In the end, the Switch will manage to sell over 1.5 million units in Japan this year. It was a close call, but it will do it

America is running out of middle class people 

PS5 back to really bad levels.

PS5 vs Switch 1 will certainly be an interesting comparison next year in Japan. The PS5 will be able to stay above 500k, something that I was skeptical of before the cheaper unit was introduced, but I doubt it will sell the 700k needed to reach 8m by the end of next year. I'm expecting similar numbers for the original Switch though, so we'll have to see if the PS5's new game releases and its room to grow can beat the highly saturated Switch's powerful branding and the Lite model's affordability.

I will say that Pokémon Legends: ZA is holding a lot stronger than Arceus than expected. For reference this was the last time that game was charted by Famitsu about nine months after the game released:

Famitsu Sales: 10/10/22 – 10/16/22
[NSW] Pokemon Legends: Arceus (The Pokemon Company, 01/28/22) – 1,400 (2,299,574)

Now, if we were to combine both versions of Legends ZA, we so far have 2,300,724. Not saying that ZA has already surpassed Arceus physically in Japan but I wouldn’t be surprised if that becomes the case probably sometime in January.

Yeah Switch 1 vs PS5 is gonna be interesting to watch going forwards; Switch 2 is just in a league all its own, complete domination.

Looks like the price cut gave only temporary respite for PS5; 18k during the holiday season is really dire.

Nintendo now has a very secure position in Japan, Sony played their strongest cards in that market this year with Monster Hunter Wilds and a price cut, with total Nintendo domination anyway.

Nintendo's output next year also seems slated to be more in line with Japanese taste in games than western taste, Pokopia, Rhythm Heaven, Tomodachi Life, Fire Emblem. So next year will look as this year, crazy demand in Japan, less in markets like Europe.

PS5 DE still dominating PS5 sales is really telling, considering the general dislike Japanese consumers have for digital.

50k yen DE vs 120k yen Pro is just too massive of a difference.

A lot of Japanese stores advertise the disc drive attachment for the Digital PS5, so I'm sure those are moving with it.