Japanese Charts: Momotaro Dentetsu Beats Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity To Number One

So nearly 180,000 Switches sold? Calm down give everyone else a chance! Pikmin 3 hanging in there still...they seem to like it in Japan, I don't blame them, based off the demo I played I found it full of personality. Plus it's ideal for handheld play.

Series X has already almost outsold One S. Is this a sign that Xbox will now start performing better in Japan, or will sales just plateau from here?

At this rate I wonder if the Switch might be able to sell over 1 million in Japan just in December.

Important to note that the PS5 is selling out, whereas Switch has more stock to be sold. It’s not that it’s performing badly, it’s that there are stock shortages.

It's always weird seeing a game I've never heard of before selling so much

Wow, +300000copies!!?!!
And some say that Konami is "out", XD
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Just kidding
It's good to see great numbers in those games ^^

Obviously PS5 (and Series X/S) are in limited supply so nothing can really be judged there but it is damn impressive how Switch just keeps trucking along.

Age of Calamity already confirmed to be a sales smash hit worldwide so that is more good news.

That is one popular Konami game! Who says third party doesn't sell on Switch?!

So much for next gen, the Switch is still the king of Japan even when PS5 and PS4 combined their numbers.

@Munchlax they actually sold less for the first week than the Xbox one did, it is to early to know if it will do ok there

Well, Zelda is allegedly somewhat less essential in Japan... but railroads are HUGE there.😆 Isn't there literally a manga (and anime?) franchise humanizing the most famous Japanese trains?

@nessisonett the question is whether Sony and Microsoft are even motivated to give Japan much more stock over the likewise swarmed US and Europe where home consoles have seen a stronger demand every generation. Even after the dust settles, I'm inclined to expect PS5 sales on par with PS4 - spiking in time for particularly relevant releases (surely Capcom will be cooking some kind of MHW followup, for instance) and quietly chugging along otherwise.

XSX... well, Microsoft doesn't seem like they're completely giving up on the region regardless, due credit to them.

@nhSnork The Xbox is doing a lot better than I thought it would to be honest. I do expect the PS5 to do well though, the PlayStation brand is still huge and a lot of people will own both a home console and Switch.

Won't know true next gen numbers until well into next year when supply issues are not an issue as they are everywhere at the moment for either console.

Hope Microsoft target Japan like they did with the 360 era, so many great Japanese games on that system.

One way to guarantee Xbox Series sales is 4 words. Dragon Quest XII exclusive. Make it happen!

@nessisonett
but there are also lots of people do not own a television.

Only ab. 160k ps5 in lunch weeks ? You can't blame the shortages... IMHO at least...

Also, switch itself is indeed next gen, you should admit it.

@pdapanda In 2018, 95.1% of Japanese people owned a TV. I expect that to have increased in 2 years.

@nessisonett
if you mean home.maybe.
however, young people living alone tend not to buy tv.
that is terebi banare in Japanese.
that it also the reason why handheld is more popular in Japan.
maybe also why lots of people hate NHK

@pdapanda No, 95.1% of households owned a TV in 2018. That includes young people living alone. Yes, handhelds are popular. Yes, TVs are popular. Hence, people will buy both handhelds and home consoles.

This is what sold 345K in japan?... no, you do not need a $500 PS5 for this kind of stuff.

It is like buying a 6800XT to play Railroad Tycoon. Send all the PS5 stock West.

Momotaro Dentetsu is the fastest-selling 3rd party Switch game ever in Japan (at least until March). Truly incredible results for the franchise.

Age of Calamity had a bigger launch than all three versions of the original Hyrule Warriors combined.

PS5 software sales continue to be awful. Looking at the software charts would convince you that no next-gen consoles had even launched.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has also passed 6 million sales in Japan!

@Dethmunk The PS5 sold out. They couldn’t sell more units if they tried.

@nessisonett
the allocation of ps5 is ridiculous, that cannot be denied.
lost of chance, obviously.

@nessisonett they also only allocated ba small percentage of units to send to Japan: the PS4 did pretty OK, but it was a decline in Japan. Signs point to more of the same for the PS5: respectable but distant second place. Not a punchline like the Xbox, though.

I do love the obsession Japan has for train games.

@Parmandur I just don’t get this horrid gloating about which console ‘wins’. Why can’t people buy what they want and respect that different people see benefits in different consoles? It’s tribalism at its worst.

actually. the sales data of AOC is very similar to that of BOTW.
the switch version sold 180k during the first week in japan.
considering the rise of digital sales.
AOC is roughly the same amount in the first week.
as botw in japan sold like 10% of total amount,
I think it is safe to say nearly 2 million are already sold to gamers,
as Black Friday is coming, the 3 million shipment will be well sold through.

maybe another million shipments is coming next month.

In this way, nearly 5 million pieces of hyrule warriors will be shipped by the end of FY.

If I'm not mistaken, this means Pikmin 3 Deluxe has sold more in Japan than Pikmin 3 on the Wii U did.

@nessisonett yeah, gloating is kind of silly: buy comparisons in these sorts of sales threads make sense, as it helps us understand what decisions companies might make in the future. More Switches sold, more Switch games sold, means more Switch games get made. PS5, Xbox, I'm indifferent, though rising tides float all boats.

@nessisonett I totally agree, I find it stupid given that the majority of gamers are multiplatform nowadays anyway.

The Switch is probably selling so well because you cant share them like other consoles (especially if they play Animal Crossing, which im convinced limited save files to sell more consoles) - We've got 2 Lites and we also bought the Switch on release yet will only get 1 PS5 and 1 Xbox (undecided between S/X) like the last gen.

Funny how people always look for anything they can to make an excuse to discount Switch's success. I doubt there were 180k people in Japan who said "Well, the PS5 is out of stock, so I'm just gonna drop 30,000 yen on a Switch this week instead."

People don't spend that kind of money on a whim just because the thing they "actually" wanted wasn't in stock.

The Switch is popular because it's popular. It's got an awesome library of games. It's a unique product in still in 2020, a dedicated gaming device that's both console and portable at a reasonable price point.

You can buy a Switch and several full price games for the cost of just a PS5 console.

let us make it clear, the slower next gen transit happens, the more games switch will get, now nearly all of the third party in Japan are taking ps4/switch multiplatform strategy, if ps4 easily fade out,the structure will break up.

@Heavyarms55 The Switch is popular, the PS5 isn’t unpopular. It’s not to take away from the Switch’s success, it’s to explain what people are seeing here as PS5’s ‘failure’.

The switch sold more in a week than the PS5 in its lifetime (also more than the Xbox one. But we don't talk about that)

And here I am, still confused about what Xbox is what. I was “with it” up until 360. After that I sort of stopped paying attention to Xbox. Now I’m starting to look again and without having to go read an article or watch a bloated YouTube video, I can’t even distinguish between an Xbox series x, Xbox one, Xbox s...
at least with PS5, I know it came after PS4.
Not here to trash any systems, I’m just saying maybe that plays a bit into things? I don’t know.

Also, go buy a system and enjoy it. Nobody “wins.” Just enjoy your big purchase.

Just realised how much I've seen trains in Japanese media. Oh, wow.

@nessisonett
I understand what you're saying. I just think overall, if you're a fan of Nintendo, you feel very underdog when it's usually a xbox/playstation world out there already. On forums unrelated to Nintendo you rarely see anyone chime up about Nintendo, so it's still nice, even with the Switch showing that it's chugging well along, to see that. It's kind of an, I'm very proud of my child, moment to railway on after being completely bottom tier for so long. It's success can only mean more games for us to continue to enjoy, unlike the games shortages of the wii U cycle. Not really a dismissal of the stock shortages the other consoles are having. Those consoles are bound to get games no matter the sales they have in the long run because they are definitely the more popular, more powerful brands developers are gunning for. Whereas for Nintendo, we are always hearing it has to sale well before we even get xyz. Plus, Switch had shortages in its first year and then again this year thanks to the virus putting a damper on things, so shortages are just par for the course for everyone really.

@pdapanda reaistically, sicne the PS5 will play PS4 games, we'll probably see a long tail for Japanese companies doing a Switch/PS4 strategy, with PS5 owners being able to get slightly nicer performance from the PS4 version.

Globally, not even Sony has committed to full PS5-exclusive software support. Only Demon Souls is PS5 exclusive and tech demo, and it has not done amazingly so far in terms of sales. If Sony won't go full exclusive, third parties won't either, particularly in Japan.

@Desa but @nessisonett is right that is a bit of a silly attitude. Nintendo is a corporation, not our friend, and I am not a shareholder. I am happy to see the Switch so successful, as that means I won't relive the WIi U ownership experience. I am not really impressed by Ninth Generation gaming so far, but I was never impressed by the Eighth Generation leap, either. It feels like we are still playign Seventh Generatio ngames with better performance nubmers (Demon Souls, GTAV, Last of Us, Uncharted, Gears of War, Halo, God of War, Assassin's Creed...)

@Parmandur
As I started off I agreed with them, and understood what they meant. It may be a silly attitude, however in that long winded post, I was simply pointing out great sales = games for us = happy gamer. That's all. Microsoft/Sony fans never really worried about that aside from console exclusives. As far as G9 goes, it's the beginning of their life cycles. Of course most of the games aren't stunning exclusive material as the transition period happens, but I will be getting a ps5 once things settle down, and you can see one on the shelf in a store consistently.

@Agramonte Yeah I know right, where's the guns, where's the misery, where's the blood, where's the raytracing? Shocking. Those evil Japanese have no idea what a real game is eh?

@Munchlax

I talked about this in another thread, but I would argue it's because of lightened immigration policies thanks to the new PM.

Almost every popular game in Japanize is exclusives to PS/Nintendo. So if you like games, you already own one of these. MS doesn't localize games to Japanese or when they do it's awful, so even if you love Xbox exclusives, you have to speak near perfect English to enjoy them. That why sales last gen were dismal; the ONLY market is English speakers, and the core buyer is an English speaker who doesn't speak Japanese.

Because it's easier to get a visa or work permeant then it was 5 years ago, there are simply more of them in Japan right now. That's probably the reason for the increase.

@nessisonett

The part you're missing here is that it's generally one TV, in a generational home, in a culture where elders are revered, AND a culture where politeness is your core social pressure.

You might have access to the TV, but you don't use it when Grandpa is around because he gets to watch it if he wants and it would be a huge social faux pas to force him to ASK you to stop playing. Plus the average commute to work is 55 minutes, and almost no one drives that.

Handhelds are ESSENTAL. Home systems are luxury.

@HeadPirate No video games are essential. They’re all luxuries. It’s true that handhelds are popular in Japan, nobody is disputing that. There are also lots and lots of home console and PC players in Japan. The two things don’t need to be mutually exclusive.

@Munchlax you have to compare like for like though, and looking at current gen vs next gen, the next gen xbox consoles have sole around 25% compared to their 'current gen' counterparts. Its not unreasonable to think the next gen Microsoft systems have sold as high as they are going to already and now they will drop down to their usual 'current gen' numbers.

Funny thing is when the scalpers end up not selling all their consoles they will start returning them lol

@Morph I mean, I would expect that the small Xbox community in Japan is fairly dedicated, and probably all have GamePass, making upgrading a bit if a no-brainer. Doesn't mean the scene is growing much.

@nessisonett they are not mutually exclusive, but TV console gaming is much less of a scene in 2020 compared to 1995, whereas handhelds have grown in popularity. That's not necessarily triumphalism, that's just analyzing the market. Konami doing a mobile board game sells better than Call of Duty (also why Konami dumped AAA development). There hasn't been a wildly successful pure home console in Japan since the PS2

@WiltonRoots,

The Switch is doomed now the PS5 is out, you wait it will happen.

@nessisonett,

Easy to sell out when they are making very few consoles, this is always the case at launch, better to have a PS5 shortage than consoles left unsold in stores.

@WiltonRoots
🤔
"Am I out of touch?"
😐
"No, it's the Japanese who are out of touch (for buying some popular game I don't like)."

@WiltonRoots,

Now you mention it I want some ray tracing and blood.

Really good week for the Switch and its software. Switch is still on fire and in high demand despite next gen, that's great.

@johnvboy I can get amazing reflections and blood by having a medium rare steak on a nice plate with zero performance issues.

@WiltonRoots ,

You say that now, but just imagine that steak on a PS5 on a 24K display, it will load very fast with the ultra fast SDD drive.

@Heavyarms55,

Those people then claim the Switch is a handheld so you can't compare it to regular consoles, like you say anything to take the shine of the Switch's continued success.

Haaaang on a minute. Why is it whenever Nintendo have stock shortages, they do it on purpose but when SONY have one, it's because of issues haha. (I'M JOKING OMG!).

In all seriousness, I'm not convinced this generation of PS and XBox have changed the game enough to outsell last gen (I can't see much difference in graphics in that I can see they are better, but not blowing me away better). Despite the initial rush of enthusiasts, I just don't see folk upgrading in a heartbeat. (Must be said, I am usually wrong hahah)

@Menchi Yeah stock shortages, that makes the Sony defence force feel better after claiming the Switch would die once next gen arrives

Stock shortages or not the Switch will continue to dominate in Japan, it ran laps around the PS4, this gen won't be any different

Konami still want to release Momotaro Dentetsu on Switch but NOT for Dance Dance Revolution A20+ for console ?? 🤨

@Parmandur Pikmin 3 will have sold more on the Switch than the Wii U because the Wii U flopped, Which honestly was a shame the Wii U version is honestly better in my opinion.

Stock shortages aside, the telling story is that there's no "next-gen" software really making the charts. This is one of the many reasons I don't bother with being an early adopter. I wait a year or so so that the hardware kinks are ironed out and there's actually a fleshed out library of games.

@ghostrider135 Well, sure eventually, but Pikmin 3 was a Wii U launch title when there were not other games, and the Switch version has already outsold it's whole lifetime in less than a month. That's not just doing better, that's impressively better.

@Parmandur Now that just silly to think Sony hasn't committed to full PS5 software support. For the next year or two, you'll see a good amount of Cross-Gen games, but afterwards it will be nothing but PS5 games. Also Demon Souls is a Niche title, and any PS5 exclusive will be hard pressed to break into the top 10 anywhere due to shortages(Some group legit bought 3500 PS5 units just to sell them for thousands.) and the only PS5 exclusive to do so is Spiderman: Miles, and that's a cross-gen game.

I was lucky enough to grab a PS5, and while the games I want haven't came out yet(Persona 6, FF16, FF7 Remake Pt.2) I have very much enjoyed Demon Souls, Sack Boy and Astros Playroom so far. All of them PS5 exclusives.

@NGNYS You literally sound like a Nintendo Fanboy; which is almost as bad as a Sony Fanboy. Stock Issues are a legit problem, and this also during a Pandemic. Sony has also said they're not selling PS5 in stores rn.

So yes the PS4 sold better, but that was during the time where you could go outside and not get arrested for not wearing a mask. The PS5 is great, and the Switch is great. I love both.

Just like Nintendo Fanboys(Like you) suck, and Sony Fanboys suck. I hate both.

@NGNYS

Calm down son, it's only videogames.

OT, I'm kind of intrigued by this title I've never heard of before. Train games are a huge subculture in board games, but you don't see them a lot in video games, and they're usually very niche.

@QueenKittenWrite sure they developing for the PS5, but they aren't commiting to PS5 exclusives. Third parties won't lead Sony in that transition, so cross-gen games will be the norm for a while, which is a vicious cycle.

That's not fending off. That's continuing dominance.

The original Switch alone sold nearly twice as much as every other console on the market, including the Switch Lite. Both Switch units together sold more that 3.5 time everything else on the market. Granted, these are just the Japanese numbers, but these aren't great launch numbers. The pandemic is likely the cause of such poor numbers, which begs the question, why didn't they just delay the launch of the consoles until next year?

@Munchlax Well, considering that Japanese developers are dropping the Sony because of their ridiculous censorship, I am not surprise. This is only the beginning thought, so we'll see how Microsoft fair out in Japan this generation

@NGNYS

Doubling down on the stupid I see.

Sad.

@eaglebob345
The pandemic has boosted the sales of video game hardware and software across the globe, especially for Nintendo.

PS5 and XSX hardware sales are bad because supply is poor. PS5 and XSX software sales are bad because neither platforms have games that appeal to the Japanese market.

@mariomaster96 It's a board game spinoff to an RPG based on a Japanese fairytale.
It used to be a franchise seemly popular enough to get almost annual sequels.
But when Konami eventually dissolved Hudson Soft, some said the director was deemed useless staff and in Japanese business tradition, assigned to some meager job (like cleaning toilets) rather than being fired/laid off. That's what I remember hearing.

Still... all this PS5 bashing.
Isn't it a little too soon to be judging a console that's been out for only a week?
Most console usually have a crappy launch lineup while it takes time to get some of the console-defining new games out.
(I bet people complaining about new consoles only having old console ports BUT SWITCH WAS BETTER because it had Breath of the Wild on launch day, maybe don't know it was exactly the situation they were complaining about, and aren't even aware that said old console version was even released the same day.)

Nintendo should do something About those horrible terrorist retail prices and for God sake lower the prices and release Some bundles. Why don’t they act!?
Alot of young children did not get a Nintendo switch because of this

They realy screwed Christmas for alot of people with less money or children tried to save Some money, this realy makes me mad, and lost sympathy for them

@KingMike
Ps5 is not Gonna do well Anyway according to internet, this Will be a Xbox generation.
There is alot wrong with the ps5 hardware, as game industry follower for 35 years, imo its not even a nextgen console, its basicly a ps4 pro 2.0 Xbox is nextgen

@PALversusNTSC

Did you miss the part where PS5 has had the biggest console launch of all time?! And that is during a pandemic.

Also whatever part of the internet you are on who think this will be an Xbox generation is clearly the stupid part.

PS5 will dominate the Series X/S just like Playstation has always beat Xbox. Xbox has no new first party games to launch with its next gen consoles ffs.

Really curious why you consider the Series X next gen with its same UI, nearly identical double AA battery controller, and no new games but consider the PS5 with its interesting new UI, feature packed controller and actual next gen games not next gen?

But in the end I don't care. I will have my PS5 next year to accompany my Switch and probably pick up a Series X down the line for my Killer Instinct fix.

@Collette
The Adventure Map seems to be substituted with the large number of side quests on the main map. There are quite a lot of them, so I wouldn't worry too much yet.

@WiltonRoots So again, if all they want to play is cartoony games and stuff that looks like a mobile game, they do not need new PS5.

Send it to the places where people are sleeping outside GameStop in line to buy one.

@Agramonte Nah sod that, leave them sleeping outside for another day, it's a nice dose of realism for them. Sleeping on the streets for a console. Lol

@WiltonRoots yep a “dose of realism” is exactly what they are looking for in their games. Same reason there was a line in front of MicroCenter for a 3080 and a Ryzen 5000.

They play all types of games. Our gaming market is not this monotone