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Forums - Sales - Famitsu Sales: Week 49, 2025 (Dec 1 - Dec 7)

Kai_Mao on 13 December 2025
Sephiran said:
IcaroRibeiro said:

The decline of third party game sales in Japan is corresponding to a lack of offering to them in handheld form on Sony systems. Some IPs will recover naturally when offered in portable mode

Wii, Wii U, PS4 and PS3 had tons of exclusives and neither sold even 15 million. Playing portable is a huge deal for japanese people, Sony having a portable option is simply a must for japanese market, even if it only to play PS5/PS6 games 

I don't get the downplaying of software being a factor. Doesn't Nintendo benefit heavily from stuff like Pokemon being miles above in popularity than anything Sony have in Japan? Software plays an important role in which platform is popular in different countries. The reason Europe prefers PS5 is because the software on PS5 is more appealing for European markets than what is available on Switch 2, and the same is true for Switch 2 in Japan. Kirby Air Riders will likely be a bigger seller in lifetime sales than anything Sony has released in 5 years in Japan. Nintendo simply has more popular IP in Japan than Sony has. It seems to contradict reality to think that Japanese will care about games like God of War when they play those games on a handheld, and Switch 2 will have such a massive install base in Japan that fairly few popular Japanese third party games will skip Switch 2 to only focus on a PS handheld. Which means Sony would need to be incredibly aggressive in moneyhatting games to skip Switch 2 in the future, and if they started doing that Nintendo would just use their own massive warchest to moneyhat games to skip PS as well.



Interestingly, if Switch 2 eventually gets the next 3D Mario, 3D Zelda, and next-gen Pokemon, those games alone can make up for not having the appealing software PS5 has in Europe (which is funny because Switch 2 has FC at least, even at 30fps). Switch 1 sold over 40 million in Europe, even dominating in a few European countries. Sony and PlayStation do not have the same luxury to help elevate sales in Japan. Ghost of Yotei seems to be holding its own in Japan, but that game alone wont get PlayStation back on track in Japan.

Looking back, it’s pretty remarkable how Switch 1 just dominated Japan even over the PS4. The PS4 had almost everything going for it. Wii U was a dud despite having a new emerging IP in Splatoon, Xbox was (and remains) a non factor in Japan, and the 3DS was doing well but short of its predecessor in the DS. PS4 had every big Japanese third party game under the sun:
- Kingdom Hearts III
- FFXV
- FFVII Remake
- DQ XI (even though it sold less than the 3DS version)
- Nier Automata
- Persona 5 (and Royal)
- The Trails of series
- Tales of games
- Street Fighter V
- Tekken 7
- Monster Hunter World
- RE2 and 3 remakes
- RE7 and 8
- Metal Gear Solid V
- DMC5
- and more that I likely missed
Yet the Switch 1 dwarfed the PS4 in sales in Japan. Heck it even got games like Persona 5 Royal, Nier Automata, cloud versions of the latest RE games, and the Trails of series. Just as remarkable, games like Splatoon 2 and 3 and Animal Crossing New Horizons dwarfed some of these noted popular games in sales in Japan. Tell anyone in the 2000s that a third person shooter with squids would outsell the latest Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest and they would laugh at you. It’s pretty insane.



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curl-6 on 13 December 2025

The likes of RE Requiem and Pragmata coming to Switch 2 could rob PS5 of potential system sellers; previously, the main reason for Japanese players to get a PS console the last few gens, in the absence of Japanese oriented first party titles, was to play the big third party games that didn't come out on Nintendo. With more of these games coming to Switch 2 now, there's less reason to buy a PS5.

Pragmata in particular has topped Famitsu's most wanted list for a while now; a lot of folks may have bought a PS5 to play it, but now they don't have to.



Kai_Mao on 13 December 2025
curl-6 said:

The likes of RE Requiem and Pragmata coming to Switch 2 could rob PS5 of potential system sellers; previously, the main reason for Japanese players to get a PS console the last few gens, in the absence of Japanese oriented first party titles, was to play the big third party games that didn't come out on Nintendo. With more of these games coming to Switch 2 now, there's less reason to buy a PS5.

Pragmata in particular has topped Famitsu's most wanted list for a while now; a lot of folks may have bought a PS5 to play it, but now they don't have to.

I think to be fair, I’m not gonna assume that Pragmata or RE9 are gonna sell better on Switch 2 than on PS5 in Japan. Audience and user base alone should give the PS5 the edge. But, if the sales are pretty close or look decent on Switch 2 in Japan, I think that would further worry Sony in terms of long-term competition in Japan. 

We know how incredibly versatile the RE engine is for Capcom. But to see Pragmata and RE9 get announced later for Switch 2 AND then be planned for release day and date along with the Xbox Series and PS5 platforms is a feat in of itself. Makes you wonder what Capcom what thinking with these projects, especially once Switch 2 was revealed.

I think it’s possible that if the PS5 was faring better in Japan, along with its great sales throughout the rest of the world, they probably would’ve taken their time to port RE9 and Pragmata on Switch 2 and released the Switch 2 versions of these respective games at a later date. But seeing PS5 struggle AND seeing the Switch 2 basically go right where Switch 1 left off in Japan (and the rest of the world) probably made the decision easier for a company like Capcom. A reminder for some, this is the same company that, outside of Mega Man 11, which was already a multiplat, didn’t even release an original game with the Switch 1 in mind until Monster Hunter Rise in 2021. So for Capcom to be pretty much all-in on Switch 2 is a complete 180 in comparison to it being hesitant of the Switch 1 when it first came out.



Sogreblute on 13 December 2025
curl-6 said:

The likes of RE Requiem and Pragmata coming to Switch 2 could rob PS5 of potential system sellers; previously, the main reason for Japanese players to get a PS console the last few gens, in the absence of Japanese oriented first party titles, was to play the big third party games that didn't come out on Nintendo. With more of these games coming to Switch 2 now, there's less reason to buy a PS5.

Pragmata in particular has topped Famitsu's most wanted list for a while now; a lot of folks may have bought a PS5 to play it, but now they don't have to.

I'm convinced the reason for that despite having no gameplay footage for years is because it's a meme. I cannot see any other reason.



curl-6 on 13 December 2025
Kai_Mao said:
curl-6 said:

The likes of RE Requiem and Pragmata coming to Switch 2 could rob PS5 of potential system sellers; previously, the main reason for Japanese players to get a PS console the last few gens, in the absence of Japanese oriented first party titles, was to play the big third party games that didn't come out on Nintendo. With more of these games coming to Switch 2 now, there's less reason to buy a PS5.

Pragmata in particular has topped Famitsu's most wanted list for a while now; a lot of folks may have bought a PS5 to play it, but now they don't have to.

I think to be fair, I’m not gonna assume that Pragmata or RE9 are gonna sell better on Switch 2 than on PS5 in Japan. Audience and user base alone should give the PS5 the edge. But, if the sales are pretty close or look decent on Switch 2 in Japan, I think that would further worry Sony in terms of long-term competition in Japan. 

We know how incredibly versatile the RE engine is for Capcom. But to see Pragmata and RE9 get announced later for Switch 2 AND then be planned for release day and date along with the Xbox Series and PS5 platforms is a feat in of itself. Makes you wonder what Capcom what thinking with these projects, especially once Switch 2 was revealed.

I think it’s possible that if the PS5 was faring better in Japan, along with its great sales throughout the rest of the world, they probably would’ve taken their time to port RE9 and Pragmata on Switch 2 and released the Switch 2 versions of these respective games at a later date. But seeing PS5 struggle AND seeing the Switch 2 basically go right where Switch 1 left off in Japan (and the rest of the world) probably made the decision easier for a company like Capcom. A reminder for some, this is the same company that, outside of Mega Man 11, which was already a multiplat, didn’t even release an original game with the Switch 1 in mind until Monster Hunter Rise in 2021. So for Capcom to be pretty much all-in on Switch 2 is a complete 180 in comparison to it being hesitant of the Switch 1 when it first came out.

Oh I'm not saying they'll sell more on Switch 2 than PS5; even by the time they come out, Switch 2's install base in Japan will still be much smaller than PS5's.

I meant more that those who may have been pushed to buy a PS5 to play them now don't have to as they can play them on Switch 2 instead.



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Kai_Mao on 13 December 2025
curl-6 said:
Kai_Mao said:

I think to be fair, I’m not gonna assume that Pragmata or RE9 are gonna sell better on Switch 2 than on PS5 in Japan. Audience and user base alone should give the PS5 the edge. But, if the sales are pretty close or look decent on Switch 2 in Japan, I think that would further worry Sony in terms of long-term competition in Japan. 

We know how incredibly versatile the RE engine is for Capcom. But to see Pragmata and RE9 get announced later for Switch 2 AND then be planned for release day and date along with the Xbox Series and PS5 platforms is a feat in of itself. Makes you wonder what Capcom what thinking with these projects, especially once Switch 2 was revealed.

I think it’s possible that if the PS5 was faring better in Japan, along with its great sales throughout the rest of the world, they probably would’ve taken their time to port RE9 and Pragmata on Switch 2 and released the Switch 2 versions of these respective games at a later date. But seeing PS5 struggle AND seeing the Switch 2 basically go right where Switch 1 left off in Japan (and the rest of the world) probably made the decision easier for a company like Capcom. A reminder for some, this is the same company that, outside of Mega Man 11, which was already a multiplat, didn’t even release an original game with the Switch 1 in mind until Monster Hunter Rise in 2021. So for Capcom to be pretty much all-in on Switch 2 is a complete 180 in comparison to it being hesitant of the Switch 1 when it first came out.

Oh I'm not saying they'll sell more on Switch 2 than PS5; even by the time they come out, Switch 2's install base in Japan will still be much smaller than PS5's.

I meant more that those who may have been pushed to buy a PS5 to play them now don't have to as they can play them on Switch 2 instead.

I see your point and I think that’s more than possible. Switch 2, barring any significant events or economical troubles, will continue to be a big seller week-to-week in Japan and Pragmata and Resident Evil will be front and center as premiere titles on Switch 2. And there is a possibility now that even if the PS5 versions sell better overall, the Switch 2 versions could have better legs in Japan.



curl-6 on 15 December 2025
Kai_Mao said:
curl-6 said:

Oh I'm not saying they'll sell more on Switch 2 than PS5; even by the time they come out, Switch 2's install base in Japan will still be much smaller than PS5's.

I meant more that those who may have been pushed to buy a PS5 to play them now don't have to as they can play them on Switch 2 instead.

I see your point and I think that’s more than possible. Switch 2, barring any significant events or economical troubles, will continue to be a big seller week-to-week in Japan and Pragmata and Resident Evil will be front and center as premiere titles on Switch 2. And there is a possibility now that even if the PS5 versions sell better overall, the Switch 2 versions could have better legs in Japan.

Yeah it will take time for Switch 2's install base to surpass PS5's due to the latter having a 4.5 year head start, and also for the audience for these kind of games to grow on Nintendo's platform, but their presence does make Switch 2 a more viable platform for "hardcore" gamers in Japan as it means a PS5 simply isn't necessary to play them.