Japanese Sales Charts: Even with Declining Numbers, PS4 Manages to Stay at the Top

At least not as big a drop last week. If PS4 sales can settle in the 17K to 22K per week range from here on out that's not terrible given the current home console market in Japan.

@Gamer83 "If PS4 sales can settle in the 17K to 22K per week range from here on out that's not terrible..."

Did you really just write that? This is what you wrote just last week when PS4 sold more than this week:

"When top of the charts is still sh*tty there's nothing to be happy about."

You must be a KC Royals fan and in a good mood today.

So I won't even ask what's so important/relevant/magical about the 20k number, but I did go back a few months and besides the big MGSV pop and the post price drop announcement pre-price actual drop in price - why do companies do that and not just announce and drop the same week? - the PS4 really did like that 18k per week number, it happened several times. So I guess if it stays above 18 the price cut paid off, and if it doesn't stay above that in Nov and Dec during the holidays it really could be in trouble, as everybody starts buying Xbox Ones and Wii U instead. ha ha, ha ha ha, I kill me. Well unless Wii U hits $199 real soon, then maybe it could outsell PS4 in Japan. Ball's in Nintendo's court, shrouded in a veil of mystery and silence. Come on Nintendo, show us the ball.

@rjejr
New York Yankees fan actually. Born in Manhattan, grew up in Westchester County. But anyway, I've accepted the harsh reality. The Japan home console market sucks... So in the context of the Japanese home console market, those sales aren't terrible. I'm not happy or throwing a party about it though. I'm still disappointed because going forward it's going to be more and more companies making decisions like Konami recently has.

wow!! 1009 for Xbox. That's pretty good for the system. I'm glad that Microsoft hasn't given up on Japan yet and hope that eventually all the consoles do well there. When all consoles do well, all gamers win.

@Utena-mobile
Unless Sony and Nintendo leave video games, I can't see Xbox ever doing well there and even without Sony and Nintendo as competition it's still debatable if MS would succeed. It has to keep the appearance of trying though, otherwise getting games like Scalebound and ReCore would have zero chance of happening.

@Gamer83
yeah, you're right. It's just a dream, but as someone who owns an Xbox 1 and loves Japanese games, I would love to see it do well in Japan. Not just for me though, because I plan on buying a PS4 slim when that comes out, but there's something great about the way Japan approaches story telling and video game design compared to Western releases, that Xbox players really owe it to themselves to play some good Japanese games. If Xbox did well in Japan, then that means those gamers could see those kinds of releases on the Xbox 1 without having to spend another 400 dollars.

@Utena-mobile
I'm all for Xbox eventually doing well in Japan. I just don't see it happening. MS did actually try real hard with the 360 over there, even secured what looks like potential huge releases in Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey as well as some Tales game, but it didn't lead to the desired results.

@Gamer83 Yankee fan? Oh, so your just happy the Mets lost. (In a very similar way to game 1 in 2000.)

Yeah, consoles are dead in Japan. Everybody wants to live inside a fold-up bed, no room for tvs, just lay there w/ a phone in their hand. OK, that's overly stereotypical, they probably all get outside a lot more than I do, but they certainly seem to be done w/ gaming at home. I'm guessing Sony is happy to get whatever they can out of the Japanese home market and focus on the US and UK. 1 mil per year (@ 20k per week) is still something.

And I still think there is an over saturation of the home videogame market. Look at how well PS3 games sell in Japan. Even the PS3 is still sort of selling. I think part of the problem w/ home consoles this gen isn't just mobile, it's that people are still playing on, and buying, cheaper last gen systems. The Wii version of Just Dance 2016 sells well. Wii, not Wii U. Almost every Wii U game has an earlier version on Wii that people can play - MK, NSMB, SSB, Pikmin. Almost every PS4 game that comes out in Japan has a PS3 version they can buy now.

So why would anybody buy a PS4 or Wii U, when they can get the same or similar games on a system they already own? Mobile is a big problem, but I don't think everyone on the planet has completly given up on home consoles yet, they just aren't buying a new one every few years to play the same games.

And where can the Japanese even fit a PS4 next to their PS3 in their tiny bedsized apartments?

@rjejr

Same way I don't view the Giants as a real rival to the Jets, I don't view the Mets as a rival to the Yankees. If the Mets don't win, doesn't effect me, if they do win, good for them. I'm no Mets hater, in fact I really like that young pitching staff they have. Should be set up for many years of deep playoff runs.

I'm impressed by the unit sales - 22,000 units and considerably fewer (charting) games, with the sales of all charting PS4 games combined only reaching 17584. I highly doubt 5,000 people are buying PS4s to just stare at them, though, which makes me curious about what, exactly, Japanese consumers are buying alongside their consoles, if anything.

Video games are walking towards the second crash and maybe Nintendo save us all again.

@Frank90
There will never be another crash. Too many consumers love gaming now. It's a permanent facet of global society.

That's not to say a few AAA bubbles won't burst though.

@tudsworth Good question, maybe they're going full digital? I forget if these charts track download games.

@Frank90 They need to save themselves first.

Good on Microsoft this week! They sold well over double the Xbones! I had no idea that the Japanese played Halo at all. Is anybody else weirdly proud of them for not being bottom of the chart for once?