PS5 PlayStation 5 Japan Sales Charts 1
Image: Push Square

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 better, which is worth pointing out.

For the period spanning 12th December through 18th December, the PlayStation maker sold over 70,000 new-gen consoles to consumers, which is a very respectable number. To put it into perspective, Nintendo shifted over 170,000 Switch systems, so Sony’s still a long way behind – but this is not the complete butt-stomping we’ve become accustomed to.

There are signs that software sales are improving, too. For example, the big new release of the week, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, sold best on PS5, with 54,522 units. In fact, all three versions of the game did well: the PS4 edition sold 53,481 units and the Switch port managed 48,527 units – a pretty good result for Square Enix, we reckon.

Sony recently promised that it had resolved PS5’s stock issues, and said that it would increase supply to its native Japan. That’s certainly being reflected in the numbers, and it’s nice to see the platform holder enjoying a little more success in its domestic territory of late. Let’s hope it can maintain these numbers moving forwards.

Software Sales

  1. [NSW] Pokemon Scarlet / Pokemon Violet (The Pokemon Company, 11/18/22) – 260,784 (3,963,266)
  2. [NSW] Splatoon 3 (Nintendo, 09/09/22) – 68,927 (3,566,641)
  3. [PS5] Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (Square Enix, 12/13/22) – 54,522 (New)
  4. [PS4] Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (Square Enix, 12/13/22) – 53,481 (New)
  5. [NSW] Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (Square Enix, 12/13/22) – 48,527 (New)
  6. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo, 04/29/22) – 33,006 (843,257)
  7. [NSW] Dragon Quest Treasures (Square Enix, 12/09/22) – 31,656 (175,306)
  8. [NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 23,343 (2,922,071)
  9. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 22,740 (4,972,488)
  10. [NSW] Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Nintendo, 09/09/22) – 15,060 (46,173)
  11. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo, 12/07/18) – 12,598 (5,043,043)
  12. [PS5] Horizon Forbidden West (SIE, 02/18/22) – 12,092 (130,031)
  13. [NSW] Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival (Bandai Namco, 09/22/22) – 11,522 (95,086)
  14. [NSW] Mario Party Superstars (Nintendo, 10/29/21) – 11,231 (1,092,131)
  15. [NSW] Ishu Saikyou Ou Zukan: Battle Colosseum (Nippon Columbia, 12/15/22) – 11,201 (New)
  16. [NSW] Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Nintendo, 03/25/22) – 11,124 (949,632)
  17. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 03/20/20) – 10,142 (7,377,389)
  18. [NSW] Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits (Bandai Namco, 10/27/22) – 9,485 (64,150)
  19. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! (Konami, 11/19/20) – 9,348 (2,762,507)
  20. [NSW] FIFA 23 Legacy Edition (EA, 09/30/22) – 8,011 (50,742)
  21. [PS5] Gran Turismo 7 (SIE, 03/04/22) – 7,864 (206,233)
  22. [NSW] Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo, 02/12/21) – 4,724 (1,099,254)
  23. [NSW] Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Offline (Square Enix, 09/15/22) – 4,463 (245,782)
  24. [NSW] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (Nintendo, 06/05/20) – 4,425 (1,046,047)
  25. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo, 10/18/19) – 4,250 (3,312,038)
  26. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo, 03/03/17) – 3,941 (2,107,932)
  27. [NSW] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (Bandai Namco, 03/26/20) – 3,853 (181,216)
  28. [NSW] Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Special Price (SEGA, 11/17/22) – 3,561 (13,233)
  29. [NSW] Sonic Frontiers (SEGA, 11/08/22) – 3,940 (45,761)
  30. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo, 06/28/19) – 3,372 (1,258,486)

Hardware Sales

  1. Switch OLED Model – 97,909 (3,488,037)
  2. PS5 – 64,420 (2,000,593)
  3. Switch – 47,125 (19,005,911)
  4. Switch Lite – 28,049 (5,066,543)
  5. PS5 Digital Edition – 6,076 (307,977)
  6. PS4 – 3,161 (7,838,883)
  7. Xbox Series S – 875 (225,206)
  8. New 2DS LL (including 2DS) – 48 (1,189,473)
  9. Xbox Series X – 35 (172,080)

[source famitsu.com, via gematsu.com]