Kirby Star Allies Gobbles Up The Top Spot Again In The Japanese Charts

Nintendo still killing it.

Once again not 4 times try 2.5 times you have to count the Pro!!

What happened to PS4???

Man Hyrule Warriors straight up bombed out, what happened?

Good for Kirby, sixty dollars might've scared away some consumers but I'm happy people still go against it to try it out.

Dom, what are “lifestyle sales” you say you have in brackets?

Also I am surprised that Ni No Kuni hasn’t been a stronger seller.

@GrailUK Preparing for God of War? /s

Greatness awaits...on the Switch.

Olala...
New 2DS XL kicked PS4 Pro Butt.
Take that, Sony !

And 1-2-Switch on number 17 ??
Thanks to JustJesss for her Hillarious 1-2-Switch gameplay.
Oh, i must grab my Joy Cons quickly for Telephone mini games from 1-2-Switch right now.
Hello ?!

Please don't say it sold 4 times as many PS4. Compare Switch sales with aggregate PS4 + PS4Pro sales otherwise it just comes across as fanboy-ism and unprofessional.

Man, all those people who were screaming Kirby would bomb... man. Enjoy your crow.

@tangram Well they're consistent, they generally don't combine the 3DS family sales either. It would be preferable if they just combine the similar models though.

On another note, Splatoon 2 has some real staying power. I guess I don't have to worry about a lack of people to play with anytime soon.

Good for Kirby, I still have not picked up his new game yet. Not bad for Far Cry either.

These PS4 hardware sales make Switch hardware sales seem more impressive than they really are.

@PhilKenSebben Yep that cliff edge just keeps on getting further and further away...it must be turning a nice profit by now.

@PhilKenSebben People said that? Jeez how ignorant can you be, Kirby is pretty popular in Japan and almost always guarantees a million seller worldwide (or more) for a mainline. Just because you don't want the game doesn't mean it will fail

Well done Xbox XD

Although Switch sales are impressive in Japan, comparing them to PS4 sales seems a little weird. If both consoles released at the same time, then I would be interested. Fact is, most people who wanted a PS4 bought one years ago. Wouldn't have bought this up, but it seems to be a common theme in the comments sections and the sub header.

Sure it sold better than Sony, but it wasn't by 4x. You also need to count the PS4 Pro in those numbers too.

@Ernest_The_Crab Yeah they should definitely combine those 3DS and Xbox sales numbers.

I knew Splatoon 2 was a phenomenon in Japan but more than double Breath of the Wild is insane

Glad to see Kirby's being successful. It's just a shame this latest game isn't as amazing as KRtDL or KPR.

@Shellcore except consoles typically sell higher numbers year on year until later in their life. These should be peak sales years for PS4 (and they are - PS4 worldwide sold more units than Switch last year).

In Japan it bears talking about because at this pace Switch could potentially have a larger install base there by the end of the year at a point when PS4 is entering its twilight years and Switch is on the threshold of entering much bigger years sales wise.

Move over, Mario. Japan is Squid territory now.

Wow!

Xbox gamers in japan must be one happy family.... I mean, you go online and find the same 30 people playing, you must get to know each other pretty well lol

@StuTwo I have no details for Japan, but for the UK that just isn't true.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/274332/unit-sales-of-selected-top-selling-gaming-devices-annually-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/

Edit: Searching through Google actually showed this. Annoyingly clicking on the link makes a banner go over the graph grrr (sorry)

@MoonKnight7 @Spoony_Tech I'm pretty sure that was just this articles glaring easter egg error, Dom has to have one in every article, whether it's spelling colourful as coluorful in the tile or claiming a May 25th game comes out April 25th, every article has to have 1, so it has to be on purpose Easter eggs at this point, no editor at a website could make that many glaringly obvious mistakes on purpose. All of the lessor grammatical errors don't count, it has to be glaringly obvious.

Though I suppose it could be "lifestyle sales" in this article and he simply doesn't get paid enough as editor at NL to afford a PS4 Pro therefore it doesn't count.

@KingdomHeartsFan I mean, PS4 also has been on the market almost 5 times as long. Comparing lifetime sales between the two seems a little disproportionate.

Good to see Kirby doing so well. Hopefully should pick up a couple of million sales worldwide. That would be an excellent result for a Kirby game. No surprise to see the switch selling so well in Japan. It has such a strong handheld market(the vita still sells well there). Would be doing well to get anywhere near the 3ds lifetime sales in Japan. Think it’s sold around 20 plus million in Japan

@Octane @GrailUK Next week's PS4 box art, despite it being mostly in English you can see a little Japanese on the bottom.

@ieatdragonz A lot of folks dont understand that concept. I see it all the time sadly. Plus a lot of people just seem to be unable shake the doomed!!! mentality in regards to Nintendo.

Kirby Star Allies will outsell Arms and 1-2 Switch next week.

@PhilKenSebben Actually most people said it's too vanilla and not a killer app, like some fans are suggesting it is, and you know...a lot of reviews plainly saying it's too easy.

And this is Japan sales. Kirby is more popular over there.

But whatever, self-fulfilling prophecy makes you sleep at night. Anything to make the haters crawl back under the bridge, because if you're not 100% Nintendo's side you're just a troll, amirite?

Quite impressive that Xenoverse 2 is still in the top 20 after FighterZ has dropped out.

@rjejr I looked up the GOW sales figures in Japan, and they're absolutely pathetic. I wonder why they even bother with a bundle at all. But hey, I'm certain it will please some folks over there.

I'd be surprised if it breaks 200k, but maybe I'm wrong and this one does a lot better overseas.

@Shellcore there are exceptions but for most systems the peak sales year is the 3rd or 4th year (usually with the 5th at a similar rate to the 4th):

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276768/global-unit-sales-of-video-game-consoles/

Stay salty, PS fans!

@LUIGITORNADO Whoa there chief. Calm yourself. Never said any of that. And I'm aware of what chart this is, and stand by that. Many people said it would fail there. As for the game itself, it's a good game. $20 too much imo, and not as good as Planet Robo, but still a decent Kirby title. As for being 100% on Nintendos side, no one should ever be on a companies side. That's foolish for so many reasons. These people need to earn our money, it shouldn't be a given. Finally, as for your tone: I dont care for it. You shouldn't jump to conclusions about people, or what they're speaking of. You could have just asked why I was saying what I was and had a discussion. Either way, take care and have a good day.

@Octane They turned GoW into an open world JRPG as much as they could while still calling it GoW, I think it will do OK, it's practically Yokai Watch now, and PS4 sales, all of them, not just some of them, will improve next week getting PS4 back over 25k. Can't touch Switch though, Japan is handheld country, the freakin' dead Vita sells 4k there every week. Every week, the Vita. Crazy.

Good to see Kirby still kickin'. To be honest, I was afraid of how much Star Allies would sell. Hearing this, why should I worry now? lol

@NerdyBoutKirby I personally prefer Star Allies over Planet Robobot. Both are great, but PR felt like a Triple Deluxe expansion pack, in my opinion. It does have the better sub games than SA, though.

Sony is releasing the new God of War at the end of April son that should give the PS4 and the Pro a good month of glory.

Great time to own both a Switch and a PS4. If you love gaming, you can't go wrong like this.

Lifestyle sales, huh?

@MattFox wow that actually sounds pretty cool.

@bluemage1989 I know, right? They could book an entire little cafe for their meetings hehe

PS4/PS4 Pro sales ytd still ahead of Switch in Japan (all be it only by 13k units now) so Sony isn’t doing bad at all in Japan still. It is more dependent on big games like Monster Hunter to drive sales while “base” sales for switch are much better. Guess differences will be made in next half of the year when the “big” games are coming out. Personally, i do not care how well the PS is doing, as long as switch is doing well because good sales of switch means better chance on good support. Good sales for PS just means more incentive for games industry to make games and in the end.

@rjejr The only reason I posted that was because it was the second time I noticed it. You can't just ignore it when the last 3 to 4 year this site has been combining all available 2/3ds systems against PlayStation.

Why can’t europe be like japan?

@Spoony_Tech This new guy has been doing it almost every single week he posts the charts. Its an obnoxious spin to make Nintendo look better, and it sadly wont be going away anytime soon, no matter how many times we bring it up.

I miss the good ol days...

@Xenoguner I miss ThomasBW84 as well. Things just aren't the same since he left. I comment a lot less then I use to and this is still my primary site for Nintendo gaming news.

@rjejr At this time finding the errors in the articles is like playing Where's Waldo only much easier, at least much easier than the book I had growing up.

This one was pretty hard even as a 9 or 10 year old. I wonder if I can dig it up and see if I can spot Waldo now that I'm in my 30s... I'm sure that it's around here somewhere. Much more difficult than finding the "Easter Eggs" as you put it!

@Spoony_Tech I agree it hasn't been the same. I never commented much in the first place but the atmosphere has definitely changed around here.

Kirby star allies is a system seller!

I also think that Nintendolife have to reconsider the review with a higher rate.

@Spoony_Tech Yah, its a shame. I dont know if you noticed, but there have been a couple or so weeks where the charts arent posted here, which when you look at them closely, they are the weeks where Sony did better than Nintendo. Specifically during the MHW boom. You can see which weeks are missing if you look up the charts tag.

So not only spinning the news, but cherry picking on a catagory that SHOULD be informed everyweek regardless of the outcome. Pretty shady, if u ask me =(

I had to buy Star Allies on Ebay after trying unsuccessfully to buy a copy at all my local stores and on amazon as well (ppl were selling it at $63.50 on amazon). Luckilyy I actually saved a bit of money as I paid $55 for the game with free shipping

@Ngamer NL is in the UK. Different markets have different taste. Not like it is a big Hit where they live.

Not that I care but when describing 3ds sales it’s all the 3ds family of systems but when it’s playstation it’s just ps4 not ps4 and ps4 pro. 🤔

Bring PUBG to Switch Please

Hahahhahahh PS vita beating Xbox!

Not so sure the "people who already want he PS4 have it already" line really applies here. The PS4 is around 6 million in Japan, Switch is already over 4 million. And keep in mind, the PS4 had about a 3 year advantage over the Switch in Japan.

Kirby is great and all but how the heck did it beat Far Cry 5?

@TheLobster From a post I made on Monday. 😉

"I always suspected Dom was planting those grammar errors as his take on Where's Waldo on purpose as there's one glaring one in every article, but this one takes the cake."

I miss TW too. 😢

@KingdomHeartsFan
If you expected global Switch sales to be significantly greater than 1/5th of PS4 sales when the PS4 released 3.5 years prior, then I don't know what to say...

"Lifestyles" misprint, not including PS4 Pro, and the overuse of the word "tasty" on this and Pushsquares sites, it's hard not to feel that quality has slipped.

@KingdomHeartsFan That I can agree with.

I am honestly surprised that Far Cry 5 lost out to a game that has been out for a few weeks already. I guess it's just not that popular here in Japan. Or maybe there is some crippling, unexpected flaw with the game. I don't know as I don't follow PS4 releases much these days.

@GrailUK It's been out a lot longer, a lot more people have already bought one.

@EVIL-C different reasons than what you listed but I come to the same conclusion, quality is dropping. @rjejr the where’s Waldo theory explains a lot. I also miss TW.

This Dom guy and the way he writes articles are so ... not Nintendo Life like. It feels like he is 14 years old and writes only for Nintendo fans that are 14 years old or less.

@Xenoguner
That cherry-picking goes for both NintendoLife and the sister-site PushSquare.

If you use the search function and type "sales" (which, on both sites, gives you the results from both sites), you'll see that's true. I guess it's done that way to keep things positive for both and to curtail console wars.

@GrailUK It has been out for years already. Sales slowing down is not unusual. Most people who wanted one probably already have it. Switch is still pretty new and also offers something unusual with its hybrid functionality.

@SmaggTheSmug @Heavyarms55 That doesn't explain such low numbers. Famitsu just reported that the PS4 has stock shortages n Japan. Mystery solved. Should be back up when this gets resolved. Not bothered worrying if it's artificial or not.

Funny thing: my mother said that for all its cutesy appearance Kirby is definitely too violent to show to my little niece. In her words "he looks like a cute little balloon but all he's doing is killing his way through". Hard to disagree, but I don't think it's that bad. My niece is too young for videogames anyway (though liked watching Snipperclips).

My mom isn't really a gamer, though I remember her playing the original Prince of Persia a lot in the past.

@GrailUK I don't entirely agree with that reason for the lower numbers, but I just checked Amazon Japan and you aren't wrong about the shortage, at the time I am typing this comment I just checked and only 3rd party retailers have the PS4 at inflated prices.

@LemonSlice Oh absolutely, and its really disheartening that it happens at all. I'm just really glad I'm not the only one that sees whats going on.

I do hope one day NL will find quality writers again like Mr. Thomas of old. Until then, we just gotta weather this [removed] storm that is the amateur hour of articles =(

@StuTwo I appreciate that chart. Makes it quite clear. Wasn't aware of the global trend, so could only comment on a UK perspective. Whether the global trends are due to new markets opening up as time goes on (South Korea recently for Switch for example) isn't something I could prove - but thought provoking non the less. Focusing on one country like this chart seems to be the way forward. Anyway, think my angle got mistaken for fanboyism - it's promoting the complete opposite. Glad Switch is doing well, but to deride other products on the back of it seems daft and childish (that wasn't aimed at you at all).

@KingdomHeartsFan
Well yes, the comparing Switch and PS4 sales is pointless. One will obviously outsell the other, but that doesn't mean "one is doing good while the other is failing", or some similar fanboy schtick.

@Shellcore I think sales figures are often difficult for us to fully grasp as consumers (and I don’t claim to be an expert). Opening of new markets is probably part of the reason but gradual falls in price and an increased library of games available at budget prices also has an effect as a console gets older.

The ‘bell curve’ where a consoles sales increase, peak for 2-3 years then fall is pretty typical for a lot of products.

PS4 is actually an exceptional case - it’s on course to be the best selling console ever and Sony has got every major marketing call right at every stage. If last year was the peak sales year (this year could be bigger...) the trend would strongly suggest they’ve only just hit sold to half the people who will eventually buy one. The idea that “everyone who wants one surely already has one” is nonsense.

Of course late system sales are much less valuable and less important but that’s a different story.

@KingdomHeartsFan If KH3 is bundled it will be w/ PS5 at the rate Squenix is going.

Hey, how come none of the sites I visit mentioned the Oct release date? sammy's slacking.

So, have you considered putting off a PS4 purchase for a PS5 at this point? That GoW bundle does look nice though. I'm sticking w/ a Slim until PS5, no 4k tv.

@KingdomHeartsFan It did cross my mind that they may not bundle it b/c it's also on X1, but they bundle games like CoD and Destiny all the time, and KH had 1.5 and 2.5 on PS3, and 1.5 & 2.5 on PS3 and PS4 (I have it on PS4) so I think it's a strong possibility there's a bundle this holiday, if it releases this holiday. I'm pretty sure Squenix would have to guarantee a hard delivery street date to get a bundle after they announced FFXV at that huge orchestral event and THEN delayed the game after that.

Now what would keep it from being bundled is either a Spiderman or RDR2 bundle, both of which shold come out this year. Sony should bundle Spiderman w/ a PS4 w/ the Spiderman PS3 font on it for old times sake. Can only have so many bundles to go around I would guess.

Save up your money though, I'm expecting collectors sets for $100, $150, $250 and $400 with various amounts of swag in them, KH has a following. You're not the only weirdo. Maybe we'll get a Sora amiibo when they put him in SSB, no stranger than Cloud.