Tag: Japan - Page 2
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...
News PlayStation Japan Serves Up a Buffet of Brilliant PS5 Games
Mouth watering
If you’ve been following PlayStation for a while, then you’ll be familiar with its Japanese division’s high-concept montage videos. The platform holder tends to publish a couple of these every year, focusing on its upcoming first-party and third-party software selection. This latest video has a buffet theme, with Horizon...
News Bloodborne Producer Masaaki Yamagiwa Teams Up with Team Ninja
A stranger of paradise
A top producer from Japan Studio – who left Sony when the team was disbanded earlier in the year – has joined Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin developer Team Ninja. Masaaki Yamagiwa – whose credits include Bloodborne, Déraciné, and Tokyo Jungle to name just a few – was
News Four Different PlayStation Games Top Japanese Charts for the First Time in Ages
No, really
It's been a long, long time since Sony had any real say in the Japanese software charts, which makes this week's list especially interesting. Not one, not two, not three, but four PlayStation games sit at the top of the charts. They're all PS4 titles, granted, but this is still an incredibly rare win for a company other than Nintendo...
News Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut Breaks Up Switch Dominance in Japanese Sales Chart
Sells just under 24,000 copies
Cast your mind back a few weeks and you may remember us reporting there wasn't a single PlayStation 5 or PS4 game in the top 30 of the physical Japanese sales charts. Nintendo Switch titles had effectively taken over the region, but the past week's rankings make for slightly prettier reading as far as Sony is...
News Sony Investing in External Japanese Development Group
A core part of PlayStation's identity
Sony, effectively, shuttered Japan Studio earlier this year, retaining Astro’s Playroom developer Team Asobi and expanding it into a fully-fledged first-party team. Many, however, feel that PlayStation is turning its back on its home nation, with Gran Turismo 7 maker Polyphony Digital being its only other...
News There's Not a Single PS5, PS4 Game in the Japanese Sales Charts
Missing from the entire top 30
For the first time since the late 1980s, the Japanese sales charts are dominated by a single console. The latest Famitsu results, which track physical software sales from 2nd August through 8th August, are completely occupied by Nintendo Switch titles. To clarify: every game, from 1st position to 30th position, belongs...
News PS5 Games Are Still Selling Poorly at Retail in Japan
Rift Apart moves just 14k boxed copies
Now that stock is slowly becoming more available, the PlayStation 5 is selling much better in Japan. It’s still not particularly spectacular, but in terms of hardware units it has overtaken the PS4 and PS Vita when launch aligned, and is now catching up to the Nintendo Wii U. The latter may not particularly...
News Anime Sensation Demon Slayer Will Deploy in October on PS5, PS4 in Japan
Slay, queen
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – the game based on Sony’s smash hit anime – will release in October in Japan, according to a flyer included with Blu-ray copies of the film. Sony Music Entertainment subsidiary Aniplex is slated to publish the game, with CyberConnect 2 on development duties – and it’ll release on PlayStation 5,...
News Japan Remains 'Extremely Important' to PlayStation, Stresses Sony Boss
Beast from the East
Over the last couple of years — and particularly the last several months — there's been a lot of discussion surrounding PlayStation's relationship with Japan. It's no secret that the company has become very westernised, consolidating its efforts across North America and Europe especially. This is also true of PlayStation's...
News Sony XDEV Recruiting Producers for AAA PS5, PS4 Games in Japan and Asia
More evidence of global operation
As we reported earlier in the week, Sony XDEV Europe now appears to be a global operation. The Liverpool-based division – seemingly now rebranded Sony XDEV – historically partnered with external developers across Europe to bring exclusive titles to PlayStation platforms like Returnal and Detroit: Become Human...
News PS5 Sales Now Trending Above PS4 Launch Aligned in Japan
But no one's buying any games
After all the hullabaloo surrounding the PlayStation 5’s launch in Japan – stock issues mean that it was trending behind even the Nintendo Wii U at one point – the next-gen console is now selling faster than its predecessor the PS4 did in the region when launch aligned. It’s worth remembering that the PS4...
News Sony Sponsors Asobu, a Community Hub for Japanese Indies
Well, that changes the narrative
Depending on which Twitter accounts you follow, Sony is stepping away from indie developers and has turned its back on the Japanese development scene. The company’s official sponsorship of Asobu is presumably just a ruse, then – this doesn’t fit the narrative at all, does it? For those who don’t know –...
News Ex-Sony Japan Studio Producer Forms a New Team with a Terrible Name
EPIGRAsm not the best
As the fallout from Sony’s disbanded Japan Studio continues to unfold, another team has been established. This time it’s the turn of long-time executive producer Masami Yamamoto, who’s worked on dozens of PlayStation exclusives, including – but not limited to – Bloodborne, Tokyo Jungle, and Soul Sacrifice. As...
News PS5 Sales Steadily Improve in Japan, As Stock Situation Steadies
Console crosses 500k milestone
Update: Just as a quick update to this article, the new Famitsu sales data for the period spanning 22nd March to 28th March has now been published. PlayStation 5 continued its excellent sales streak, shifting another 62,295 units, putting its life-to-date total at 580,211 units. Once again the Nintendo Switch...
