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Xbox Series S by itself outsold the PS5 in Japan last week (May 9-15)

Valkerion

Valkerion

Member
Oct 29, 2017
7,251
Not surprised to see it happen by now even if it's small comparatively. Japans had a real struggle getting these newer consoles, especially PS5 and series X. Though Switch OLED and Series S, are in good supply. It's no problem getting them if you want one without needing a scalper or lottery draws to get a chance at purchase.

If you look at third party sellers X and 5 are still premo targets for scalpers going at 2x or more still. Though ps5 less so since the supply is better. Word of mouth for Xbox has been doing well for them here this gen but like the 105 sold shows, supply for the series x just isn't there.
Personally have given up getting a series x at this point. Been grinding away at lotteries and notifications from November to April with no luck so I'm out lol. Also noticing more and more stores reducing their xbox sections even more thanks to essentially no physical games being sold and online reservations only for what they get.

Definitely selling to the hardcore who know and games pass has been praised by many outlets and streamers but I wonder if that's enough to sustain them into another generation here and beyond. Hope it continues, competition is always good imo.
 
Gavalanche

Gavalanche

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 21, 2021
17,677
Griffith said:
Given how poorly Microsoft has done, historically, in Japan I'd say that if this isn't a wake-up call for Sony and a few heads don't roll, we might be seeing a reverse of the 360/PS3 generation over the course of the current one.
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1) The xbox series is still selling worst than 360. So there is no historical about it, it is only the previous generation that was truly horrendous.

2) This is one week. I think you are maybe being a bit extreme with the heads rolling stuff. The sales are still 9 to 1 in favour of playstation, it is not even close. People are really taking this one week and making a mountain out of a molehill.
 
Cheesecakebobby

Cheesecakebobby

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,861
I do have to wonder how many of those units are staying in Japan and how many are being scalped to China and other Asian territories. I've been a Series X owner in Japan since launch but I haven't seen any evidence either way. The retailers that gave up on stocking Xbox games last gen (or almost gave up) haven't reversed course, but with the high proportion of Series S sales that might not mean much anyway.

One thing I can say is that pretty much the only Xbox advertising I have seen has been for Gamepass. Bic Camera (Bicuro) in Shinjuku had posters for it surrounding the entrance last time I was in the area.
 
cyrribrae

cyrribrae

Chicken Chaser
Member
Jan 21, 2019
12,723
How many PS5s did they sell over Golden Week?

Jawmuncher said:
From what I've seen, last time was in 2009 when Star Ocean 4 came out. So 13 years ago.
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Woah, this is real? That's crazy...

Garou said:
Well, one of them is in stock at Amazon JP, the other is not...
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No Garou is right. Shows as available when I put in a JP postal code. However... Amazon JP sales aren't even counted by Famitsu. So, the numbers are even higher (and I believe Series S is also listed higher than PS5 on the best selling chart here? Someone who actually lives there factcheck me, I dare you - please)
 
Abylim

Abylim

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,032
Gavalanche said:
1) The xbox series is still selling worst than 360. So there is no historical about it, it is only the previous generation that was truly horrendous.

2) This is one week. I think you are maybe being a bit extreme with the heads rolling stuff. The sales are still 9 to 1 in favour of playstation, it is not even close. People are really taking this one week and making a mountain out of a molehill.
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i was told no one here was taking it seriously
 
Tsuyu

Tsuyu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,661
If Sony is facing shortage in producing enough PS5 for global demand then yes this is the best case scenario for them to prioritize NA/EU over Japan.

Because Sony is betting their console is much attractive than Xbox to the Japanese audience due to getting more support from Japanese developers.

Microsoft should just buy japanese developers and entice japanese publishers to not skip it's console to prove Sony wrong lol.
 
Quellyford

Quellyford

Member
May 16, 2020
4,047
IDreamOfHime said:
I'm very happy I bought an S over an X. Love the little guy and so easy just to shove in a bag and take anywhere. Maybe the best designed console ever made.
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I have a Series X, and after seeing my friend's Series S, how small it is, how portable and powerful it is... I want one so bad and I can't even think of a specific need for it. The practicality of that console is just so high! It would be neat to have a console in the bedroom too :)
 
Quellyford

Quellyford

Member
May 16, 2020
4,047
PianoBlack said:
I wonder if they can keep up the supply and, if so, if they can keep up the sales.

The Series consoles are actually doing extremely well for Microsoft. For about the past 8 weeks they've even been consistently beating (often doubling) the 360's week-to-week numbers, launch aligned. They just got off to a very weak start. They've surpassed Xbox One lifetime sales (lol) and it looks like a given that they'll pass the OG Xbox in another two years or so - OG had a fantastic start and then really sold poorly after the first year, like Xbox One poorly.

Now, admittedly they haven't come close to some of the huge boosts the 360 got from Japanese content launches. Maybe we'll see something on that front June 12, or at TGS this year.
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Are you saying Series consoles have already outsold Xbox One LIFETIME in Japan???
 
Rare Opiums

Rare Opiums

Member
Oct 28, 2017
949
SkyOdin said:
No, the entire narrative that the dedicated, non-handheld console market was shrinking in Japan mostly existed to paper over the fact that it was always Sony hardware in particular that was declining. The decline happened when Sony began to pivot towards big budget AAA HD gaming and the Western game market as its focus with the PS3. The PSP flourished in Japan not necessarily because it was portable, but because it was a haven for the mid budget, Japanese market focused titles that previously found success on the PS2. As Sony has continued its shift towards the Western AAA market with its own games and hardware, Sony hardware stopped appealing to the Japanese market.

Meanwhile, Nintendo hardware has been just as consistent in Japan as it has been everywhere else. The Wii was a sensation with a relatively short life, the Wii U was a failure, and the Switch has been a huge success. That is as true in Japan as it is around the rest of the world. The idea that non-portable consoles were in decline in Japan cones from the decline in Playstation coinciding with the underperforming Wii U, but the reasons for the PS decline and the Wii U's woes were likely unrelated.
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If Sony hardware is the only relevant factor in determining dedicated, non-handheld console market, surely saying home console gaming is declining in Japan is correct? Or do you think it is possible that MS could take the leadership in the home console market?
 
RPGamer92

RPGamer92

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,547
I can see why Series S would be appealing to Japan: in stock, cheap, small, digital only so physical games won't take up space.
 
Delusibeta

Delusibeta

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,648
fiendcode said:
Physical software sales simply being "low" isn't that accurate a statement either. They're completely disastrous, below a 1:1 attach rate for the disc model only and well behind even Xbox 360 aligned last I checked.

They're so bad even a record breaking digital attach rate couldn't explain this. The only real rationale is units are being scalped overseas in record numbers and the actual Japanese installed base is likely a small fraction what the hardware sales reflect.
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So, I'll have to sit down and re-do the maths after Elden Ring, but I'd estimated in August last year that the physical ratio for the PS5 in Japan at the time was about 1:3; by which I mean Sony had sold more than triple as many PS5s with disc drives than they had PS5 discs. Now, since then, there was Elden Ring, but I would not be surprised if the physical ratio was still less than a half.
 
foxuzamaki

foxuzamaki

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,590
entremet said:
It's an issue of tradeoffs. Sony could do that, but it would mean either creating another platform, which has a lot of risks or changing their strategy of going for cutting edge tech.

The price and size of the PS5 are a result of trying to build the best box they could at that price point.

At the same, the PS5 is still getting all the Japanese software.
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The PS5 isn't getting all the jp software, the PS4 is still getting most (declining) jp software and the PS5 is getting them by proxy with a few adding PS5 skus that may or may not be digital only
 
DeadmansTheory

DeadmansTheory

Member
May 10, 2019
2,286
Scottoest said:
I don't give a shit how it relates to PS5 numbers, but just on it's own that Series S sales figure actually seems pretty great by Xbox standards in Japan?

Maybe tiny speaker Xbox was the secret to making some inroads?

Time to greenlight Lost Odyssey 2.
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yw9Bpz.gif
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,943
Rare Opiums said:
If Sony hardware is the only relevant factor in determining dedicated, non-handheld console market, surely saying home console gaming is declining in Japan is correct? Or do you think it is possible that MS could take the leadership in the home console market?
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I think the point was PS4/5 can't really be the only relevant point for comparison because (due being a hybrid console) Switch also serves the home console market. And we see multiple sales indicators it's also doing exceptionally well in that area from hardware (hybrid far outselling handheld models) to software (RFA, Switch Sports, Mario Party, Momotaro, Taiko, Fishing Resort, etc).

The idea that it's simply the home console industry overall inherently declining, and not specifically PlayStation consoles, also willfully ignores Vita. PSP to Vita is probably the most significant decline we've seen for a major market leading (15m+) platform in Japan, both in raw number and ratio it was even worse than SFC to N64 or PS2 to PS3.

Delusibeta said:
So, I'll have to sit down and re-do the maths after Elden Ring, but I'd estimated in August last year that the physical ratio for the PS5 in Japan at the time was about 1:3; by which I mean Sony had sold more than triple as many PS5s with disc drives than they had PS5 discs. Now, since then, there was Elden Ring, but I would not be surprised if the physical ratio was still less than a half.
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Yes, yours was the analysis I was thinking of actually! We'll get a more comprehensive idea soon once the MC White Papers data starts going out on IB (at least through CY2021) but yeah, ER definitely did some heavy lifting in 2022. Maybe with FFXVI and some other stuff they'll finally be able to hit 1:1 next year?
 
TechnicPuppet

TechnicPuppet

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,852
Think MS could possibly sell in the low single digit millions this gen? That seems feasible. I think they would be happy with that.
 
Delusibeta

Delusibeta

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,648
fiendcode said:
Yes, yours was the analysis I was thinking of actually! We'll get a more comprehensive idea soon once the MC White Papers data starts going out on IB (at least through CY2021) but yeah, ER definitely did some heavy lifting in 2022. Maybe with FFXVI and some other stuff they'll finally be able to hit 1:1 next year?
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Yeah, it'll probably be worthwhile waiting for the White Paper before doing a new calculation, even if it means passing over Elden Ring again.
 
PianoBlack

PianoBlack

Member
May 24, 2018
6,683
United States
TechnicPuppet said:
Think MS could possibly sell in the low single digit millions this gen? That seems feasible. I think they would be happy with that.
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The 360 only sold around 1.6 million in Japan, so even hitting 1 million would probably be considered a significant success after the ~140k Xbox One gen. Multiple millions would be by far the best they've ever done.

I do think Series has the potential to challenge the 360, if they can the content pipeline going.
 
Deluxera

Deluxera

Member
Mar 13, 2020
2,610
TechnicPuppet said:
Think MS could possibly sell in the low single digit millions this gen? That seems feasible. I think they would be happy with that.
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Xbox Series performing better than the Xbox One (which is not a hard task) and maybe challenging what is left of Sony's market share in Japan is a possibility, but interest in dedicated home consoles is so low in this country that going further than that seems unlikely at the moment.

The best bet Xbox can make is its PC endeavours as PC is dominant in Asia and seems to be increasing in Japan as well, in no small part due to the big third-party Japanese software supporting the PC platform.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,943
Deluxera said:
The best bet Xbox can make is its PC endeavours as PC is dominant in Asia and seems to be increasing in Japan as well, in no small part due to the big third-party Japanese software supporting the PC platform.
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I saw some data on Discord some weeks ago that Japan was now Steam's 8th largest market by revenue, comparable to Korea, Canada and India, not even too far off from Germany, Indonesia and the UK and also ahead of France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Russia and a host of other nations. I've sort of suspected PlayStation's decline in the region has been partially Steam's gain the past several years as more and more major 3rd parties have started prioritizing it.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,943
WhtR88t said:
Kind of sad that there were only 9,000 consoles sold in a week.

Does the console market in Japan even really matter anymore in the grand scheme of things?

I'd thought it was basically a handheld/mobile only market by now…
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75k consoles sold, Japan's still the 2nd largest national market for consoles globally.
 
TechnicPuppet

TechnicPuppet

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,852
PianoBlack said:
The 360 only sold around 1.6 million in Japan, so even hitting 1 million would probably be considered a significant success after the ~140k Xbox One gen. Multiple millions would be by far the best they've ever done.

I do think Series has the potential to challenge the 360, if they can the content pipeline going.
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That seems a fair enough target for them 1.6m.
 
Rumenapp

Rumenapp

Forza Photographer
Member
Nov 9, 2017
12,884
And Arc System Works still continues to ignore Xbox.

Would love to play GG Strive.
 
Jaded Alyx

Jaded Alyx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
35,460
fiendcode said:
I saw some data on Discord some weeks ago that Japan was now Steam's 8th largest market by revenue, comparable to Korea, Canada and India, not even too far off from Germany, Indonesia and the UK and also ahead of France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Russia and a host of other nations. I've sort of suspected PlayStation's decline in the region has been partially Steam's gain the past several years as more and more major 3rd parties have started prioritizing it.
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Any idea what the source for this was? I'd like to read more about it.
 
ILikeFeet

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
there's the Steam Hardware Survey which tracks languages
English 35.81% -0.30%

Simplified Chinese 25.63% -0.60%

Russian 9.98% +0.31%

Spanish - Spain 5.22% +0.07%

Portuguese-Brazil 3.57% +0.11%

German 3.19% +0.07%

French 2.45% +0.02%

Japanese 2.39% +0.05%

Polish 1.87% +0.06%

Turkish 1.64% +0.11%

Korean 1.41% -0.16%
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,943
Jaded Alyx said:
It's ok, I think I've found it via Google. It's a report by Game Age Research, mainly about Steam in China but with info on other Asian countries.
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That's it! It gives a market size (revenue) for a bunch of nations.

re-how.net

Game Age Research Institute Co., Ltd. Game Age Research Institute Co., Ltd. Released PC game user reports in major markets including Japan_Steam’s annual market size, top is about 1,327.2 billion yen in China

Game Age Research Institute Co., Ltd. [Game Age Research Institute Co., Ltd.] Released PC game user reports in major markets including Japan_Steam’s annual market size, top is about 1,327.2 b…
re-how.net re-how.net
 
skyappl

skyappl

Member
Oct 25, 2017
281
Aren't those like shockingly good sales for an Xbox console in Japan? I haven't been following. Has it consistently been selling like 6k units per week?
 
dlauv

dlauv

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,515
skyappl said:
Aren't those like shockingly good sales for an Xbox console in Japan? I haven't been following. Has it consistently been selling like 6k units per week?
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Earlier 2k, normally 4k, but recently 6k or higher. They've sold through stock since the beginning.
 
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