Japan: Famitsu sales for 2015 (Top 10 Software, Hardware, more)
Today, Famitsu published a preliminary report for Year 2015 in the video game market in Japan. Unfortunately, things aren’t looking really good for that market, which is once again down Year on Year. Both Software and Hardware sales are down, making 2015 one of the worst years in record.
According to Famitsu, throughout 2015, Software sales generated a total of 190.910 million Yen (as opposed to 226.400 million of Yen in 2014). As for Hardware, sales generated a total of 130.050 million Yen, as opposed to 142.150 million Yen in 2014. The total for 2015 is 320.970 million Yen, a drop of almost 48.000 million Yen compared to 2014 (which already saw a drop compared to 2013).
Software-wise, Nintendo dominated sales and didn’t leave a single spot for the competition in the Top 10 : there’s 8 games for the Nintendo 3DS, and two for the Wii U. Monster Hunter X is #1, despite launching on November 28th: it’s been enjoying great sales since launch, and was so successful that it was almost impossible to find in stores within the first couple of days (with shortages lasting for quite a while).
Without a mainline Pokémon entry and “only” one Yo-kai Watch game, there’s less million-sellers than in 2015 (four in total). One of the million sellers is one of the surprises of the year: Splatoon. A third-person shooter, on Wii U, and a brand new IP… few were those who expected Nintendo’s shooter to sell so well!
As for Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Famitsu reports that it sold a total of 864 865 units. It sold 615 651 units at launch, which means 249 000 additional units were sold between September and January. It looks like sales remained steady after launch, which is a bit surprising: usually, sales of remakes/ports are pretty frontloaded. What’s more, this version of the game is more akin to a port with additional content than an actual remake, so its sales are definitely pretty good.
Hardware-wise, we have the Nintendo 3DS with 2 189 900 units sold. This is almost 1 million units less than in 2014, which had the launch of the New Nintendo 3DS to boost sales. Of course, the Nintendo 3DS is nearing its 6th year on the market, so it’s no wonder sales dropped so sharply in 2015.
As for the Wii U, it actually had a better run in 2015, with over 200 000 units more compared to 2014. As mentioned several times in the past, this is primarily due to Splatoon (and Super Mario Maker), as Nintendo didn’t really drop the price of its console. In fact, it even raised it (technically), as the Splatoon and Super Mario Maker Premium Packs were by far the most expensive ones so far.
Software
01./00. [3DS] Monster Hunter X # <ACT> (Capcom) {2015.11.28} (¥6.264) – 2.441.977 / NEW
02./00. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch Busters: Red Cat Team / White Dog Squad <ACT> (Level 5) {2015.07.11} (¥4.968) – 1.965.202 / NEW
03./00. [3DS] Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2015.07.30} (¥4.320) – 1.282.880 / NEW
04./00. [WIU] Splatoon # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.05.28} (¥6.156) – 1.064.897 / NEW
05./00. [3DS] Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King <RPG> (Square Enix) {2015.08.27} (¥6.458) – 864.865 / NEW
06./00. [WIU] Super Mario Maker # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.09.10} (¥6.156) – 674.194 / NEW
07./00. [3DS] Monster Strike <RPG> (Mixi) {2015.12.17} (¥4.860) – 636.709 / NEW
08./05. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch 2: Shin Uchi <RPG> (Level 5) {2014.12.13} (¥4.968) – 625.223 / 2.632.550 (-69%)
09./00. [3DS] Rhythm Heaven: The Best+ <ACT> (Nintendo) {2015.06.11} (¥5.076) – 607.343 / NEW
10./00. [3DS] Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright / Conquest # <SLG> (Nintendo) {2015.06.25} (¥5.076) – 538.669 / NEW
Hardware
Market
NB: sales go from December 29th, 2014 to December 27th, 2015.
