PS5, PS4 Finally Shifts Some Software in Japan Again

While the PS5 has attracted a somewhat sizeable install base in Japan, there has been concern about its software sales. We know the industry at large is gradually shifting towards digital, but Famitsu’s charts have painted a particularly bleached picture for PlayStation software of late, with the Nintendo Switch effectively steamrolling Sony’s system week after week. This has led some observers to question whether the new-gen system is even staying in the country, or is it simply being exported around Asia.

But this week is a bit better for both PS5 and PS4’s physical software sales. God of War Ragnarok, for example, entered the charts in third – and sold best on PS5, despite the new-gen system’s smaller install base compared to the PS4. It only moved 29,377 units and 11,260 units respectively, but that’s not a bad return under the circumstances. Sonic Frontiers also sold better on PS5 than PS4, although of course it performed best on Nintendo Switch.

Elsewhere, both the PS5 and PS4 version of Tactics Ogre Reborn charted – again, they were outperformed by the Nintendo Switch version, but managed to make the top ten. That means more than half of this week’s physical Famitsu sales chart is made up of PlayStation games – a rare occurrence of late, it has to be said. As for hardware, the PS5 did totally fine, moving close to another 30k units. Everything will be swept away by Pokémon in next week’s report, but it’s nice to see the PlayStation a little steadier in its domestic nation for once.

Japan Software Sales (7th November to 13th November, 2022)

1. [NSW] Splatoon 3 (Nintendo, 09/09/22) – 43,781 (3,331,197)
2. [NSW] Tactics Ogre: Reborn (Square Enix, 11/11/22) – 36,783 (New)
3. [PS5] God of War Ragnarok (SIE, 11/09/22) – 29,377 (New)
4. [NSW] Sonic Frontiers (SEGA, 11/08/22) – 26,067 (New)
5. [PS4] Tactics Ogre: Reborn (Square Enix, 11/11/22) – 12,668 (New)
6. [PS4] God of War Ragnarok (SIE, 11/09/22) – 11,260 (New)
7. [PS5] Sonic Frontiers (SEGA, 11/08/22) – 11,111 (New)
8. [PS4] Sonic Frontiers (SEGA, 11/08/22) – 9,098 (New)
9. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 8,025 (4,899,259)
10. [PS5] Tactics Ogre: Reborn (Square Enix, 11/11/22) – 7,805 (New)

Japan Hardware Sales (7th November to 13th November, 2022)

1. Switch OLED Models – 58,171 (2,981,234)
2. PlayStation 5 – 25,665 (1,821,703)
3. Switch Lite – 25,050 (4,930,097)
4. Switches – 14,321 (18,838,867)
5. PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – 3,051 (286,936)
6. Xbox Series S – 487 (212,265)
7. Xbox Series X – 261 (167,267)
8. PlayStation 4 – 138 (7,820,338)
9. New 2DS LL (including 2DS) – 32 (1,189,151)