Digital Sales were 17,5% of retail sales in Japan in 2018 but only represented 8,8% revenue

hiska-kun · Sep 15, 2019

First of all, please note that only games with retail version are included. Digital-only, DLC, etc are not included.

Here the evolution if the Japanese digital market from 2013 to 2018.

Software year 2018: Ratio package to downloads

Software by number of units sold (Legend: Total units sold = Package sold + Download sold)

Total units: 34.370.000 (100%) = 28.370.000 (82,5%) + 6.000.000 (17,5%)

NSW: 15.295.000 (100%) = 13.624.000 (89,1%) + 1.672.000 (10,9%)
PS4: 13.892.000 (100%) = 10.882.000 (78,3%) + 3.009.000 (21,7%)
3DS: 3.307.000 (100%) = 2.731.000 (82,6%) + 575.000 (17,4%)
PSV: 1.236.000 (100%) = 988.000 (80,0%) + 247.000 (20,0%)
PS3: 318.000 (100%) = 41.000 (12,9%) + 277.000 (87,1%)
WiiU: 198.000 (100%) = 48.000 (24,5%) + 150.000 (75,5%)
NDS: 62.000 (100%) = 33.000 (53,3%) + 29.000 (46,7%)
XB1: 47.000 (100%) = 19.000 (40,4%) + 28.000 (59,6%)
Wii: 16.000 (100%) = 3.000 (16,5%) + 14.000 (83,5%)

Software by sales turnover (Legend: Total amount of yens = Package in yens + Download in yens)

Total amount of yens: ¥196.979M (100%) = ¥179.583M (91,2%) + ¥17.397M (8,8%)

PS4: ¥89.404M (100%) = ¥78.584M (87,9%) + ¥10.820M (12,1%)
NSW: ¥86.317M (100%) = ¥81.383M (94,3%) + ¥4.934M (5,7%)
3DS: ¥13.567M (100%) = ¥12.786M (94,2%) + ¥781M (5,8%)
PSV: ¥6.560M (100%) = ¥6.160M (93,3%) + ¥441M (6,7%)
WiiU: ¥445M (100%) = ¥225M (50,5%) + ¥220M (49,5%)
PS3: ¥373M (100%) = ¥276M (74,2%) + ¥96M (25,8%)
XB1: ¥193M (100%) = ¥111M (57,3%) + ¥83M (42,7%)
NDS: ¥102M (100%) = ¥90M (87,8%) + ¥13M (12,2%)
Wii: ¥18M (100%) = ¥10M (55,8%) + ¥8M (44,2%)

Software year 2017: Ratio package to downloads

Software by number of units sold (Legend: Total units sold = Package sold + Download sold)

Total units: 39.016.000 (100%) = 33.264.000 (85,3%) + 5.752.000 (14,7%)

3DS: 14.279.000 (100%) = 12.626.000 (88,4%) + 1.653.000 (11,6%)
PS4: 12.223.000 (100%) = 10.058.000 (82,3%) + 2.165.000 (17,7%)
NSW: 8.625.000 (100%) = 7.717.000 (89,5%) + 908.000 (10,5%)
PSV: 2.258.000 (100%) = 1.963.000 (86,9%) + 295.000 (13,1%)
WiiU: 1.307.000 (100%) = 680.000 (52,0%) + 627.000 (48,0%)
PS3: 212.000 (100%) = 125.000 (58,9%) + 87.000 (41,1%)
XB1: 68.000 (100%) = 56.000 (82,7%) + 12.000 (17,3%)
NDS: 41.000 (100%) = 39.000 (95,2%) + 2.000 (4,8%)
Wii: 5.000 (100%) = 1.000 (15,6%) + 4.000 (84,4%)

Software by sales turnover (Legend: Total amount of yens = Package in yens + Download in yens)

Total amount of yens: ¥211.057M (100%) = ¥194.226M (92,0%) + ¥16.831M (8,0%)

PS4: ¥79.001M (100%) = ¥70.702M (89,5%) + ¥8.299M (10,5%)
3DS: ¥64.945M (100%) = ¥62.276M (95,9%) + ¥2.669M (4,1%)
NSW: ¥49.049M (100%) = ¥45.310M (92,4%) + ¥3.739M (7,6%)
PSV: ¥12.051M (100%) = ¥11.134M (92,4%) + ¥917M (7,6%)
WiiU: ¥4.599M (100%) = ¥3.568M (77,6%) + ¥1.031M (22,4%)
PS3: ¥942M (100%) = ¥806M (85,5%) + ¥137M (14,5%)
XB1: ¥359M (100%) = ¥322M (89,6%) + ¥37M (10,4%)
NDS: ¥106M (100%) = ¥106M (99,7%) + ¥0M (0,3%)
Wii: ¥3M (100%) = ¥2M (61,0%) + ¥1M (39,0%)

Software year 2016: Ratio package to downloads

Software by number of units sold (Legend: Total units sold = Package sold + Download sold)

Total units: 37.871.000 (100%) = 33.235.000 (87,8%) + 4.635.000 (12,2%)

3DS: 16.674.000 (100%) = 15.328.000 (91,9%) + 1.346.000 (8,1%)
PS4: 10.578.000 (100%) = 8.713.000 (82,4%) + 1.866.000 (17,6%)
PSV: 5.609.000 (100%) = 4.833.000 (86,2%) + 776.000 (13,8%)
WiiU: 2.356.000 (100%) = 2.317.000 (98,3%) + 390.000 (1,7%)
PS3: 1.867.000 (100%) = 1.593.000 (85,3%) + 274.000 (14,7%)
PSP: 304.000 (100%) = 9.000 (2,9%) + 296.000 (97,1%)
Wii: 233.000 (100%) = 229.000 (98,2%) + 4.000 (1,8%)
XB1: 201.000 (100%) = 181.000 (89,8%) + 20.000 (10,2%)
NDS: 43.000 (100%) = 33.000 (77,3%) + 10.000 (22,7%)
360: 4.000 (100%) = 1.000 (15,5%) + 4.000 (84,5%)

Software by sales turnover (Legend: Total amount of yens = Package in yens + Download in yens)

Total amount of yens: ¥195.881M (100%) = ¥187.982M (96,0%) + ¥7.899M (4,0%)

3DS: ¥72.651M (100%) = ¥71.390M (98,3%) + ¥1.262M (1,7%)
PS4: ¥67.026M (100%) = ¥63.043M (94,1%) + ¥3.983M (5,9%)
PSV: ¥29.856M (100%) = ¥28.139M (94,2%) + ¥1.717M (5,8%)
WiiU: ¥12.489M (100%) = ¥12.401M (99,3%) + ¥88M (0,7%)
PS3: ¥11.335M (100%) = ¥10.911M (96,3%) + ¥424M (3,7%)
XB1: ¥1.266M (100%) = ¥1.206M (95,3%) + ¥60M (4,7%)
Wii: ¥752M (100%) = ¥751M (99,8%) + ¥2M (0,2%)
PSP: ¥406M (100%) = ¥48M (11,9%) + ¥358M (88,1%)
NDS: ¥93M (100%) = ¥91M (97,0%) + ¥3M (3,0%)
360: ¥7M (100%) = ¥2M (37,6%) + ¥4M (62,4%)

Software year 2015: Ratio package to downloads

Software by number of units sold (Legend: Total units sold = Package sold + Download sold)

Total units: 40.789.000 (100%) = 35.290.000 (86,5%) + 5.499.000 (13,5%)

3DS: 19.546.000 (100%) = 17.116.000 (87,6%) + 2.430.000 (12,4%)
PS4: 6.200.000 (100%) = 5.098.000 (82,2%) + 1.102.000 (17,8%)
PSV: 5.608.000 (100%) = 4.822.000 (86,0%) + 786.000 (14,0%)
PS3: 4.454.000 (100%) = 3.988.000 (89,5%) + 466.000 (10,5%)
WiiU: 3.956.000 (100%) = 3.649.000 (92,2%) + 307.000 (7,8%)
Wii: 378.000 (100%) = 218.000 (57,8%) + 160.000 (42,2%)
PSP: 338.000 (100%) = 182.000 (53,8%) + 156 (46,2%)
XB1: 145.000 (100%) = 119.000 (82,0%) + 26.000 (18,0%)
NDS: 85.000 (100%) = 72.000 (84,7%) + 13.000 (15,3%)
360: 77.000 (100%) = 24.000 (31,3%) + 53.000 (68,7%)

Software by sales turnover (Legend: Total amount of yens = Package in yens + Download in yens)

Total amount of yens: ¥207.994M (100%) = ¥194.916M (93,7%) + ¥13.078M (6,3%)

3DS: ¥86.478M (100%) = ¥82.414M (95,3%) + ¥4.063M (4,7%)
PS4: ¥40.012M (100%) = ¥36.039M (90,01%) + ¥3.973M (9,9%)
PSV: ¥29.133M (100%) = ¥26.619M (91,4%) + ¥2.514M (8,6%)
PS3: ¥28.052M (100%) = ¥26.935M (96,0%) +¥ 1.117M (4,0%)
WiiU: ¥20.796M (100%) = ¥19.911M (95,7%) + ¥885M (4,3%)
PSP: ¥1.226M (100%) = ¥977M (79,7%) + ¥248M (20,3%)
Wii: ¥947M (100%) = ¥889M (93,9%) + ¥58M (6,1%)
XB1: ¥863M (100%) = ¥796M (92,2%) + ¥67M (7,8%)
360: ¥273M (100%) = ¥125M (45,7%) + ¥148M (54,3%)
NDS: ¥215M (100%) = ¥212M (98,4%) + ¥3M (1,6%)

Software year 2014: Ratio package to downloads

Software by number of units sold (Legend: Total units sold = Package sold + Download sold)

Total units: 53.779.000 (100%) = 44.489.000 (82,7%) + 9.290.000 (17,3%)

3DS: 29.201.000 (100%) = 23.694.000 (81,1%) + 5.507.000 (18,9%)
PS4: 8.312.000 (100%) = 7.742.000 (93,1%) + 571.000 (6,9%)
PSV: 6.728.000 (100%) = 5.088.000 (75,6%) + 1.640.000 (24,4%)
WiiU: 3.290.000 (100%) = 3.220.000 (97,9%) + 70.000 (2,1%)
PS4: 2.841.000 (100%) = 2.745.000 (96,6%) + 96.000 (3,4%)
PSP: 2.096.000 (100%) = 981.000 (46,8%) + 1.115.000 (53,2%)
NDS: 477.000 (100%) = 275.000 (57,8%) + 201.000 (42,2%)
Wii: 297.000 (100%) = 294.000 (99,1%) + 3.000 (0,9%)
360: 284.000 (100%) = 237.000 (83,7%) + 46.000 (16,3%)
XB1: 254.000 (100%) = 212.000 (83,7%) + 41.000 (16,3%)

Software by sales turnover (Legend: Total amount of yens = Package in yens + Download in yens)

Total amount of yens: ¥252.117M (100%) = ¥235.637M (93,5%) + ¥16.480M (6,5%)

3DS: ¥119.920M (100%) = ¥112.165M (93,5%) + ¥7.755M (6,5%)
PS3: ¥51.198M (100%) = ¥49.952M (97,6%) + ¥1.247M (2,4%)
PSV: ¥34.068M (100%) = ¥29.088M (85,4%) + ¥4.979M (14,6%)
WiiU: ¥18.004M (100%) = ¥17.768M (98,7%) + ¥237M (1,3%)
PS4: ¥17.520M (100%) = ¥17.314M (98,8%) + ¥206M (1,2%)
PSP: ¥5.987M (100%) = ¥4.225M (70,6%) + ¥1.762M (29,4%)
XB1: ¥1.548M (100%) = ¥1.443M (93,2%) + ¥105M (6,8%)
360: ¥1.496M (100%) = ¥1.364M (91,1%) + ¥133M (8,9%)
Wii: ¥1.335M (100%) = ¥1.334M (99,9%) + ¥1M (0,1%)
NDS: ¥1.040M (100%) = ¥984M (94,6%) + ¥56M (5,4%)

Software year 2013: Ratio package to downloads

Software by number of units sold (Legend: Total units sold = Package sold + Download sold)

Total units: 55.821.000 (100%) = 49.217.000 (88,2%) + 6.604.000 (11,8%)

3DS: 27.861.000 (100%) = 23.776.000 (85,3%) + 4.084.000 (14,7%)
PS3: 12.726.000 (100%) = 12.122.000 (95,3%) + 604.000 (4,7%)
PSP: 5.635.000 (100%) = 4.468.000 (79,3%) + 1.167.000 (20,7%)
PSV: 4.395.000 (100%) = 3.811.000 (86,7%) + 583.000 (13,3%)
WiiU: 2.798.000 (100%) = 2.731.000 (97,6%) + 67.000 (2,4%)
Wii: 1.390.000 (100%) = 1.362.000 (98,0%) + 28.000 (2,0%)
NDS: 607.000 (100%) = 538.000 (88,6%) + 69.000 (11,4%)
360: 410.000 (100%) = 409.000 (99,8%) + 1.000 (0,2%)

Software by sales turnover (Legend: Total amount of yens = Package in yens + Download in yens)

Total amount of yens: ¥263.745M (100%) = ¥253.460M (96,1%) + ¥10.285M (3,9%)

3DS: ¥116.184M (100%) = ¥111.415M (95,9%) + ¥4.770M (4,1%)
PS3: ¥76.858M (100%) = ¥75.701M (98,5%) + ¥1.158M (1,5%)
PSP: ¥23.145M (100%) = ¥20.634M (89,1%) + ¥2.511M (10,9%)
PSV: ¥22.922M (100%) = ¥21.305M (92,9%) + ¥1.617M (7,1%)
WiiU: ¥13.878M (100%) = ¥13.730M (98,9%) + ¥148M (1,1%)
Wii: ¥6.186M (100%) = ¥6.175M (99,8%) + ¥11M (0,2%)
360: ¥2.549M (100%) = ¥2.494M (97,8%) + ¥55M (2,2%)
NDS: ¥2.021M (100%) = ¥2.006M (99,2%) + ¥15M (0,8%)

Source: CESA White Book 2019 and 2016

DarkDetective · Sep 15, 2019

There is growth, but it's clear that it's still nowhere nearly as common to buy games digitally in Japan as it is in Europe and North America.

fiendcode · Sep 15, 2019

3DS digital sales in 2013/2014 are huge! Surprising, I wonder if Switch can ever match them?

Oregano · Sep 15, 2019

fiendcode said:
3DS digital sales in 2013/2014 are huge! Surprising, I wonder if Switch can ever match them?

I would think it would be inevitable, especially with the added initiatives that incentivise digital purchases on Switch.

It does seem digital on 3DS was underestimated in general though.

hiska-kun · Sep 15, 2019

fiendcode said:
3DS digital sales in 2013/2014 are huge! Surprising, I wonder if Switch can ever match them?

Monster Hunter 4 had severe stock problems at launch and high digital. Capcom reported 4 million shipped + digital but Media Create only reported 3,35m at retail. So more than 600k were digital. Animal Crossing also had severe stock problems (that was in 2012, but continued the beginning of 2013). AC:NL is supposed to have more than 1 million digital.

Chris1964 · Sep 15, 2019

Low revenue shows digital increases only when there's a sale, physical is untouchable.

Deleted member 2793 · Sep 15, 2019

Maybe this can make people hold off a bit with their comments about the irrelevance of sales numbers without digital in Japan. It's a completely different market from the UK or the US.

Zedark · Sep 15, 2019

Going from 2017 to 2018, there seems to be a small progression both in unit sales and revenue for digital PS4. That suggests to me that non-discount digital sales for PS4 games has increased somewhat. But as others said, it's a Far Cry V from what Western markets showcase.

IronTed · Sep 15, 2019

For units:

3DS digital ratio:
2013: 14.7%
2014: 18.9%
2015: 12.4%
2016: 8.1%
2017: 11.6%
2018: 17.4%

PSV digital ratio:
2013: 13.3%
2014: 24.4%
2015: 14%
2016: 13.8%
2017: 13.1%
2018: 20%

Wii U digital ratio:
2013: 2.4%
2014: 2.1%
2015: 7.8%
2016: 1.7%
2017: 48%
2018: 49.5%

PS4 digital ratio:
2014: 6.9%
2015: 17.8%
2016: 17.6%
2017: 17.7%
2018: 21.7%

NSW digital ratio:
2017: 10.5%
2018: 10.9%

Interesting trends, particularly how stable the PS4 was from 2015-2017. PS4 was much lower than I expected, 3DS much much higher than I expected. Switch fairly lower than I anticipated as well.

Always good to remember that we shouldn't apply these ratios uniformly, different genres, circumstances, and deals can influence how high (or low) they go. But having these is still great, hopefully some myths can be put to rest.

Oregano · Sep 15, 2019

Zedark said:
Going from 2017 to 2018, there seems to be a small progression both in unit sales and revenue for digital PS4. That suggests to me that non-discount digital sales for PS4 games has increased somewhat. But as others said, it's a Far Cry V from what Western markets showcase.

There may have been a big release in 2018 that sold significant units digitally.... something about Monsters and Hunting.:P

Golden Darkness · Sep 15, 2019

Looking at the sales numbers:

Code:

Year     Total Sales     Package        Download
2018     34.370.000      28.370.000     6.000.000
2017     39.016.000      33.264.000     5.752.000
2016     37.871.000      33.235.000     4.635.000
2015     40.789.000      35.290.000     5.499.000
2014     53.779.000      44.489.000     9.290.000
2013     55.821.000      49.217.000     6.604.000

Retail sales in general are down, and it looks like the drop of package sales aren't being made up in increased download sales.

Aadiboy · Sep 15, 2019

Well, guess Japan is out of consoles once they go all digital. Then again, they love mobile games so maybe they'll convert to digital when there's no alternative.

Mobu · Sep 15, 2019

Aadiboy said:
Well, guess Japan is out of consoles once they go all digital. Then again, they love mobile games so maybe they'll convert to digital when there's no alternative.

thats some good 10 years away, who knows how digital adoption will look by then

Schreckweg 5000 · Sep 15, 2019

The ratios for Wii U and Vita are pretty funny. Reads like Wii U disappeared from shelves and the interest in Vita alltogether vanished.

Almost like something new got released.

K Samedi · Sep 15, 2019

There aren't many tripple A service games that target Japan. I can only think of Monater Hunter being really popular in 2018. That one did good digitally. As long as the Japanese market doesn't get a lot of tripple A that appeals to them we won't see digital growing at a fast pace.

Man God · Sep 15, 2019

MHW isn't anything close to a true service game. It just locks events previous series games got at regular intervals behind themed weeks that rotate in and out every so often and releases new content at about the rate of previous games in the series.

What they do have is the base of a game that could become a true service game if they upped the amount of content they drip feed in.

The real service console game hit in Japan is Splatoon.

lupinko · Sep 15, 2019

Aadiboy said:
Well, guess Japan is out of consoles once they go all digital. Then again, they love mobile games so maybe they'll convert to digital when there's no alternative.

Nah, the resale market is too strong in Japan. Also games don't have a standardized price there. So that's why Square Enix can charge like ¥8000 for a Final Fantasy or Bamco can charge ¥9500 for a Super Robot Wars game. Prices like that result in only enthusiasts buying first and those same people sell off the game for others to rebuy at used game prices.

hiska-kun · Sep 15, 2019

Now, I don't know if free game campaign are included. For example in 2014 there was a campaign for 3DS from Golden Week to September included that you could get a code for a free game download with the purchase of a 3DS.

If these are included it would explain the high ratio of 3DS in year 2014. It would count as a copy sold but ¥0 sales.

Oregano · Sep 15, 2019

Golden Darkness said:
Looking at the sales numbers:

Code:

Year Total Sales Package Download 2018 34.370.000 28.370.000 6.000.000 2017 39.016.000 33.264.000 5.752.000 2016 37.871.000 33.235.000 4.635.000 2015 40.789.000 35.290.000 5.499.000 2014 53.779.000 44.489.000 9.290.000 2013 55.821.000 49.217.000 6.604.000

Retail sales in general are down, and it looks like the drop of package sales aren't being made up in increased download sales.

All but one publisher(two if you count TPC) are content with the market evaporating.

The Japanese market is becoming increasingly reliant on Nintendo.

Notaskwid · Sep 15, 2019

A lot of people that used to buy games just moved on from games or is happy with mobile games. The only publisher that keeps selling close to past number on consoles is Nintendo, as it skews younger.

Cantaim · Sep 15, 2019

Man this just kinda killed every "but digital!" argument for Japan lol.

Mekanos · Sep 15, 2019

It's weird to think that console gaming is arguably more popular than ever nowadays outside of Japan but it's dropped off massively in the last gen or two IN Japan. The market share is way different compared to the strength of the Japanese console market in the 80s and 90s vs. the rest of the world.

I'm curious if PS5 will drop off even more from PS4.

Fisty · Sep 15, 2019

It's crazy to me that people would buy carts for a portable console nowadays. I thought physical Nintendo games generally kept their value longer?

KtSlime · Sep 15, 2019

Fisty said:
It's crazy to me that people would buy carts for a portable console nowadays. I thought physical Nintendo games generally kept their value longer?

Why buy digital when you can play a game and resell it for a considerable percentage of your purchase cost?

Deleted member 10629 · Sep 15, 2019

Fisty said:
It's crazy to me that people would buy carts for a portable console nowadays. I thought physical Nintendo games generally kept their value longer?

Japanese second hand market is insane

Vareon · Sep 15, 2019

Fisty said:
It's crazy to me that people would buy carts for a portable console nowadays. I thought physical Nintendo games generally kept their value longer?

For some single player games you'll never go back to again, it makes sense to buy physical and sell it when you're done.

Deleted member 2793 · Sep 15, 2019

Mekanos said:
It's weird to think that console gaming is arguably more popular than ever nowadays outside of Japan but it's dropped off massively in the last gen or two IN Japan. The market share is way different compared to the strength of the Japanese console market in the 80s and 90s vs. the rest of the world.

I'm curious if PS5 will drop off even more from PS4.

What you think would happen to the console market in the US if every american third party decided to support almost exclusively platforms with less than half of the playerbase of the market leaders for over 10 years

Notaskwid · Sep 15, 2019

Heartskips said:
What you think would happen to the console market in the US if every american third party decided to support almost exclusively platforms with less than half of the playerbase of the market leaders for over 10 years

What
Is this the '3rd parties don't support Nintendo are dumb' routine?

Mekanos · Sep 15, 2019

Heartskips said:
What you think would happen to the console market in the US if every american third party decided to support almost exclusively platforms with less than half of the playerbase of the market leaders for over 10 years

Uh...can you ELI5 this one for me?

Dekuman · Sep 15, 2019

Mekanos said:
It's weird to think that console gaming is arguably more popular than ever nowadays outside of Japan but it's dropped off massively in the last gen or two IN Japan. The market share is way different compared to the strength of the Japanese console market in the 80s and 90s vs. the rest of the world.

I'm curious if PS5 will drop off even more from PS4.

is it? last gen between the Wii/360 and PS3 almost 300 million consoles were sold. This gen, even if you include the Switch and the Wii U, we're just coming up on 200 million. And a lot of people don't want to even count he Switch as a console (i do think it's a console) or argue it's a different generation entirely.

Mekanos · Sep 15, 2019

Dekuman said:
is it? last gen between the Wii/360 and PS3 almost 300 million consoles were sold. This gen, even if you include the Switch and the Wii U, we're just coming up on 200 million. And a lot of people don't want to even count he Switch as a console (i do think it's a console) or argue it's a different generation entirely.

I guess I'm thinking mainly about the HD consoles, PS360 vs. PS4One. The Nintendo console experience is an outlier since it had a legit flop in the Wii U and it released arguably a midgen console, plus the Switch right now is selling in league with the Wii at a similar rate.

Plus I feel like software sells crazy good these days, especially on Switch obviously, but even PS4 exclusives like GOW and Spider-Man break the bank. Like I remember when 3-5 million was considered a massive hit and now it's just assumed an AAA game will cross that.

Deleted member 2793 · Sep 16, 2019

Notaskwid said:
What
Is this the '3rd parties don't support Nintendo are dumb' routine?

"Japan doesn't like videogames anymore" is just false when 3DS was just the third best selling system ever there.

I get that developing multiplat games for both DS/home Playstation was impossible, but it's clear that most third parties lack presence in the best selling devices in Japan and nothing changed with the Switch.

Notaskwid · Sep 16, 2019

Heartskips said:
"Japan doesn't like videogames anymore" is just false when 3DS was just the third best selling system ever there.

I get that developing multiplat games for both DS/home Playstation was impossible, but it's clear that most third parties lack presence in the best selling devices in Japan and nothing changed with the Switch.

If only they listened to you then.

eathataco · Sep 16, 2019

Digital games are almost always more expensive than physical copies. That combined with the strong resale market means there is no incentive to buy digital in Japan.

Imitatio · Sep 16, 2019

Huh, the decline of volumes sold at retail over the past few years is quite significant. Going from 55 to 34 million in just one gen...

Guess the things mentioned above, like most 3rd parties not really targeting the JP market anymore, are valid, when you're looking at that decline. And mobile growing really strong, obviously.

Encephalon · Sep 16, 2019

Heartskips said:
"Japan doesn't like videogames anymore" is just false when 3DS was just the third best selling system ever there.

I get that developing multiplat games for both DS/home Playstation was impossible, but it's clear that most third parties lack presence in the best selling devices in Japan and nothing changed with the Switch.

People buy Nintendo consoles for their kids. PlayStation is seen as more of a luxury/adult oriented. And adults who play video games are looked down upon.

sfortunato · Sep 16, 2019

Imitatio said:
Huh, the decline of volumes sold at retail over the past few years is quite significant. Going from 55 to 34 million in just one gen...

Guess the things mentioned above, like most 3rd parties not really targeting the JP market anymore, are valid, when you're looking at that decline. And mobile growing really strong, obviously.

True. We went from 4 active platforms to just 2 and this shows.

ZeroDS · Sep 16, 2019

This isn't so surprising considering digital games rarely go on sale here and if they do they are still like 40 bucks.

Buying 2nd hand is huge here and a big way to save money on games

Deleted member 8791 · Sep 16, 2019

Cantaim said:
Man this just kinda killed every "but digital!" argument for Japan lol.

I don't remember digital ever being considered a big deal in japanese sales discussions until Vouchers became a thing and this clearly doesn't include them.

Oregano · Sep 16, 2019

Ahh yes Nintendo has maintained their popularity because they are kiddy, because Japan is well known for its steady population growth and high amount of children being born.

Vito · Sep 16, 2019

God, how I wish the rest of the world was like this.

Deleted member 2791 · Sep 16, 2019

Encephalon said:
People buy Nintendo consoles for their kids. PlayStation is seen as more of a luxury/adult oriented. And adults who play video games are looked down upon.

That take is stuck a decade in the past.

Encephalon · Sep 16, 2019

Passing Assassin said:
That take is stuck a decade in the past.

What has changed?

Deleted member 8791 · Sep 16, 2019

Encephalon said:
What has changed?

As has been the case for a long time, Nintendo hardware focuses a lot on what the japanese actually want (like portability) and Nintendo makes most of the best selling games in Japan. Meanwhile Sony, while not ignoring Japan, clearly don't focus on it and most effort is put in western markets.

Deleted member 2791 · Sep 16, 2019

Encephalon said:
What has changed?

Everything.
The Switch's democracy is skewed towards older people right now, due to the price of the hardware, while PS4 is just as expensive and hardly as expensive as how the PS3 was back at launch.

It's actually an issue that there's not enough of the kids audience being recaptured. But it shows that the meme of adult being looked down only works for NEETs.

Encephalon · Sep 16, 2019

Passing Assassin said:
Everything.
The Switch's democracy is skewed towards older people right now, due to the price of the hardware, while PS4 is just as expensive and hardly as expensive as how the PS3 was back at launch.

It's actually an issue that there's not enough of the kids audience being recaptured.

I'm not saying that Nintendo is for kids and that PlayStation is for adults. Or even that more adults prefer PlayStation.

I'm saying that Sony is at a disadvantage due to the perception of their brand and that Nintendo has been partially insulated from the changes in the market.

Deleted member 2791 · Sep 16, 2019

Encephalon said:
I'm not saying that Nintendo is for kids and that PlayStation is for adults. Or even that more adults prefer PlayStation.

I'm saying that Sony is at a disadvantage due to the perception of their brand and that Nintendo has been partially insulated from the changes in the market.

I think it's more that Sony made no effort at all to try to adapt to the changes of the market rather than Nintendo being insulated from it.

Encephalon · Sep 16, 2019

Passing Assassin said:
I think it's more that Sony made no effort at all to try to adapt to the changes of the market rather than Nintendo being insulated from it.

What changes do you think that Sony should have made? Nintendo's advantage is their perception as a toy company.

Deleted member 2791 · Sep 16, 2019

Encephalon said:
What changes do you think that Sony should have made? Nintendo's advantage is their perception as a toy company.

I don't think perception plays any roles in the eyes of the consumer. Switch as a product manages to target everyone, from kids (moreso when they'll launch Lite) to adult and core gamers with a diverse lineup of games. PS4 only appeals to core gamers, which isn't a growing userbase seeing how almost every sequel of this generation heavily declined compared to before.

I don't know what they should have done but going this way wasn't going to do miracles. But they probably weren't actually caring that much.

Mekanos · Sep 16, 2019

Encephalon said:
What changes do you think that Sony should have made? Nintendo's advantage is their perception as a toy company.

PlayStation Switch, baybee

Digital Sales were 17,5% of retail sales in Japan in 2018 but only represented 8,8% revenue

One Winged Slayer

SalesEra Genius

User requested account closure

One Winged Slayer

One Winged Slayer

One Winged Slayer

One Winged Slayer

▲ Legend ▲

User requested account closure

▲ Legend ▲

▲ Legend ▲

User requested account closure

User requested account closure

One Winged Slayer

One Winged Slayer - Formerly Undead Fantasy

User requested account closure

User requested account closure

User requested account closure

User requested account closure

User requested account closure

▲ Legend ▲