Nintendo On Top In Japan
It’s no secret that Japan’s gaming market is often vastly different from that here in the States. Sometimes tastes align, but more often than not the top selling video games here aren’t the same ones over there. Case in point, take a look at the latest sales numbers from Famitsu in Japan for the week of December 14 through December 20 (bolded are new titles to the list):
01./00. [3DS] Monster Strike <RPG> (Mixi) {2015.12.17} (¥4.860) – 425.268 / NEW <40-60%>
02./01. [3DS] Monster Hunter X # <ACT> (Capcom) {2015.11.28} (¥6.264) – 159.806 / 2.267.916 <80-100%> (-16%)
03./00. [PS4] Fallout 4 # <RPG> (Bethesda Softworks) {2015.12.17} (¥8.618) – 121.099 / NEW <60-80%>
04./02. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch Busters: Red Cat Team / White Dog Squad <ACT> (Level 5) {2015.07.11} (¥4.968) – 99.190 / 1.860.532 <80-100%> (+50%)
05./04. [WIU] Super Mario Maker # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.09.10} (¥6.156) – 80.807 / 576.913 <80-100%> (+95%)
06./03. [WIU] Splatoon # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.05.28} (¥6.156) – 77.028 / 966.801 <80-100%> (+76%)
07./11. [3DS] Disney Magic World 2 # <ETC> (Bandai Namco Games) {2015.11.05} (¥6.145) – 43.331 / 203.262 <60-80%> (+86%)
08./13. [3DS] Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2015.07.30} (¥4.320) – 40.896 / 1.222.487 <80-100%> (+94%)
09./07. [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam <RPG> (Nintendo) {2015.12.03} (¥5.076) – 38.962 / 119.091 <40-60%> (+30%)
10./17. [3DS] Rhythm Heaven: The Best+ <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.06.11} (¥5.076) – 34.198 / 560.698 <80-100%> (+183%)
11./00. [PSV] Miracle Girls Festival <ACT> (Sega) {2015.12.17} (¥7.549) – 33.580 / NEW <60-80%>
12./15. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition <ADV> (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2015.03.19} (¥2.592) – 27.159 / 431.229 <80-100%> (+96%)
13./00. [PSV] Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky <RPG> (Spike Chunsoft) {2015.12.17} (¥7.344) – 21.534 / NEW <40-60%>
14./16. [3DS] Sumikko Gurashi: Omise Hajimerundesu <ETC> (Nippon Columbia) {2015.11.19} (¥5.184) – 21.491 / 60.673 <60-80%> (+68%)
15./00. [PS4] Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky <RPG> (Spike Chunsoft) {2015.12.17} (¥7.776) – 19.728 / NEW <40-60%>
16./00. [PS3] JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven <FTG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2015.12.17} (¥7.549) – 19.164 / NEW <40-60%>
17./00. [PS4] JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven <FTG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2015.12.17} (¥8.856) – 18.516 / NEW <40-60%>
18./00. [PSV] Angelique Retour # <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2015.12.17} (¥7.344) – 10.180 / NEW <80-100%>
19./00. [PSV] Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition <FTG> (Sega) {2015.12.17} (¥7.549) – 9.740 / NEW <40-60%>
20./00. [3DS] Super Run For Money Tousouchuu Atsumare! Saikyou no Tousou Monotachi # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2015.07.09} (¥5.119) – 9.094 / 85.921 <80-100%>
21./09. [PS4] Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege <ACT> (Ubisoft) {2015.12.10} (¥9.072) – 8.805 / 35.832 <60-80%> (-67%)
22./26. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (¥4.800) – 8.751 / 2.480.467 <80-100%> (+77%)
23./23. [3DS] Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2015.09.17} (¥5.076) – 8.539 / 280.891 <80-100%> (+61%)
24./22. [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: TriForce Heroes <ADV> (Nintendo) {2015.10.22} (¥5.076) – 8.484 / 129.934 <80-100%> (+53%)
25./00. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.07.28} (¥4.800) – 8.280 / 2.405.663 <80-100%>
26./30. [3DS] Aikatsu! My No.1 Stage! # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2015.11.26} (¥5.627) – 7.475 / 41.005 <40-60%> (+56%)
27./28. [3DS] PriPara Mezase! Idol Grand Prix No.1! <ACT> (Takara Tomy) {2015.10.22} (¥5.832) – 7.448 / 62.361 <60-80%> (+52%)
28./05. [PSV] Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni # <ACT> (Marvelous) {2015.12.10} (¥7.538) – 7.173 / 47.890 <80-100%> (-82%)
29./27. [WIU] Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumete Tomodachi Daisakusen! # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2015.11.26} (¥5.724) – 7.158 / 28.139 <40-60%> (+46%)
30./00. [PS4] Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition <FTG> (Sega) {2015.12.17} (¥7.549) – 7.112 / NEW <40-60%>
For those keeping score, 3DS and Wii U represent 18 of the top 30 games sold last week. I can’t remember the last time a 3DS made the top 10 on NPD in the U.S., but over in Japan it happens on a regular basis. Even crazier, take a look at system sales:
The Wii U almost sold more than all other competing systems combined! If you look at year to date numbers, the 3DS is by far and away the best selling system this year at 2,029,453 units sold. The PS4 comes in second and the Vita is third, followed up by the Wii U. All system sales are down this year over last year, with the exception of PS4 and Wii U. Life to date the Wii U has sold more than the PS4 (but it did have a year head start), but what’s really crazy is the Vita has sold more than double the PS4. Well, maybe it’s not so crazy since Japan’s gamers are very much into handheld gaming over sitting at home on a console. The Xbox One is in dire straits in Japan, with its lifetime sales sitting at a paltry 63,572. Last week’s Wii U console sales alone trump the Xbox One’s lifetime number.
Nintendo has traditionally sold well during the holidays, even in Japan. It’s that time of the year where families gather and Nintendo is the quintessential gaming company that one thinks of when wanting to buy quality family entertainment. One last data point to consider: Nintendo’s combined lifetime sales of its hardware is at 22,718,974 out of a total of 39,372,579 total units sold across all platforms – which means 57.7% of all gaming hardware sold in Japan is a Nintendo system.
[Source: NeoGAF]
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
