Hasn't the game only sold 44k physical since launch on S2? If it keeps to 1k a week that could be a bigger figure over all but it was relatively front loaded.

I think that's a solid figure but I wouldn't paint it as some especially significant success. It's a port, so almost 40k both for RE and VII R is great given the market and  that these these ports aren't breaking the bank and can be completed alongside the PlayStation/PC version.

I do think people within this thread are willfully naive about the reality of Japanese preferences and how it how it shaped hardware success. When Halo launches on PlayStation later this year it will sell in the millions globally just like Forza did last year. You won't need a decade of growing with the IP because the game will actually resonate with the audience. Monster Hunter didn't need a decade on PC to be a hit or a decade on a Nintendo to a success on the 3DS etc etc... I think this speaks to Icaro's point.

I wouldn't expect significant growth from franchises like FF and RE being on Nintendo platforms, but it opens up the door to new audiences none the less, and at the very least pays it's cost, so all is good. 

There are many different reasons why the PS5 could have sold more. But I wonder if it has anything to do with the mature content of the game and Nintendo still being seen as the family friendly option (regardless of reality).

All these AAA games have been available for PS for years and skipped Nintendo, and yet Nintendo has dominated in Japan for a long time. So of course its evident that these franchises have a lower pull in Japan than they used to have, Resident Evil and Final Fantasy peaked during the PS1 era in Japan, which is a very long time ago. If these kinds of third party Japanese games had the pull they used to have, the PS1-PS2 domination would never have ended for Sony in Japan in the first place.

Considering Japan is the country infamous for excess of porn media in animes and games? As well as small number of kids and teenagers compared to middle aged people? Hardly any correlation I fear 

My opinion is Japanese people wants games that can be played well on handheld form, i.e. less information on screen, low skill and reaction times required (due to limitations on control schema when playing handhelds), less cinematic, good to be played in small and short sessions with lots of pauses

And of course, there is a change in how Japan produced media. During the 70s, 80s and the 90s there was still effort to create media that resemble western art, we could see this in mangas and games alike. We can see many of games emerging in the 80s influenced by western media culture: RPGs, science fiction, high fantasy, Super Hero comics, etc

Just compare how The Legend of Galactic Heroes anime looked like in the 80s and how its remake looks in the 10s

Gaming industry in Japan just followed suit, really. Then the issue is what to do with IPs that tradionally followed a more "mature" and western art style, which no longer belongs to the cultural zeitgeist. Can you imagine Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy having Moe aethetics?

At start the loyal fandom was still there (PSP-PS3 era), but once you start aging and caring less about games it's over, the only path is downwards 

No, Switch 2 is not going to save those IPs. Only a new cultural shift + changes in how people approaching games (less handheld, more stationary) could do that. Neither seems to be happening anytime soon 

It's worth noting here that Requiem was undershipped on Switch 2; it sold out at three of Japan's biggest retailers:

https://n4g.com/news/2685652/japan-resident-evil-requiem-on-nintendo-switch-2-is-sold-out-at-three-of-the-biggest-game-retailers

Also, mainline current gen RE hasn't been on a Nintendo platform since the Gamecube, it takes time to build an audience when the current audience is almost entirely on PS/PC.

In context, I wouldn't say this is a bad result at all.

There's definitely no audience at the moment for these 3rd party games in Japan on Switch. DQ remasters being the exception as that is more in line with Nintendo's less graphic intensive and more child like 1st party line up of games for Japan.

Selling out at multiple retailers isn't "no audience".

Considering stronger digital ratios, it is probably near 3rd place. Much more for the PS5 version though. PS5DE got the biggest boost compared with the other SKUs.

That's right, that's why pre-orders exist. If the pre-orders are low at retail then you're going to get low shipments to retail. Capcom saw those numbers and based their initial shipment low on a console with over 4.5M install base in Japan based on the data they had. 

Tsujimoto and Capcom don't really care about retail since they have over 90% digital ratio and the less physical they ship the less % they have to split with retail overall. 

And yet the provided stock was insufficient, showing that demand on Switch 2 exceeded estimates.

Physical is still very much relevant in Japan and on Switch 2.