Japan: Famitsu sales for April 2020 (Software, Hardware, Publishers)
Famitsu have shared their monthly report on video game sales in Japan, this time covering April 2020 (to be more precise, the period going from March 30th to April 26th, so 4 weeks in total).
This month, the Top 5 is almost exclusively made of new releases, but the game at the top is once again Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It had a really strong second month, with 1 286 742 units sold (-51%). That’s a really impressive performance for a game that sold over 2.6 million units during its first month, especially as it also came quite close to selling over 4 million units in a little over a month!
At retail, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has already sold 3 895 159 units, and there’s little doubt that by the end of May, it will be close to the 5 million units milestone (how close will depend on how strong sales were during the Golden Week). It has now outsold Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (3 660 000 units sold).
As for Trials of Mana, it’s off to a great start with over 150 000 units sold, including 70 114 units on Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, due to shortages, sales are expect to drop sharply in May (and that’s on top of the usual sales trajectory for JRPG, concentrated on the first couple of weeks).
Here’s the Top 5 Software for April 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
01./01. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2020.03.20} (¥5.980) – 1.286.742 / 3.895.159 (-51%)
02./00. [PS4] Final Fantasy VII Remake # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2020.04.10} (¥8.980) – 839.074 / NEW
03./00. [PS4] Resident Evil 3 # <ADV> (Capcom) {2020.04.03} (¥7.800) – 244.640 / NEW
04./00. [PS4] Trials of Mana # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2020.04.24} (¥5.980) – 80.383 / NEW
05./00. [NSW] Trials of Mana # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2020.04.24} (¥5.980) – 70.114 / NEW
For once, it’s not the Nintendo Switch that has the most games in the Top 5 Software, due to the PlayStation 4 getting two other popular new releases alongside Trials of Mana. The Nintendo Switch still managed to grab 2 of the 5 spots:
PS4 – 3
NSW – 2
Once again, Nintendo was the most successful publisher with no less than 1 621 000 units sold. Majority of sales are due to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but evergreen titles still sold enough that Nintendo would still be #2 with just those. Square-Enix is #2, primarily thanks to Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Here’s the Top 3 Publishers for April 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
Nintendo – 1.621.000
Square Enix – 1.032.000
Capcom – 299.000
Hardware-wise, sales took a big hit for the Nintendo Switch: they dropped from 836 094 units to 314 931 units. Of course, that drop was expected and perfectly normal; it’s due to two main factors:
- the massive spike when Animal Crossing: New Horizons was launched (alongside a new bundle, and a new colour for the Nintendo Switch Lite). A drop in April was inevitable, following that launch;
- the Nintendo Switch, and especially the Nintendo Switch Lite, were still heavily impacted by shortages (and said shortages are still ongoing in May). Sales of the Lite model dropped from 623 192 units to 155 064 units, while the OG model was less impacted with 159 867 units sold (vs. 212 902 units the previous month).
But despite that big drop, Nintendo Switch sales remain unusually strong for April, which is hardly the best month for sales in Japan (before and after the Golden Week is one of the slowest periods of the year for them). In comparison, the Nintendo Switch sold “only” 183 397 units during the same month last year.
Due to those strong sales, the console has hit a milestone much earlier than ever before: it’s now sold over 2 million units YTD (2 015 283 units to be precise). In comparison, only 1 125 620 units were sold after the same amount of weeks in 2019. 2020 is poised to become the best year ever for the Nintendo Switch, and that’s even before knowing what the second half of the year will be like!
Since launch, the Nintendo Switch has sold 13 398 714 units, with 2 164 537 units for the Lite model, and 11 234 177 units for the OG model. The next milestone, 14 million units YTD, should be reached in May.
Here’s Hardware sales for April 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month | Last Year | YTD | Last YTD | LTD |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # | 314.931 | 836.094 | 183.397 | 2.015.283 | 1.152.620 | 13.398.714 |
| PS4 # | 166.150 | 64.492 | 51.177 | 336.236 | 495.664 | 9.084.479 |
| 3DS # | 6.199 | 5.752 | 15.540 | 21.369 | 102.040 | 24.517.516 |
| XB1 # | 380 | 840 | 397 | 1.782 | 2.166 | 113.028 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| ALL | 487.660 | 907.178 | 252.675 | 2.374.670 | 1.785.716 | 47.113.737 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW L | 155.064 | 623.192 | | 1.119.154 | | 2.164.537 |
| NSW | 159.867 | 212.902 | 183.397 | 896.129 | 1.152.620 | 11.234.177 |
| XB1 X | 240 | 614 | 254 | 1.174 | 1.625 | 19.816 |
| XB1 S | 140 | 226 | 143 | 608 | 541 | 21.210 |
|PS4 Pro| 50.281 | 19.902 | 20.680 | 118.751 | 174.737 | 1.513.721 |
| PS4 | 115.869 | 44.590 | 30.497 | 217.485 | 320.927 | 7.570.758 |
|n-2DSLL| 5.836 | 5.340 | 12.672 | 20.086 | 80.636 | 1.124.332 |
| n-3DS | 363 | 412 | 2.868 | 1.283 | 20.313 | 5.887.198 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+Click here for more Japanese sales data!
