Japanese Charts: Persona 5 Scramble Dominates As The Coronavirus Sinks Switch Sales

Who would have thought drinking dodgy Mexican beer could cause so many issues.

Even the Switch Lite doesn't look too great right now whether due to Covid-19 or otherwise. Good to see Scramble doing well enough. Not too much else to see right now.

Switch Lites are even beginning to struggle with demand, which demonstrates the impact. Sales this week suggest they’re flocking off the shelves.

I thought Persona would sell way more units on Switch than Ps4 🤔

That is the ability of PS4 to sell 3d party - even with 3 million fewer units.

Still... nice to see the Switch contributing. Top 10 on the Switch was all I was hoping for 👍 Top 10 also not the same monotone list with 1 publisher. Hopefully this is a good sign for Atlus.

if/Once in the US, this is on switch for me - demo ran and looked fine as a handheld game.

those Switch sales for P5S are not good but Atlus doesn't care they only care about combined sales

Makes sense. More Persona fans on PS4 than on Switch.

@AnnoyingFrenzy and why shouldn't it? After all persona has been on the PlayStation console & handhelds for year upon years and the fan base have grown very strong there(and not the chibi persona knock off they release on Nintendo), whereas shin megami tensi sales well on Nintendo. So nothing bad with Nintendo not having more persona fans, if they start releasing mainstream persona games on Nintendo then they'll be competition.

@HammerKirby Why would you think that when there were no Persona 5 games on Switch previously? The fanbase is currently on the PS4 dince that's the only place to play the mainline game or it's rerelease

@Rpg-lover Did you reply to the wrong person? Cause your comment doesnt sound like it's meant for me.

Switch hardware sales are a yikes.

Lets hope supply is sorted out sooner than later

I think it hurt the switch sales for P5S because they really should have put out P5 first on switch, i'd guess there are going to be people who just own a switch and if you've not played P5 I'm sure that would detract from picking it up.

In other news, water is wet, pretty obvious that the issues in China were going to affect supply of a console that already was struggling to meet demand in the first place.

I'm sure the coronavirus has something to do w/ it, no stock equals no sales, but historically whenever a new console or bundle is coming out in Japan hardware sales always drop a couple of weeks before, and the AC Switch launches in a couple of weeks.

Not sure how pre-orders work in Japan for hardware but I'm guessing a lot of people have that Switch on pre-order and are just waiting for it to come in.

So expect Switch sales to be low the next few weeks then shoot really high that week.

With Hatsune Miku having shortages due to SEGA underestimating the demand for that game from the Switch audience, I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happened to P5S.

Not to say even without shortages, it would sell as much to the Switch audience as the already established P5 fanbase on PS4. But, I do think such shortages (if they did indeed happen) could've really hurt the sales of the Switch version.

@johnvboy hey, we are proud of our dodgy hygine procedures in beer crafting... most of the times. Jk! in fact, our beer is really delicious! Top tier. Cuautemoc moctezuma's dark bohemia, sierra madre's Fraile, modelo's pacifico being personal highlights.

I don't see what's the big surprise regarding Persona 5 Scramble selling more in the console that the Persona series has been mostly associated with since the days of the first PlayStation.

If I remember correctly, other Musou games, such as Warriors Orochi 4, also have sold more on PS4 than on Switch, and yet Koei Tecmo keep bringing their Musou games to Switch, such as Pirate Warriors 3 and 4, Dynasty Warriors 8 and Persona 5 Scramble.

In Japan, they've also released Samurai Warriors 4, Spirit of Sanada, DW8 Empires and Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate on Switch. Sales must still be satisfying enough.

@Wolf_Link,

You can dress it up all you want, but we all know the beer is off.

Switch is pretty much our house f stock on amazon uk as well. Worrying really as if things don’t pick up before holiday season Switch could find itself in all sorts of trouble as people may have been wanting to buy one as then decide against it as it wasn’t available.

@westman98 Ahhhh you can set your watch by him....

@johnvboy i agree and besides dealing with the virus is far more important then console sales since this pandemic is getting worse worldwide.

@jarvismp switch will be fine since theres alot of games coming for it this year including some big hitters and lets not forget animal crossing is very popular and could give switch sales a major boost.

@RiasGremory,

Is it a pandemic as yet?, I thought the media were saying it had the potential to become one.

@johnvboy i saw the up date its gotten way worse over 80k infected and rising worldwide.

@RiasGremory,

Sounds like time to order a face mask, I quite like those Kylo Ren ones.

I hope the Switch numbers are enough for Atlus to keep bringing games to Switch.

All things considered the numbers for Scramble on switch are good. I think they would do better though by having P5 on switch instead of expecting people who know nothing about it buying its sequel. The sales for Scramble should rise after a switch port of 5 since then more people would be invested in the story.

@graysoncharles it was a sarcastic comment

P5s Scramble numbers are about expected, with the PS4 SKU selling more than 2× the Switch SKU.

If Sega was smart, they would have ported the actual P5 to Switch to establish an fanbase for the series on Switch so the spin-off sequel has a bigger audience, but alas.

@westman98
In rounded numbers though it's just about half.

I heard Italy is starting to quarantine towns. Prepare for the apocalypse boys

@westman98 I mean obviously this is the beginning of the end for the Switch, no Direct and absolutely nothing coming out for the rest of the year, the PS4 absolutely destroying it in the Japanese charts, Ring Fit isn’t a real game etc etc....

Considering the current production woes of products in China due to Coronavirus.........I wonder how disastrous PS5/XSEX launch is going to be with a stock shortage? Shouldn't production for a November launch already have started or be gearing up for production?

Good numbers for P5S on Switch. If a spin-off can pull 45k+, you can't tell me the mainline game wouldn't do well on Switch too.

@KryptoniteKrunch
Not really. An even more casual spin-off called Persona Q sold nearly 200K in its first week on 3DS.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-06-12/japan-video-game-rankings-june-2-8/.75448

For a Persona game, Scramble did kinda bad on Switch especially when you realize P5 is easily 5 times as popular than P3 and P4. Yet Q only has P3 and P4 characters and did way better. Atlus is just foolish because people are tired of Persona already yet they keep talking about it as if it's the only game they've ever made.

no way
you mean the platform with an actual established audience for persona since 1996 had more copies sold of its version compared the platform whose only other persona related game isn't even a persona game and before that, had ties to the series through two spinoff games??

@Agramonte that's true.Still i remember 3ds inferior version of Dragon Quest XI sold more than PS4 version. but yeah all main Persona games are PS exclusives so it makes sense that fanbase is there

I'm actually shocked and disappointed that Persona Scramble sold so well on Switch. Atlus doesn't deserve that money when they snubbed us on a real Persona title on the console. Instead giving us this crap spinoff.

@HammerKirby i did too but i mean persona's "home" is on the PlayStation. If a yakuza game came out on switch and PlayStation i would get it on PlayStation then the switch just cuz it would make my collection out of wack. Idk

@Heavyarms55 They didn't snub you at all. In fact they never even promised you a Switch version in the first place.

If you know how Atlus works and have been following them since the Persona 3/4 days, you'd know that Persona spinoffs on non-PlayStation consoles is literally nothing new

Persona 4 Arena came out on Xbox 360, and that's a sequel too, so are the Q games.

@TheFrenchiestFry They never directly promised it, no. But they got Joker into Smash, and yet, instead of delivering their best work to Switch, they give us a cookie cutter spinoff. Yes, I consider that a snub. Whether they promised anything or not.

@Heavyarms55 Nintendo and Sakurai wanted Joker in Smash. Atlus said ok. Sakurai loves Persona 5.

@westman98 why bother with the expense? Let them devote resources to SMT V and Persona 6.

@GameOtaku It's not coming to Switch

@HammerKirby Fan base is all on PS4.

@Agramonte Switch version is running at an unstable 30ish. I would only get the switch version if you have to have it portably, like most third party titles.

@Heavyarms55 If Joker getting into Smash was a confirmation in your mind that Persona 5 was coming to Switch then by that logic Metal Gear Solid 4 should've released on Wii because songs from that game were featured on the Shadow Moses Island stage from Brawl

Scramble is just an instance of Atlus throwing the IP towards another developer and giving them a chance to use it, as Arc System Works has done with the Persona 4 Arena games, or as the Etrian Odyssey team did with the Persona Q games

This isn't a snub in any way
And this game definitely isn't worth boycotting Atlus over
They clearly don't deserve your money if this is your mindset

@TheFrenchiestFry I did and do think we should get a Metal Gear game on a Nintendo System for Snake's presence in Smash.

I'm not boycotting Atlus, I'm just not interested in playing a spinoff of a game that we haven't gotten on the same system. I don't respect Warriors games as their own thing, they're spinoffs that interest me because they are attached to series I already play and like. If they want me to consider P5 Scramble, then then need to give me P5.

And you can repeat "this isn't a snub" all you want. But as far as I'm concerned, it is. It's like ordering dinner and only being given a side dish.

I can play P5 on PS4 and might do that eventually, but I'd much rather have it on Switch. Every time I go back to PS4 is just feels like such a downgrade...

@Heavyarms55 Wait so if you already have it on PS4 what is even stopping you from playing it

I understand the whole platform preference mentality but if you're complaining this much about the game not being on Switch while already owning it and having the necessary console to play it on I wouldn't waste that opportunity either

And if you think this is a snub then I don't know what to say other than this is probably the first time you've ever heard of Atlus as a company and how they do things

You can't be snubbed of something you were never even promised in the first place

Also Metal Gear has been on Nintendo. The earliest games were on NES, and the first MGS game came to GameCube via a remake, Snake Eater 3D was on 3DS and Game Boy Color got Ghost Babel

@Trajan
It is entirely possible it will be ported. At this point a port announcement should be imminent. A port would mean more sales. More sales of P5 would increase the demand for its sequel Scramble. Sega needs to change its way of thinking if it wants to stay afloat. Of course common sense business decisions are practically non existent, I have to deal with moronic management all day long.

@GameOtaku But porting a game costs money. Personas fan base is on PS. Nintendo fans only want it because of Joker in smash. It bothers them that he is in that fighting game without the actual game being on Nintendo. That doesn't really translate much to sales.

For sure it would sell, but enough to be worth it?

@Trajan
Considering those that bought p5 on ps4 already are probably not going to rebuy the same game (essentially) again within the same generation I'd say a port would allow new fans to play and for them to earn more revenue. Remember the last 2 enhanced persona games were on portable (psp and vita) so again an easy choice.

Atlus/Sega are sitting on a gold mine of games people want. You have to spend money to make money so they have to take a chance and do as the survey results said and make ports.

@GameOtaku but how many people in that survey would even buy them? Again, it's a lot of Nintendo fans who want the game on Switch because of smash. That survey was closed because it was hijacked by the west.

Monster Hunter World is the highest selling game capcom has ever made. That game isn't on Switch, but if it got rep in Smash I'm sure we would hear the same thing.

@TheFrenchiestFry Again, you can keep saying it's not a snub all you want. That doesn't change my opinion on the subject. And you can make stuff up about whether I've heard of Atlus all you want, it doesn't much matter to me either.

Nothing is stopping me from playing it on PS4. I would just prefer to play it on Switch and to have the far greater convenience factor of the platform, especially for long JRPGs. Going back to PS4 or PC at this point is like going back to using a landline phone. Nothing is stopping me from doing that either.

And as for Metal Gear, I'm aware of the older titles and very aware that they've not had the mainline entries on a Nintendo platform in a very long time despite being own by Konami, a 3rd party.

God forbid I express an opinion someone doesn't like though. God forbid I dare want a game on my preferred platform that isn't on it. I'm well aware that I am a horrible person for that. I also don't care.

@GameOtaku @Heavyarms55 @Trajan
I just wanna chime in and say Sakurai did not choose the DLC. Nintendo did. It's only a coincidence that he liked Persona 5 and that Joker got in. Source:
https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-on-smash-bros-ultimate-fighter-selections-his-role-future-of-the-series-more/

Quote:
"Even though I talked about this more than one year ago when the first DLC was in production, I’ll mention it again. The question of, “Who’s going to be added to Smash?” has become the talk of fans all over the world, however, I do not decide whom will be added. My position is to receive requests and proposals firstly from Nintendo. I could refuse if we don’t reach an agreement, since there are always discussions on what I think of the proposal, however I at least do not get hung up on some game idea and cancel the proposal. Extending the game’s length means that the goalpost keeps moving further and further away to me."

So this is a case of Nintendo wanting to give Persona more exposure to Nintendo/Switch owners and Atlus is failing to follow up on said exposure since they aren't providing us with their games. That's the facts. All this back-and-forth over what Sakurai wants or doesn't want is pointless. It's not up to him. It's Nintendo. They picked Joker, Hero, Banjo-Kazooie, Terry, Byleth, and the next six characters. Not him. He obviously had to agree to adding each character but his personal choice is not a factor. At all.

@JR150 It sold fine. The issue is that Sega printed way less physical copies for Switch.

https://gizmoposts24.com/technology/japanese-territory-persona-5-scramble-the-phantom-strikers-and-katana-kami-a-way-of-the-samurai-japanese-first-day-sales-data-53079/

Switch sold through 70% of its stock where as the PS4 sold through 50% on opening day that should give you an idea of just how many more copies of the PS4 version were available in the wild than Switch. Additionally, as many people have pointed out, the audience is on PS4 not Switch and that's because this has basically been advertised as a canon sequel to a game not available on Switch.

@TheFrenchiestFry
Just gonna provide the same link as above. Sakurai does not choose the DLC:
https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-on-smash-bros-ultimate-fighter-selections-his-role-future-of-the-series-more/

@Chowdaire
Fair enough. Still kinda sad when it can't outdo a chibi-baby 3DS game, though.

Those xbox numbers...

@JR150 Well, if Sega doesn't print 200k copies of the game during launch week, I somehow doubt it will sell 200k copies. Also by your logic scramble is a complete failure on both PS4 and Switch since their combines sales can't even beat a "chibi-baby 3DS game"

@Chowdaire
The chibi comment was a joke, but this seems to point to people getting tired of Persona especially if the PS4 base (the only real Persona fans) didn't buy it as much as they could have.

@JR150 Hmm, now that you mention it, these sales are rather odd. Not only is this a sequel to a highly popular game in Japan, but its a Musou game to boot! How did this game sell this low? Sure, anything that breaks 100k sales in Japan these days is considered good but relative to its two source games this does seem a tad off.

@Chowdaire
Yeah even Royal was reported to have sold below expectations in Japan. (Though the fact that it apparently doesn't differ much from the original and is on the exact same platform that most people own vanilla P5 on, it's rather pointless.)

So yeah, franchise fatigue. But ironically it's from the audience and not the developers. People are tired of Persona and want something else. The sales clearly reflect that. If only we could get some SMT V info...or literally anything else from Atlus.

@JR150 Sakurai may not select the DLC but he still is the guy who finalizes who gets into the pass based on the selection Nintendo provides him

Also Persona Q isn't really as childish as you're describing based on artstyle alone
It has pretty heavy and dark imagery despite its aesthetics

@Trajan
If say about 75% would buy of those who took the survey. People demand the game and they see no potential sales? Of course the survey would be hijacked! They need a worldwide opinion not just Japan. Atlus West hasn't run a survey but looking on any of their social media and you'll see folks asking for a port! Are executives blind and deaf to the masses literally screaming every day? What way is this to run a business by turning away potential customers when your sales plummet as things stand currently?!

@TheFrenchiestFry
At least the PQ games don't spoil anything. I've played Q and it seems to take place "during" the events of the main games not after.

@TheFrenchiestFry
I know, I said that. But his own personal feelings do not matter is my point. He's just doing his job. If you wanna get upset at the character choices, blame Nintendo not him.

And that was a joke in reference to the fact that it's just an Etrian clone and not a full scale game.