Why Did PS4 Sell Less Than PS3 in Japan?

[Signalstar]

The PS4 was a successful console worldwide. It improved upon the sales of the PS3 in nearly every region. One big outlier is the console's "home" market of Japan.

The PS3 even with all of its struggles cracked 10 million sales in Japan. It was the worst selling PS console up to that point in the country (and worldwide) and sold less than half of the PS2. Still the PS3 only sold a couple million less than the Wii in Japan and actually outperformed it in terms of software sale in the region. 

The PS4 on the other hand sold less than 10 million units Japan, even with the Wii U being weak competition for the PS4's prime selling years. 

Why did the PS4 fail to match the PS3 in Japan?

The PS4 had a better price point but it launched several months later in Japan than the west. This is also when Sony de-emphasized the Japanese market and moved PS headquarters to California. 

Was there anything else at play?

The slide seems to be continuing with the PS5 looking like it will struggle to match the PS4's sales in Japan.