Japan: Famitsu sales for January 2020 (Software, Hardware, Publishers)
Famitsu have shared their monthly report on video game sales in Japan, this time covering January 2020 (to be more precise, the period going from December 30th to January 26th, so 4 weeks in total).
Pokémon Sword and Shield was the best-selling game for the 3rd month in a row, despite sales dropping by 71%. New releases just didn’t sell enough to overtake it: even combined, Pokémon Sword and Shield is still #1 by a comfortable margin. Famitsu point out that it has now outsold Splatoon 2 (3 350 000 units sold vs. 3 301 000 units sold), and has become the second best-selling game ever on Nintendo Switch (right after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which will not get to keep its crown much longer).
Ring Fit Adventure managed to sell 127 007 units (-38%) despite persistent shortages, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe makes its comeback in the Top 5 with 87 673 units sold. Overall, not the most exciting a month, but that’s not a surprise for one following the biggest holiday season of the year!
Here’s the Top 5 Software for January 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
01./01. [NSW] Pokemon Sword / Shield # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2019.11.15} (¥5.980) – 362.174 / 3.350.308 (-71%)
02./00. [PS4] Yakuza: Like a Dragon <ADV> (Sega) {2020.01.16} (¥8.390) – 196.712 / NEW
03./03. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure <HOB> (Nintendo) {2019.10.18} (¥7.980) – 127.007 / 622.646 (-38%)
04./00. [PS4] Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot <RPG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2020.01.16} (¥7.600) – 115.206 / NEW
05./00. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 87.673 / 2.746.682
Due to the lack of popular new releases, the Nintendo Switch could only rely on evergreen titles in January, which is why it get “only” 3 of the 5 spots in the Top 5 Software:
NSW – 3
PS4 – 2
Nintendo is back at the top, with 785 000 games sold. Another strong performance, as always due to its many evergreen titles. The company sold even more games than The Pokémon Company and SEGA combined (+ 100 000 units).
The Pokémon Company moves to #2 with “only” 379 000 units sold, pretty much exclusively coming from Pokémon Sword and Shield (the rest coming from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee!). SEGA sold 307 000 units in January, with the latest entry in the Yakuza series accounting for nearly 2/3 of sales (the rest coming from Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and other games).
- Nintendo – 785.000
- Pokemon Co. – 379.000
- Sega – 307.000
In January, Nintendo Switch sales dropped by nearly 50%, but despite that usual post-holiday drop, they remain quite strong… significantly stronger than last year during the same month, in fact. The console sold 565 573 units (vs. 1 137 642 units in December), which is about 130 000 units more than in January 2019. The console has sold 11 949 004 units as of January 26th, and as of writing, has already reached the 12 million units milestone.
The OG model was once again the most popular, with 361 416 units sold (vs. 204 157 units for the Lite model).
As for the Nintendo 3DS, its sales were (as usual) anemic with only 6 457 units (vs. 15 876 units in December, and 44 055 units in January 2019). The console has now sold 24 502 771 units since launch.
Here’s Hardware sales for January 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month | Last Year | YTD | Last YTD | LTD |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # | 565.573 | 1.137.642 | 432.062 | 565.573 | 432.062 | 11.949.004 |
| PS4 # | 78.258 | 249.905 | 220.823 | 78.258 | 220.823 | 8.826.501 |
| 3DS # | 6.457 | 15.876 | 44.055 | 6.457 | 44.055 | 24.502.771 |
| XB1 # | 377 | 2.336 | 733 | 377 | 733 | 111.623 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| ALL | 650.665 | 1.405.966 | 706.591 | 650.665 | 706.591 | 45.389.899 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW L | 204.157 | 417.154 | | 204.157 | | 1.249.540 |
| NSW | 361.416 | 720.488 | 432.062 | 361.416 | 432.062 | 10.699.464 |
| XB1 X | 227 | 1.255 | 559 | 227 | 559 | 18.869 |
| XB1 S | 150 | 1.081 | 174 | 150 | 174 | 20.752 |
|PS4 Pro| 38.127 | 72.185 | 80.081 | 38.127 | 80.081 | 1.433.097 |
| PS4 | 40.131 | 177.720 | 140.742 | 40.131 | 140.742 | 7.393.404 |
|n-2DSLL| 6.143 | 15.108 | 34.938 | 6.143 | 34.938 | 1.110.556 |
| n-3DS | 314 | 768 | 8.142 | 314 | 8.142 | 5.886.229 |Click here for more Japanese sales data!
Source: Famitsu
