Japan: Famitsu sales for April 2021 (Software, Hardware, Publishers)
Famitsu have shared their monthly report on video game sales in Japan, this time covering April 2021 (to be more precise, the period going from March 29th to April 25th, so 4 weeks in total).
For the second month in a row, Monster Hunter Rise was the best-selling game in Japan. It sold 668 329 units at retail during its second month (-49%), which brings total sales to nearly 2 million units (1 970 371 units to be precise). Famitsu point out that it’s now the 9th best-selling Nintendo Switch game at retail.
As for Ring Fit Adventure, it’s now been in the Top 5 Software for 9 months in a row. It’s now sold over 2.5 million units since launch, and while Nintendo have finally managed to meet demand, the game is clearly not done selling.
Overall, it was a pretty quiet month, with not a single entry on Nintendo Switch in the Top 5 Software, and only 2 games selling more than 100 000 units.
Here’s the Top 5 Software for April 2021:
01./01. [NSW] Monster Hunter Rise # <ACT> (Capcom) {2021.03.26} (¥7.990) – 668.239 / 1.970.371 (-49%)
02./00. [PS4] NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… <RPG> (Square Enix) {2021.04.22} (¥7.800) – 108.838 / NEW
03./02. [NSW] Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury <ACT> (Nintendo) {2021.02.12} (¥5.980) – 81.979 / 674.662 (-52%)
04./03. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! <TBL> (Konami) {2020.11.19} (¥6.300) – 52.765 / 2.125.061 (-46%)
05./04. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure # <HOB> (Nintendo) {2019.10.18} (¥7.980) – 43.136 / 2.522.709 (-35%)
This month, the Nintendo Switch grabbed 4 of the 5 spots in the Top Software:
NSW – 4
PS4 – 1
And for the second month in a row, Nintendo was not the most successful publisher in Japan (that’s Capcom with 679 000 units sold, mostly coming from Monster Hunter Rise). In fact, the company sold “only” 359 000 units in April, which is a relatively low number (but not all that unusual for April, especially with the Golden Week not included in the period tracked by Famitsu).
Capcom – 679.000
Nintendo – 359.000
Square Enix – 160.000
Hardware-wise, the Nintendo Switch had a relatively good month with 431 225 units sold (179 168 units for the Lite model, and 252 057 units for the OG model). That’s less than in March (519 138 units), but the drop is fairly limited (less than 100 000 units). April was indeed a quiet month for the Japanese video games market, but demand for the Nintendo Switch remained fairly strong (with the OG model suffering from shortages).
The console sold 314 931 units during the same month last year, when it was impacted by rather severe shortages. Shortages this year were nowhere near as bad, and so it’s no wonder that April 2021 sales were significantly stronger. The gap between 2021 and 2020 sales widened some more this month (it’s now over 100 000 units), with 2 176 199 units sold this year, and 2 015 283 units sold as of April 2020.
LTD sales now stand at 19 516 573 units (the 20 million units milestone should be hit in May, provided Golden Week sales were strong enough), with 3 706 151 units for the Lite model, and 15 810 422 units for the OG model.
Finally, Nintendo 3DS sales are still as anemic as ever, with only 2 436 units sold (down from 3 409 units in March, and 6 199 units in April 2020), which brings YTD sales to 11 804 units (down from 21 369 units in 2020), and LTD sales to 24 570 712 units.
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month | Last Year | YTD | Last YTD | LTD |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # | 431.225 | 519.138 | 314.931 | 2.176.199 | 2.015.283 | 19.516.573 |
| PS5 # | 78.567 | 157.352 | | 403.628 | | 658.778 |
| PS4 # | 5.499 | 10.833 | 166.150 | 65.388 | 336.236 | 9.356.278 |
| 3DS # | 2.436 | 3.409 | 6.199 | 11.804 | 21.369 | 24.570.712 |
| XBS # | 1.381 | 4.492 | | 9.966 | | 41.390 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| ALL | 519.108 | 695.224 | 487.660 | 2.666.985 | 2.374.670 | 55.306.291 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| PS5 | 65.435 | 128.793 | | 344.289 | | 550.911 |
| PS5DE | 13.132 | 28.559 | | 59.339 | | 107.867 |
| XBS X | 616 | 2.753 | | 6.376 | | 31.252 |
| XBS S | 765 | 1.739 | | 3.590 | | 10.138 |
| NSW L | 179.168 | 180.327 | 155.064 | 634.059 | 1.119.154 | 3.706.151 |
| NSW | 252.057 | 338.811 | 159.867 | 1.542.140 | 896.129 | 15.810.422 |
| PS4 | 5.499 | 10.772 | 115.869 | 65.164 | 217.485 | 7.780.555 |
|n-2DSLL| 2.436 | 3.409 | 5.836 | 11.804 | 20.086 | 1.175.767 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+