For some years now, most Japanese gamers simply haven't owned the consoles where mainline Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, etc release, so interest in those series has waned; there's still some audience for them, yes, they just haven't been on the country's dominant console(s) for 3 gens now.

MH World and such did well enough by the standards of their install base, but they were still only available to a minority of the country's console audience.

Sonic has been on Nintendo for decades now, it's even more related to it than any other brand for console makers there, it has actually got Nintendo exclusive games even.

It just released a very good racing game, it was well received worldwide, and it failed miserably in Japan, despite being available everywhere, why? Because in Japan it doesn't have a big appeal, despite the game being good or not. Failed on both Switch and Playstation. What being available in all those very popular Nintendo systems changed for it? Nothing.

Octopath Traveler 0 is selling similarly on Switch 1, Switch 2 and PS5 there right now, even as PS5 has a way lower install base than Switch 1, and a bigger install base than the Switch 2 (but Switch 2 is FAR more popular than the PS5 there right now), so the difference in install bases and popularity of those 3 systems are hardly making a difference in this game sales currently, because... what matters the most is the appeal the game has.

Sonic as a brand just isn't popular in Japan, doesn't matter what console it's on.

If you took away Switch 1/2 sales of Octopath and only had PS5, then it's physical sales would drop from 69k to 22k.

IMO the common mistake with this logic is making the "not owning" a playstation part sound like a coincidence versus a very informed result of not being overtly interested in said games or at least modern iterations. And its not like these franchises were not on the DS/PSP

But in any case we shouldn't count our chickens before they hatch, we haven't actually seen how games like RE9 and FFVII Remake perform on Switch 2, but plenty of games do not need nosltagia to perform well on a platform. See Forza on PS5, any new IP on any platform or even old IP that suddenly have a breakout hit (Zelda BOTW). If its appealing it will perform well.

Games like RE9 and FF7R probably won't explode on Switch 2 immediately as it takes time to build an audience. It should help grow their sales though, just by making them available to a larger number of people.

Hmm, I'm not sure this is actually what often happens with very successful IP. It just takes the right entry with the right gameplay/setting & platform mix.

Resident Evil 1 sold 1m in its first year in Japan on PS1. It hit the ground running. 

See how PC games like Elderscrolls became huge on console over night with Oblivion (almost no audience on console before), or Baldurs gate 3 sold 10x it's predecessors after a 20 year break. Same as  FFVII exploding the franchise in the west, or BOTW smashed the ceiling for series in Japan. I'm not saying things can't grow slowly but its often just a sudden surge caused by the hype of one title which introduces it to significant audience outside of its core base. 

Persona is kind of somewhere in between where it grew decently in Japan then exploded with 5. Outside of Japan it more or less went from zero to 10 with most people not having had experience with the IP in the past. 

Probably for FF, that reignition moment (if it comes) won't be a late remake, so I agree at least that we won't the see the full potential until FF17 etc.

Also Dragon Quest is still huge in Japan, it's not like JRPGs are a foreign concept.... but maybe FF returning to a turn-based system could make a huge difference to the appeal.

These kind of explosions typically come from a new release that radically changes things up or greatly exceeds expectations though, not so often from something established simply adding a new console.

Adding a Switch 2 version of stuff like RE, FF, etc will grow the audience through making it more widely available, but such growth will likely be more gradual, as Switch 2 is still a platform in its infancy, and the RE/FF hardcore have a PS/PC system already, so growth will come from those who may have been curious before but not desperate enough to buy a PS5 for it.

Software Sales

1. [NS2] Mario Kart World – 115,729 / 2,573,736
2. [NSW] Pokemon Legends: Z-A – 72,820 / 1,470,354
3. [NS2] Pokemon Legends: Z-A – 54,096 / 957,286
4. [NS2] Kirby Air Riders – 49,220 / 377,044
5. [NS2] Momotaro Dentetsu 2 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – 26,323 / 158,381
6. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu 2 – 22,898 / 199,905
7. [NS2] Donkey Kong Bananza – 16,165 / 419,948
8. [NSW] Minecraft – 16,038 / 4,094,207
9. [NS2] Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV – 14,268 / 111,628
10. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 13,352 / 8,297,279


Hardware Sales

Switch 2 – 221,033
Switch OLED – 18,864
Switch Lite – 12,641
Switch – 6,679
PS5 Digital Edition – 13,231
PS5 – 4,149
PS5 Pro – 1,927
Xbox Series X Digital Edition – 97
Xbox Series S – 50
Xbox Series X – 37
PS4 – 12

Merry Christmas, all! Another solid week for Switch 2 sales. PS5 is not doing good even with the most recent price cut.

I think the problem PS5 has in Japan is that unlike in western markets where a lot of casual gamers buy PS5 to play sport games, shooters etc, casual gamers don't really buy PS5 in large numbers in Japan, PS5 mostly sell to core gamers there. If you are only able to sell to core gamers, that will dramatically reduce your sales potential, because the target demographic becomes much smaller. Switch 1 can still sell 40K during a week in Japan just because they have such a vast pool of casual gamers and families they are able to attract.