With smartphones and dedicated handhelds ruling the roost in Japan, it’s been a difficult first year for the PlayStation 4 in its home nation. While the device definitely hasn’t flopped in Sony’s domestic territory, it’s struggled to make its mark, with multiformat titles selling better on the PlayStation 3 – and the next-gen hardware failing to attain any particularly noteworthy numbers since launch.
The latest Media Create report shows signs of improvement, though, as the system shifted 68,041 units for the week ending 14th December – a massive improvement over the previously tracked period’s 15,971 units. The boost can be attributed to the release of the console’s Dragon Quest Heroes Metal Slime bundle, which ships in silver and comes with a downloadable copy of the aforementioned game – even though it’s not out until February.
The launch of Grand Theft Auto V also no doubt helped the hardware, which remains peculiarly popular in the Land of the Rising Sun. That title alone moved a respectable 81,659 units on the PS4, which is an impressive number considering the platform’s install base hasn't even crossed one million units yet. Sony will be hoping that the looming Bloodborne and Final Fantasy Type-0 will help it to pass that milestone early next year.
Elsewhere, the Vita enjoyed a reasonable week as well, shifting 24,039 units. Unfortunately, only Phantasy Star Nova made it into the software best-sellers list, which was mostly dominated by PlayStation 3 and Nintendo 3DS titles. Shining Resonance, the fantasy role-playing game from SEGA, was the best performer on the former format, selling 67,282 units on Sony’s ageing appliance. The machine itself managed to move a solid 7,803 units in all.
Hardware
1. New 3DS LL – 83,041 (63,714)
2. PlayStation 4 – 68,041 (15,971)
3. New 3DS – 34,676 (25,541)
4. Wii U – 27,334 (24,469)
5. 3DS LL – 24,475 (17,319)
6. PlayStation Vita – 24,039 (22,355)
7. 3DS – 14,911 (38,846)
8. PlayStation 3 – 7,803 (5,679)
9. PlayStation Vita TV – 974 (986)
10. Xbox One – 724 (790)
11. Xbox 360 – 102 (189)
12. PSP – 8 (8)
Software
1. [3DS] Yokai Watch 2: Shinuchi (Level-5, 12/14/14) – 1,244,171 (New)
2. [3DS] Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire (Pokemon, 11/21/14) – 152,384 (1,950,481)
3. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 12/11/14) – 81,659 (New)
4. [Wii U] Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Nintendo, 12/06/14) – 79,005 (306,533)
5. [PS3] Shining Resonance (Sega, 12/11/14) – 67,282 (New)
6. [3DS] Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo, 09/13/14) – 47,393 (1,835,852)
7. [3DS] Yokai Watch 2: Ganso / Honke (Level-5, 07/10/14) – 32,168 (2,958,112)
8. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (Capcom, 10/11/14) – 29,418 (2,255,273)
9. [Wii U] Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo, 05/29/14) – 24,938 (778,808)
10. [PS3] Assassin’s Creed Rogue (Ubisoft, 12/11/14) – 17,656 (New)
11. [3DS] Derby Stallion Gold (Kadokawa Games, 12/04/14) – 16,659 (90,275)
12. [3DS] Aikatsu! 365-Hi no Idol Days (Bandai Namco, 12/04/14) – 16,023 (49,174)
13. [Wii U] Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo, 11/13/14) – 14,628 (80,510)
14. [PS3] Nobunaga’s Ambition: Creation with Power-Up Kit (Koei Tecmo, 12/11/14) – 14,054 (New)
15. [3DS] Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind CHAIN (SC, 12/04/14) – 12,650 (31,723)
16. [3DS] Sumikko Gurashi Koko ga Ochitsukun Desu (NC, 11/20/14) – 12,216 (36,053)
17. [PS3] Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting (Bandai Namco, 12/11/14) – 10,675 (New)
18. [PSV] Phantasy Star Nova (Sega, 11/27/14) – 10,117 (137,263)
19. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo, 11/08/12) – 9,961 (3,830,376)
20. [PS3] Resident Evil (Capcom, 11/27/14) – 8,493 (74,196)
[source 4gamer.net, via gematsu.com]
Comments 18
As a Sony fanboy those xbox one sales numbers make me giggle.
What would benefit the PS4 in Japan, and frankly this can apply to other territories as well as it would benefit the entire industry, is if they would move on completely from the damn PS3. It had a great run, now it's over, advance with the times, please. There's still way too many cross-gen releases. Enough.
@Gamer83 I agree and in a way Sony themselves have moved on, LBP3 made sense having on PS3 cos that lives on having a large community. MLB makes sense cos it's a massive IP for Sony to have so they will want it in as many hands as possible. Trouble is Japanese publishers don't seem that keen to move on yet hence why Dragon's Quest, Yakuza and Persona 5 will be on PS3 too. Hopefully the tide's turning now.
@KAPADO As a Sony fanboy I wouldn't look at the 3DS numbers then, you'll contemplate suicide. More than twice as much as the PS4 (over five times the Vita) for a handheld console that is close to four years old in a country where three in four people already have one, probably two. That is just devastating. With a new Animal Crossing on the way, Majora's Mask, Xenoblade Chronicles, S.T.E.A.M., Etrian Mystery Dungeon, a Hatsune Miku game, TheAtRhythm: Dragon Quest and - lets face it - another Pokémon those numbers ain't dropping any time soon. It's staggering. To think at launch the 3DS was a failure too, massive credit must go to Nintendo for turning it around spectacularly. Shame Sony didn't even try the same with the Vita which is, arguably, the better machine.
@rastamadeus - But 3 in 4 people dont have the "new" 3DS yet, which is contribuing a bit to the current drubbing. The new LL doesnt offer a whole lot over the old model, which is still selling surprisingly well, but it is an upgrade.
Nice 1- 2 punch w/ that DQH console and GTAV last week. I didnt realize the console came w/ a copy of the game, that probably contributed to more sales, though it is a sweet console, and DQ is pretty big over there. If PS3 gets the game in the west its day 1. If not Ill get it whenever I get a PS4. I wonder if Godzilla on PS4 will be much better than PS3?
@rastamadeus It probably is like an accessory to them now.
They must own 4 each, to match their clothing or time of day.
@rastamadeus It probably is like an accessory to them now.
They must own 4 each, to match their clothing or time of day.
That's good, hopefully this means more Japanese games. And I couldn't help but laugh at 8 PSPs, it's just such a tiny number.
@rastamadeus regardless, the x box numbers are still hilarious, they must have wasted so much money.
@Gamer83 I agree wholeheartedly. It's crazy that as we go into 2015 the vast majority of major releases are on PS3 as well. This just wouldn't have even been technically possible in any previous generation (N64 games also being released on the SNES etc). I really wish ps4 games would just be exclusive to this gen
That's a good figure for GTA in Japan. Especially a re-release on a console with a relatively small install base...
with those kind of sales it makes me wonder why MS even bothered releasing it in Japan, the XBOX failed there so did the 360 did they really think the XB1 would do any better?
@FullbringIchigo
Kind of have to try to make it look like you're competing in all territories though. Even if everybody knows MS isn't going to do well there and probably isn't really trying hard behind the scenes, the console still needed to be released in Japan.
@adf86
Yeah, I'm not overly concerned about Sony moving on. I am bothered that a lot of third parties haven't though, even most of the few third party exclusives are still cross-gen. I understand it from a business perspective but from a gaming standpoint it's disappointing we're not getting games as awesome as they could be.
@Picola
At the start of last gen there were several games that appeared on 360 that were also on the PS2, original Xbox or Gamecube. Tomb Raider Legend was one I remember (loved that game), I think Top Spin 2 as well and Burn Out Revenge was a late port. But yeah, overall companies had mostly moved on by the time the second full calendar year arrived, hell even in the latter part of 2006 the cross-gen releases weren't happening often. This gen is just a clusterf*ck of cross-gen or late ports and at a certain point these devs have to stop. Something like DMC 4 I don't have a major issue with because it was a 2008 release. But Saints Row 4? DmC 2013? Nobody asked for those. Volition should be busy on a fully current gen Saints Row 5, not a re-release with some stupid a$$ DLC tacked on.
@Gamer83 yeah I guess so but still I wonder how much they lost in Japan though?
@FullbringIchigo
It'd be interesting to know, just like it'd be interesting to know how much was spent for Rise of the Tomb Raider. This is a company that once dropped $50 mil on two GTA IV episodes that didn't even stay exclusive for much more than 6 months so it's anybody's guess how much has been lost by releasing in Japan. But again, have to try to appear to want to compete and with the willingness to buy some timed exclusives I wouldn't be shocked to see at least one big play with a major Japanese franchise.
It's going to be interesting to see whether this is just a spike, or whether it can hold for a couple of weeks. Sony's got a reasonable Q1 lined up for the PS4 in Japan, so hopefully it can start to gain a bit of momentum over there.
It would be nice to see the system get a little more Japanese support, after all.
@KAPADO More than likely actually, knowing the Japanese. Thing is, with all the special editions and now cases you can get people will buy a second, third, fourth console. It's the way it's always been from Game Boy to 3DS and it works every time. So why, yet again, did Sony not do the same? It's like they wanted the Vita to fail.
@FullbringIchigo I don't think it will be anything near what we imagine. Microsoft know they won't do well in Japan so it would have been budgeted accordingly. A million sales for them over the consoles lifespan is likely the aim.
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