned. An influx of stock availability has absolutely catapulted the console to extraordinary numbers domestically, but things are very slowly beginning to level off now. Case in point: this week the...
News PS5 Has Surpassed 3 Million Sales in Japan, By the Way
On the up
A headline that seems to have been overlooked earlier in the week, the PS5 has actually just surpassed the 3 million sales mark in Japan. That's a promising milestone for a console that appeared to be struggling right out of the gate — but as has been the case worldwide, PS5 sales have been skyrocketing thanks to Sony's stock issues...
News PS5 Sales Just Aren't Stopping in Japan as Sony's Console Is Still King
Tops Japanese charts again
It's almost hard to believe since the Nintendo Switch has utterly dominated the Japanese hardware (and software) charts for so many years, but the PS5 is top of the pile yet again in the latest sales list. Sony's current-gen console just isn't slowing down in Japan, where it sold through another 78,412 units last week...
News Sony Capitalises on PS5's Huge Japan Sales with Hype Software Montage
This is the punch line up
PS5 is pushing some extraordinary numbers in Japan, and is trending ahead of the PS4 and PS3 now Sony’s finally managed to get some stock onto store shelves. That means it’s time for one of the Japanese division’s trademark montage videos, this time with a police detective theme. The clips leads, as you’d expect, on...
News PS5 Sold More Last Month in Japan Than a Chunk of 2022
Things are looking up
PS5 sales increased by an eye-opening 457 per cent year-over-year in Japan last month, as Sony finally managed to get the system’s stock situation under control. The new-gen console sold an incredible 366,982 units in February 2023, more than the first four months of 2022 combined. That’s despite an increase in price, too!...
News PS5 Finally Starts Shifting Software in Japan on Back of Stock Rebound
On the rise
PS5’s astronomic rise in Japan continues, with another impressive 91,729 units flogged during the week ending 26th February, 2023. The new-gen system has been readily available in the region since the beginning of the year, and it’s had a colossal impact on the console’s install base, which is really motoring now. However, there...
News PS5 Records Another Good Week of Sales in Japan, 2.5 Million Sold Since Launch
Hogwarts Legacy still sells best
As the PS5 Stock situation has less of an effect on consumers' ability to purchase the system, sales of the console have continued to grow in Sony's native country of Japan. It's now topped the region's hardware sales chart for five weeks in a row, with this latest round of purchases meaning over 2.5 million consoles...
News Hogwarts Legacy Tops Japanese Charts as PS5 Domination Continues
As if by magic
The PS5 continues to outsell the competition by some distance in its native Japan, with hardware numbers pushing past an impressive 93,000 last week. There's been some debate over why the PS5 is doing so well despite the fact that software sales seem so dead, but that's not really a point of contention this time around, as Hogwarts...
News Japanese PS5 Hardware May Be Being Sent Overseas, Explaining Soft Software Sales
Stock allegedly being shipped to China
Sony is selling a lot of PS5 consoles in its native Japan right now, but physical software sales are non-existent. In the latest Famitsu report, the manufacturer moved almost 100k units, but not a single boxed title could break the software top ten – and they only would have needed to sell over 4,480 units to...
News PS5 Still King of the Japanese Charts Despite Having No Games in Top Ten
Closes on 100k in gigantic week
PS5 closed on 100k units sold through the week ending 5th February in Japan. Sony’s new-gen format – which had been flailing in its domestic region due to supply issues – managed to move 93,026 units in total for the seven day week, capping off a meteoric rise for the machine. The firm had promised stock would...
News PS5 Finally Takes Control of Japanese Charts, As Forspoken Flops
New-gen console comfortably outsells Nintendo Switch
It’s taken a long time, but PS5 is finally doing well in Japan. The system, capped for so long by poor availability, has been gradually getting a foothold in its native territory – and while the Nintendo Switch still very much reigns supreme, it’s finally overtaken the hybrid this week. Sony...
News As PS5's Stock Situation Improves, Japanese Retailers Are Ditching Lotteries
Order direct
Sony promised the PS5 would be much easier to find in 2023, and it’s slowly becoming a reality. Sales are improving dramatically in the manufacturer’s native Japan, where for the longest time you’ve had to register your interest with retailers in order to partake in lotteries for the opportunity to purchase a system. That practice...
News PS5 Gaining More Traction in Japan as It Tops Weekly Hardware Chart
Switching things up
It's no secret: anything not related to Nintendo's line of Switch consoles has been struggling to keep up in Japan. However, with Sony beginning to leave behind its manufacturing woes, the PS5 is now finding its footing, offering up some competitive sales numbers in the latest weekly chart. The standard PS5 was last week's...
News One Piece Odyssey Among Japan's Best Sellers During Launch Week
Second only to Pokemon
One Piece Odyssey was one of the best-selling games in Japan during its first week on the market, with only the joint sales of Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet beating it to top spot. The PS4 version sold best at 35,123 units, while the PS5 edition sold 26,879 copies. It beat out competition from other Nintendo
News PS5 Sales Continue Upward Trajectory in Japan Following Stock Improvements
Back on track
Sony promised it’d ship a healthy supply of PS5 consoles in Japan this holiday, and it’s not disappointed. The console still can’t catch up to the runaway freight train that is the Nintendo Switch, but it’s doing pretty well right now, with another 68,819 units sold in the week spanning 19th December through 25th December...
News PS5 Soars in Japan After Sony Said Stock Issues Are Resolved
On the up
PS5’s performance in Japan was meme-worthy for a good while, but fresh from claiming it’s resolved the system’s stock issues, the console is on fire of late. To clarify: it’s still a million miles away from the substantially more successful Nintendo Switch – that’s not even up for discussion. But it’s doing a helluva lot...
News Sony Bigwig Teases Very Important 2023 for PS5
"I can’t talk about specifics at this time"
In a wide-ranging interview with Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Sony’s senior vice president of platform experience Hideaki Nishino hinted that 2023 will be “very important” for PS5. “I can’t talk about specifics at this time,” he said, via Google Translate, “but I hope you will look...
News Elden Ring, Genshin Impact Take Top Honours at PlayStation Partner Awards
Sony schmoozes strongest performing partners
The annual PlayStation Partner Awards are a bit of an oddity, as they celebrate sales as opposed to critical success. The shindig – hosted by Sony’s Japanese department for decades now – is designed to reward publishing partners for their commercial success on PlayStation platforms, so it’s more...
News PS5 Can't Beat Pokémon, But It's Selling Well in Japan Right Now
Numbers on the up
Look, nothing can stop the Nintendo Switch in Japan – especially not with a new Pokémon game on store shelves. But there’s good news for Sony: with the PS5 stock situation finally improving, the console is actually beginning to shift some serious units. The software charts don’t paint a particularly positive picture for the...
News Sony Japan Unveils Mocopi, At-Home Motion Capture for the Metaverse
Groovy
Here's some PlayStation-adjacent news for you from Sony Japan. The company's latest innovation is Mocopi, a set of motion capture devices you attach to your body and use with a mobile device to animate your personal avatar. You can get a feel for what it's all about in the above video. The set includes six small sensors you secure to your...
News PS5, PS4 Finally Shifts Some Software in Japan Again
Still got it
While the PS5 has attracted a somewhat sizeable install base in Japan, there has been concern about its software sales. We know the industry at large is gradually shifting towards digital, but Famitsu’s charts have painted a particularly bleak picture for PlayStation software of late, with the Nintendo Switch effectively steamrolling...
News Hold On, PS5 Just Outsold Switch in Japan
Somehow
Regular readers will know all too well that we don't tend to cover Japanese sales charts these days because Nintendo is just so utterly dominant that it barely counts as PlayStation-related news. But today, things are different. The latest Japanese hardware charts are in, and, shockingly, the PS5 actually managed to outsell the Nintendo...
News Japan Simply Isn't Enough Anymore as Square Enix Calls Global Market a 'Critical' Priority
Times have changed
This industry really has changed, hasn't it? It's no secret that the big Japanese publishers — Capcom, SEGA, Square Enix, etc. — are largely looking to the West these days, as their home nation seems to distance itself more and more from traditional console gaming (well, outside of Nintendo, at least). Whether it's enforcing...
News The Callisto Protocol Cancels Japanese Release After Refusing to Censor Violence
Bound by blood
Fast-approaching PS5 and PS4 horror title The Callisto Protocol has called off its release in Japan just over a month from launch. The announcement comes via the title's official Japanese Twitter account, which states that the game has been refused classification by the country's CERO rating system. In order to be released in Japan,...
News PlayStation Japan Returns with Another Musical Montage of PS5, PS4 Games
One Room Playground
The official PlayStation Japan channel is at it again, producing yet another montage trailer stuffed with upcoming PS5 and PS4 games. This time accompanied by a laid back J-pop tune and a mix of live action and animation, there are numerous exciting titles highlighted here. The video goes over games such as Final Fantasy XVI,...
News PS5, PS4 Had 1.5% of Console Market Share in Japan Last Week
A blot on its record
We all know Splatoon is a phenomenon in Japan, and that Sony’s situation in its domestic market is “challenging” to put it politely. But the latest Famitsu sales report will surely be sobering for the top brass at PlayStation, as its consoles slumped to just 1.5 per cent of the overall market share for the week ending 11th...
News Japanese Gamers Aren't Impressed with PS5's Price Hike
Many say they're simply giving up on the system
Sony is already having a torrid time in its home territory, but it looks like the PS5’s price hike could prove the straw that broke the camel’s back in its domestic Japan. Like the rest of the world – apart from the USA, of course – Japanese gamers have been reacting to the c
News PS5 Stock Shortages Force Format to Fall Behind Xbox for a Second Week in Japan
Low five
Sony’s trying time in its home country continues, as the PS5 was outsold by the Xbox Series X|S in Japan for a second week. This already occurred once in mid-May, and was noteworthy because it was the first time a PlayStation console had been beaten by an Xbox platform in the weekly Japanese hardware charts for over a decade. Acco
News PS Plus Extra Adds a Lot More PS5, PS4 Games in Japan's Full Launch List
A cut above the Asian list
As the new PS Plus Extra tier launches in Japan, its games list has been revealed — and it's a bit more impressive than the list that came with the tier's release in the rest of Asia. For starters, there are a number of additional titles on here — many of which were part of PS Now. The only problem, of course, is that...
News PS5 Outsold by Xbox in Japan for First Time, But All Stock Related
High five?
In what will undoubtedly be painted as a humiliating twist for Sony, the PS5 was outsold by the Xbox Series X|S in Japan during the week ending 15th May – and it wasn’t even close. Before we delve any deeper, it’s worth noting that while Microsoft’s console has been doing comparatively well in the Land of the Rising Sun, its...
News Sony Japan Promotes PS5, PS4 Lineup with High Octane Montage
Run! Run! Run!
We always enjoy these montages semi-regularly produced by Sony Japan to promote PlayStation’s software lineup. In terms of actual content, we must admit this is one of the weaker ones in recent memory, largely due to there being very few major titles with a release date on PS5 and PS4 right now. It’s still a fun video, though,...
News Updated PS5 Model Registered in Japan
Radio ga ga
Sony has reportedly registered an updated PS5 model in Japan — but don't get too excited. This isn't some kind of PS5 Pro — we won't be getting that for years yet, despite what the rumours say — this is just a slightly adjusted version of the standard PS5. So what's new? Well, it's apparently got "updated radio equipment", which...
That's a lot of Trails
If you're a fan of Japanese RPGs and you haven't yet discovered the magic of Falcom's The Legend of Heroes franchise, then a bundle like this offers up hundreds of hours of entertainment. Only just announced, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel I ~ IV & Trails into Reverie Complete Box is exactly what it says on...
News Ghost of Tsushima Merch Now Being Sold in Actual Tsushima Island's Tourism Shop
Island life
As we've reported on numerous times, Ghost of Tsushima has proven to be very popular with the Japanese — to the point where key employees at developer Sucker Punch were made official ambassadors of the actual Tsushima island. This was after the open world title received all kinds of awards fro
News Sony Recruits Japanese Retailers for PS5 Scalping Prevention Scheme
Your fate is sealed
As you probably already know, the PlayStation 5 is not an easy console to find — and this is just about as true in Japan as it is here in the West. Naturally, Sony's doing all that it can to sell as many current-gen consoles as possible — but because of ongoing chip shortages and other persistent manufacturing issues (largely...
News Sony Pulling the Plug on PS3 After-Sales Support in Japan
Game over
It’s hardly earth-shattering news, but the PlayStation 3 is old – like, really old. The console launched all the way back in 2006, so it’s perhaps no surprise Sony is pulling the plug on support for the system and its peripherals – in Japan, at least. Writing on its official Twitter account, the organisation “sincerely...
News Japan's PS Now Update for March 2022 Is JRPG Heaven
Smile like you Rean it
It's always interesting to see what Japanese PlayStation fans are getting through subscription services like PS Plus and PS Now, comparing their game lineups to what's on the menu here in the West. Usually there's not a huge difference, but the Japanese selection for PS Now in March 2022 is worth pointing out. In Europe and...
News Sony More Likely Than Microsoft to Acquire a Japanese Game Company, Analyst Explains
Believes Sony may be planning a move in Japan
If Microsoft's planned $68 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard has you wondering who's next, and whether the tech giant could scoop up your favourite Japanese publisher at any moment, then we've got good news: it probably, maybe, might not happen. Video game consultant and writer Nathan Brown has...
News Game Over, Yeahhh! SEGA Dumps Japanese Arcades After 50 Years
Quarterly review
SEGA is pulling out of the Japanese arcade business after an iconic 50 year run. The company’s logo is synonymous with Tokyo’s once-bustling arcade scene, but it will sell all of its existing amusements to Genda Inc, a rival organisation that operates locations under the GiGO branding. It’s the end of an era, but hardly...
News SEGA Adds Sapporo Studio to Japanese Internal Operations
New year, new team
SEGA is beefing up its in-house Japanese operations with the establishment of a new Sapporo studio, to complement its existing slate of Tokyo teams. As the name obviously indicates, this group will work out of the northern Hokkaido prefecture, and will be responsible for “development, design, debugging, sales, and import and...
News Supply Constrained PS5 Sold Almost 1 Million Units in Japan in 2021
But heavily outsold by Nintendo Switch
The PlayStation 5 sold 942,798 units in Japan throughout 2021, according to retail data compiled by gaming bible Famitsu. The system has been supply constrained globally all year, so this figure effectively reflects shipment totals for the new-gen system in Sony’s home territory. It’s not a bad number in...
News 'High-End RPG Remake' for PS5 in Production at Japanese Studio
And that's all she wrote
A Japanese studio which has operated as an outsourcing outfit for franchises such as Atelier, Final Fantasy, and Persona is hiring for a “high-end RPG remake for PlayStation 5”. The name of the project is being kept private for now, and it’s almost certain it’s collaborating with a major publisher, although it...
News This Is Why We Don't Write About the Japanese Sales Charts Very Often
How times have changed
There was a time when we used to cover the Japanese sales charts every single week here on Push Square, without fail. But as we moved into the latter stages of the PlayStation 4's life — especially once the Nintendo Switch had been released — our coverage fell off a cliff. Why? Well, just take a look at the latest charts...
News PS Plus Subscribers in Japan Get Judgment as a Free Game This Month
Along with The Sexy Brutale
December's PlayStation Plus lineup in North America and Europe has not been well received. If you happened to miss yesterday's news, the PS Plus version of Godfall isn't the full game. And, as you can probably imagine, it's sparked a bit of an outrage among subscribers, who feel as though they're getting a glorified demo...
