By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Sales Discussion - Best-Selling Western Games in Japan (500k+ Sales)

Machina on 26 May 2023

Minecraft keeps chugging along in the weekly sales charts too, so it's not even close to done yet, and that's without considering the possibility it releasing on Nintendo's next platform. Don't see it ever being topped if that happens.



Around the Network
Salnax on 29 May 2023

I just wanted to point out that the Games Data Library has added Famitsu sales data from 1988 to 1991. This means they now include the entire lifetime of the Super Famicom, Game Boy, and Megadrive, along with loads more Famicom data. They're the biggest source of info for this thread, so if you're curious about the historical sales of games in Japan, check them out!

https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/



Love and tolerate.

Pajderman on 30 May 2023

I find it kind of odd that Skyrim is not on the list.
It was the first western developed game to receive the perfect 40/40 score in Famitsu. Granted it was after the prime time of Famitsu when the scores had a large impact on buyers. But since it was at 30 million units sold back in 2016 not having sold a million units in one of the largest gaming markets in the world when its most read game magazine gave it perfect scores just seem... weird.



Kakadu18 on 30 May 2023
Pajderman said:

I find it kind of odd that Skyrim is not on the list.
It was the first western developed game to receive the perfect 40/40 score in Famitsu. Granted it was after the prime time of Famitsu when the scores had a large impact on buyers. But since it was at 30 million units sold back in 2016 not having sold a million units in one of the largest gaming markets in the world when its most read game magazine gave it perfect scores just seem... weird.

It may have done so with digital. After so many years most sales for a game like this could be through digital discounts, even in Japan. So it may have had good legs digitally.

And PC wasn't very big  in Japan back then and don't forget that the PS3 version was evrn worse technically than the X360 and the X360's installbase was at only 1.5mil units in Japan.



Salnax on 30 May 2023
Pajderman said:

I find it kind of odd that Skyrim is not on the list.
It was the first western developed game to receive the perfect 40/40 score in Famitsu. Granted it was after the prime time of Famitsu when the scores had a large impact on buyers. But since it was at 30 million units sold back in 2016 not having sold a million units in one of the largest gaming markets in the world when its most read game magazine gave it perfect scores just seem... weird.

Skyrim IS the best-selling Western RPG ever at retail in Japan, with 393k games sold at retail and at least another 11k digitally on the PS4 and Switch. However, digital sales are woefully incomplete and we have basically no data regarding PC gaming in Japan, which has become increasingly important in recent years.

If I had to guess, Skyrim probably HAS sold well over 500k copies, especially given how much Steam has grown since 2011 in Japan. Western games are doing fairly well on Steam in Japan (the Top 30 sellers on Steam in Japan currently include Rainbow Six Siege, Apex Legends, GTA5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Rust). But until we get some announcement or relatively credible estimate, I can't put Skyrim on the list.



Love and tolerate.