Japan: Famitsu sales for January 2018

This week, Famitsu shared their monthly data for the Japanese video game market, and more precisely January. The period covered goes from January 1st to January 28th (so 4 weeks in total).

Let’s start with the Top 5 Software, which was dominated by one title that sold over two times more than the rest of the Top 4 on its own… that’s right, it’s Monster Hunter World! Despite the lack of major releases, the Nintendo Switch managed to end up with 3 games in the Top 3, with Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, and Mario Kart Deluxe still selling at a steady pace.

Here’s the Top 5 Software:

1. [PS4] Monster Hunter World (Capcom): 1 350 412 units
2. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Nintendo): 219 595 units
3. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo): 190 252 units
4. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo): 169 586 units
5. [PS4] Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (Square-Enix): 137 304 units

As mentioned above, the Nintendo Switch managed to grab 3 of the 5 spots of the Top 5, despite a lack of major releases (Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle came out too late to show up, despite its good debut. It’s ranked #7 this month).

1. Nintendo Switch – 3 games in the Top 5
2. PlayStation 4 – 2 games in the Top 5

Hardware-wise, the Nintendo Switch wasn’t the best-selling platform for once, due to insufficient shipments and a certain monster game boosting PlayStation 4 sales.

1. PlayStation 4 – 330 137 units sold (312 665 units last month, ranked #2)
2. Nintendo Switch – 269 047 units sold (993 318 units last month, ranked #1)

Finally, that same monster game that boosted PlayStation 4 sales allowed Capcom the take top spot of the Publisher Top 3, though Nintendo isn’t far behind… despite not releasing anything other than Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle! This just goes to show how healthy the platform is for Software sales, with games that sell well on the long run.

1. Capcom: 1 427 000 units
2. Nintendo: 1 152 000 units
3. Square-Enix: 205 000 units

Famitsu points out that the momentum of the Nintendo Switch from the holiday season carried over in January. Splatoon 2 has already sold over 1 972 000 units, and quite naturally, they expect it to reach 2 million units in February.

Source: Famitsu