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Japan: Famitsu sales for December 2021 (Software, Hardware, Publishers)

Famitsu have shared their latest monthly report on video game sales in Japan, this time covering December 2021 (to be more precise, the period going from November 29th to December 26th, so 4 weeks in total).

The only entry in the Top 5 Software this month is Big Brain Academy: Brain Vs. Brain, which is off to a good start with 155 023 units sold. Due its extremely low price (it’s the cheapest game published at retail by Nintendo in well over a decade!), it should have no trouble selling in the long run (though it will be hard for it to make its way to the Top 5 Software).

The other games in the Top 5 Software saw a noticeable increase in sales, with the only exception of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (not a surprise given it was only released in November). That being said, it was able to stay #1 of sales during its second month on the market!

Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition sold 36 000 units in December, and was the 13th best-selling game that month.

Here’s the Top 5 Software for December 2021:

01./01. [NSW] Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2021.11.19} (¥5.980) – 562.427 / 2.313.115 (-68%)
02./02. [NSW] Mario Party Superstars <ETC> (Nintendo) {2021.10.29} (¥5.980) – 264.029 / 628.538 (+31%)
03./00. [NSW] Big Brain Academy: Brain Vs. Brain <HOB> (Nintendo) {2021.12.03} (¥2.980) – 155.023 / NEW
04./00. [NSW] Minecraft # <ADV> (Microsoft Game Studios) {2018.06.21} (¥3.600) – 120.010 / 2.411.591
05./00. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 119.068 / 4.272.357

Thanks to a popular new release and solid sales for its evergreen titles, the Nintendo Switch is once again the only platform with games in the Top 5 Software this month:

NSW – 5

December 2021 was a great month for Nintendo: its sales went well over 1 million units (1 228 000 units to be precise), and the vast majority of those come from evergreen titles. Nothing like the holidays season to see just how much those games can sell!

The Pokémon Company was the 2nd most popular publisher with 643 000 units sold: those come from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Sword and Shield of course, but also Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu / Let’s Go, Eevee! and New Pokémon Snap (which did benefit from the release of the latest Pokémon game).

Finally, Bandai-Namco is #3 with only 167 000 units sold. Once again, Nintendo (and The Pokémon Company) utterly dominated sales during the holidays season, leaving only scraps to third-party publishers.

Nintendo – 1.228.000
Pokemon Co. – 643.000
Bandai Namco Entertainment – 167.000

Hardware-wise, December was a great month for the Nintendo Switch with 770 158 units sold (up from 468 135 units in November). Unfortunately, even the OLED model wasn’t able to prevent a drop in sales compared to the previous year (when Nintendo came tantalizingly close to selling 1 million units in a single month: 975 797 units to be precise).

While the console still has a lot of fuel left in the tank, it’s clear it’s not going to keep on selling nearly as strongly as it has during the past couple of years. After all, 2021 is the second year in a row the Nintendo Switch sold over 5.5 million units, a feat not easily accomplished!

In the end, 2021 sales surpassed 5.5 million units (5 579 127 units to be precise), and came rather close to 2020 sales (5 956 943 units). Last year, Animal Crossing: New Horizons boosted Nintendo Switch sales to unprecedented levels, and even with a new model (OLED model) and a much improved availability at retail (2020 was plagued with shortages), the console wasn’t able to meet those sales (though it was able to keep up until the second half of the year).

LTD sales stand at 22 919 501 units at the end of 2021. We already know that the Nintendo Switch sold nearly 200 000 units during Week 1, 2022, which means it kicked off the year with another milestone: 23 million units sold since launch! It will certainly be interesting to keep an eye on the sales trajectory of the Nintendo Switch this year, what with the console being about to enter its 6th year on the market!

Finally, Nintendo 3DS sales were slightly down in December with 1 466 units sold (down from 1 692 units in November, and 2 284 units in December 2020). YTD sales didn’t even reach 30 000 units (28 540 units to be precise), down from 62 761 units the previous year. LTD sales now stand at 24 587 448 units.

+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month |  Last Year |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # |    770.158 |    468.135 |    975.797 |  5.579.127 |  5.956.943 |  22.919.501 |
| PS5 # |     37.103 |     28.324 |     53.715 |    968.185 |    255.150 |   1.223.335 |
| XBS # |      5.888 |      9.241 |      3.613 |     97.234 |     31.424 |     128.658 |
| 3DS # |      1.466 |      1.692 |      2.284 |     28.540 |     62.761 |  24.587.448 |
| PS4 # |        324 |      2.380 |     35.270 |    104.054 |    542.647 |   9.394.944 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  ALL  |    814.939 |    509.772 |  1.070.807 |  6.777.140 |  6.852.510 |  59.433.182 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+

Source: Famitsu
Data compiled by: Chris1964 (Install Base)

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Lite_Agent

Founder and main writer for Perfectly Nintendo. Tried really hard to find something funny and witty to put here, but had to admit defeat.