[Japan] Famitsu sales for December 2017 (Top 5 Software, Hardware, publishers, more)

Yesterday, Famitsu shared their sales data for 2017 as a whole, and today, they shared their data for December 2017 (and more precisely the period going from November 27th to December 31st, so 5 weeks in total).

Let’s start right away with the Top 10, entirely dominated by Nintendo platforms (Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS). Due to a lack of major releases in December, 4 of the 5 games in the Top 5 were not released during that month. Unsurprisingly, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon was the most popular game, with key Nintendo Switch titles also enjoying great popularity.

Here’s the Top 5 Software (data includes Download Cards, but not digital sales):

1. [3DS] Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (The Pokémon Company): 558 376
2. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo): 504 467
3. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch Busters 2: Hihou Densetsu Banbarayaa Sword / Magnum (Level-5): 396 464
4. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Nintendo): 353 371
5. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo): 319 550

As mentioned above, the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS took all the spots in the Top 5 Software:

1. Nintendo Switch: 3
2. Nintendo 3DS: 2

In fact, Nintendo was the most successful publisher, with over 2 million units sold for its Software, which is almost two times more than the other two publishers in the Top 3… combined.

1. Nintendo: 2 042 000 units
2. The Pokémon Company: 619 000 units
3. Level-5: 445 000 units

Hardware-wise, the Nintendo Switch dominated sales, selling almost 3 times as much as the second best-selling console. Unfortunately, Famitsu does not provide any other sales data for this month, not even for the Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Famicom (which is said to have sold extremely well in December).

01./01. – Nintendo Switch: 993 318 units sold (372 619 units last month)
02./02. – PlayStation 4: 312 665 units sold (121 272 units last month)
03./03. – Nintendo 3DS: 256 000 units sold (??? units last month)

Finally, some comments. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon ended up selling over 2 million units in 2017, and was the best-selling game of the year by a comfortable margin. As for Super Mario Odyssey, it’s already sold over 1.3 million units, and it became the second million-seller on Nintendo Switch a few weeks ago. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also joined the million-sellers club in December, and is the third Nintendo Switch game to do so.

Famitsu point out that Nintendo Switch sales grew during the holiday season, and even managed to grab 10 of the spots in the Top 20 Software. It’s the first time since launch that the console has the most games in that Top 20. Hardware-wise, the console almost sold 1 million units in December alone… Nintendo certainly didn’t lie when they said they would “ship more units than ever before” in December!

Check out this post for more Japanese sales data!

Source: Famitsu