Japanese Sales Charts: PS4 Numbers Skyrocket Thanks to Slim Release and Persona 5

Slim and 2DS launched in the same week? Lots of money spent in Japan last week. Anybody know if they launched the same day, b/c the country might have ground to a standstill. Oh wait, Lapras already had that covered.

So, any chance Slim and P5 were the same week on purpose, or just a happy coincidence for all involved? Even I might have to admit PS3 is gone following this holiday, the last hurrah clearance deal time. I bet if PS4 had BC it would have happened already.

I wonder if 2DS will be a PS Vita TV thing and quickly slink away? I can't even recall when PSTV came off the list, I know it was up three for awhile. Did 2DS knock it down to 11?

Nice! Persona5 is killing it.

So I guess PS4Slim and the regular PS4 will have their sales lumped together.

@BertoFlyingFox Funny you should ask, I was just wondering if Slim and Pro would be lumped together? If they add Pro and NX next March (call me, maybe) they could knock X1 off the list and save it the weekly embarrassment. Would really like to see PSVR on the list but it may be too peripherally.

I am using persona 5 to learn some Japanese. That game is killing it! I love it

@Neolit @rjejr @BertoFlyingFox Regular PS4 production has stopped now - the Slim is the regular PS4 as far as Sony's concerned. Also worth pointing out that the Slim isn't even called the Slim officially - it's just PS4.

That said, there are bound to be a few original PS4s knocking around, so yeah, they'll just be added into the numbers.

As for the Pro, Media Create - the company that tracks these sales - tends to split hardware up depending on the model, as it's always done with the 3DS, for example, so we could well see the PS4 (Slim) and Pro be counted separately.

Do Not Underestimate the Power of Playstation

Holy, nearly 100,000 units sold cause of Persona 5?!

That's damn good XD

Yay, go team Persona!
This is also good news for Square Enix, as FFXV will find a larger PS4 install base in Japan at launch.

Whoa nice!
Can't wait for Persona, Horizon may even be on the back burner for a week or two. As for the sales I'm glad Japan has finally joined the PS4 party, long may it continue. Good to see that the top 4 selling games are PS games, don't remember the last time that happened.

Holy crap.

I think it's safe to say FFXV's sales will be marginally higher globally than P5, but it'll be interesting to see how it'll do in Japan.

I'm actually a bit disappointed by Persona 5's sales. This installment seemed to be the most anticipated yet and Persona is more of a mainstream brand these days. Maybe it'll keep on selling, but I honestly expected lifetime sales of 600k in Japan, a figure they probably won't reach. Japan just isn't really interested in home consoles anymore; remember that the 90k they've sold now also include the sales they've missed the last few weeks because of the Slim announcement.

Well this is poetry in motion:
Ps4 slim (Cheaper price) +persona 5 (promoted game) = success (money!!!!!)
Im also suprised that P5 didn't sell 100k on the ps3.....

It's interesting that P5 is partly responsible for this since it's also on PS3. Plus, out of all the PS3/4 games out there this is not one that benefits from the jump in power of the PS4 over PS3.

Maybe the Slim tempted them and P5 is most people's first game.

Well, that's a lot better than I expected. Will be interesting to see how this holds though. Will it be a gradual drop to something like 15K-20K a week or will it drop like a rock next week?

@Matroska The last proper Persona game came out on PlayStation 2. There may be quite a lot of Persona fans who didn't even get a PS3.

@get2sammyb
I've seen em and although I realize they've had their best opening in history for the Persona franchise, I expected more. The market has shifted more towards purchases in the launch window, where up to 90% of all revenue is made, but more importantly I've witnessed Persona becoming a more mainstream franchise.

Persona 5 is still a niche game when compared to FFXV, especially internationally, but it's become a very recognizable IP in Japan. And where people love to see big companies and their juggernaut games fail, Atlus still has a lot of goodwill, something I thought Persona 5 would benefit from especially backed by the positive critical reception of the game.

I actually expected a close race in Japan between Persona 5 and FFXV, which seems quite silly now, unless FFXV fails to meet Squeenix' expectations. Home console releases of Final Fantasy used to draw crowds in Japan and I believe Persona has become a Japanese icon in its own right so I expected nothing less; now I really wonder if the big one, FFXV, will be able to surpass the million sales mark in Japan... I'm afraid they won't.

@rjejr its not a console in itself PSVR but PSTV is, I think they stopped production of that everywhere though didn't they...

As expected....hptly anticipated jrpg releases the the same week a new hardware model releases? I imagine they will dip by around 20% next week but i expect it to hold for several weeks at the top spot.(ps4slim)

What's this? Who called it?

Yah. JaxonH called it. In fact, it far outperformed even my predictions. Like I said, Persona moves units like Shin Megami Tensei does on 3DS. Oodles of sales.

@Boerewors "where up to 90% of all revenue is made"

Maybe in some instances, but I reckon P5 will have legs. The Japanese have taken a while to come round to the PS4, due in no short part to being snubbed at launch. But that will change now. Its common knowledge they love their mobiles, but console gaming is well better we all know that.

@themcnoisy
It's definitely better from our pov, but it doesn't suit Japanese lifestyle and culture as much as mobile does. The Japanese spend incredible amounts of money on mobile gaming (they spend $40 on average (!) if they end up playing a game, the second most money spent on average is seen in South Korea: $3.50. Japanese numbers are insane!) and mobile games suit the Japanese desire for quirkiness and more importantly: mobile games are socially accepted.

Lots of the Japanese hits are proper games btw, unlike most of the mobile games we see here, with huge development costs. You'll always lack a proper input method, but can't the same be said of FPSs on console? They seem to be doing alright though.

@themcnoisy While PS4 is a good console, it's not Wii good. It's the best home console in a bad generation, and despite its successes, it still has some way to go. It's going to take still more to convince more people to buy in, especially the Japanese.

@Mahe "While PS4 is a good console, it's not Wii good."

As in sales, hardware or games? I'm sorry bit apart from sales I wholeheartedly disagree. The PS4 is a fantastic console with fantastic games. In fact I would say the library its accruing will be THE best this generation and better than any of Nintendos consoles post Super Nintendo (minus its handhelds).

"It's the best home console in a bad generation"

While I do agree some of the business tactics such as micro transactions, pre order dlc and unfinished games releasing are all bad, the PS4 has been the only gaming computer I have used for 2 solid years. Yes Microsoft messed up, yes the wii u is a dog and you could argue both of those consoles have gone backwards In more ways than one. On the other hand PS4 is better than the PS3 in every way.

"It's going to take still more to convince more people to buy in"

Its all about the games bro, if Famitsu gives ff15 anywhere approaching a 40/40 PS4 will go into overdrive.

@ShogunRok Ah, that's good to know. Thanks!

Meanwhile we wait for the English version... ;__;

I wish Atlus did simultaneous releases like Square.

@Boerewors

Although I don't wish for big games to fail I do believe Final Fantasy has lost some of that good will with the Japanese gaming public (I appreciate that FFXIII sold in high numbers but gamers can't always see whether a game is good or bad until they've experienced it themselves). It can however inform them going forwards whether they want to get involved with the next entry in the franchise. I'm curious if fans of the main numbered FF games have moved over to other RPG franchises/different series entirely after playing FFXIII and its sequels?

In any case and back on topic, Persona 5's first-week sales (in this case its only the first 3 days of the game being on sale) are not too shabby for an outfit such as Atlus. The setting of a Japanese high school and playing through the protagonist's school year will carry high appeal with the buying audience over there. I'm curious to see what the following week's sales numbers look like and they should be available later this week.

This increased exposure for the series is only good for Persona. The more people see what it can offer in the RPG genre the better I think. Maybe then gamers will consider more than the Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest/Tales of titles when thinking about JRPG games to try out.

@themcnoisy If they give FFXV 40/40 that will totally be a paid-for review.

I'm open to the game being good and I like that you can change the appearances of your party (thank God as I thought I was going to be stuck with the emo mid-20s boy band all in black for the entire game). However I think even the Japanese audience are wise to the upcoming title and will take any reviews with a punch of salt to check it out for themselves and come to their own conclusions.