Japan: Famitsu sales for March 2021 (Software, Hardware, Publishers)
Famitsu have shared their monthly report on video game sales in Japan, this time covering March 2021 (to be more precise, the period going from March 1st to March 28th, so 4 weeks in total).
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Monster Hunter Rise was the best-selling game in March with over 1.3 million units sold. It was the only release big enough to chart in the Top 5 Software, and it sold nearly 4 times more than all other games in the Top 5 combined. It’s quite likely that it will also be the best-selling game in April.
Famitsu points out that Monster Hunter Rise is the 3rd best debut ever for a Nintendo Switch game at retail.
Super Mario 3D World had a great second month with 169 899 units sold, which brings total sales to over 500 000 units. On the other hand, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town had a rather poor second month with only 60 105 units sold (down from 202 936 units in February, with only 4 days of sales!). It would appear the game did suffer a fair bit from the various issues at launch (bugs, gameplay issues, etc.).
Here’s the Top 5 Software for March 2021:
01./00. [NSW] Monster Hunter Rise # <ACT> (Capcom) {2021.03.26} (¥7.990) – 1.302.132 / NEW
02./01. [NSW] Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury <ACT> (Nintendo) {2021.02.12} (¥5.980) – 169.899 / 592.683 (-60%)
03./03. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! <TBL> (Konami) {2020.11.19} (¥6.300) – 97.501 / 2.072.296 (-47%)
04./04. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure # <HOB> (Nintendo) {2019.10.18} (¥7.980) – 66.496 / 2.479.573 (-31%)
05./02. [NSW] Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town <SLG> (Marvelous) {2021.02.25} (¥5.980) – 60.105 / 262.501 (-70%)
This month, the Nintendo Switch grabbed all 5 spots in the Top 5 Software:
NSW – 5
And for the first time in quite a while, Nintendo wasn’t the most successful publisher in Japan. It was dethroned by Capcom, who managed to sell over 1 million units (+1 317 000 units to be precise) almost exclusively thanks to Monster Hunter Rise. Nintendo did manage to sell over half a million units (+542 000 units to be precise), thanks to Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury and the usual evergreen titles.
Konami is #3 with +112 000 units sold — most of those come from Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!.
- Capcom: 1 317 000 units
- Nintendo: 542 000 units
- Konami: 112 000 units
Hardware-wise, the Nintendo Switch saw a noticeable increase in sales mainly due to the release of Monster Hunter Rise and the Nintendo Switch bundle. Demand was already quite strong, and Capcom’s hunting game only further increased it. The Nintendo Switch ended up selling 1.5 times better than in February (350 447 units) with over 500 000 units sold (519 138 units to be precise).
Here’s Hardware sales for March 2021:
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month | Last Year | YTD | Last YTD | LTD |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # | 519.138 | 350.447 | 836.094 | 1.744.974 | 1.700.352 | 19.085.348 |
| PS5 # | 157.352 | 95.289 | | 325.061 | | 580.211 |
| PS4 # | 10.833 | 13.802 | 64.492 | 59.889 | 170.086 | 9.350.779 |
| XBS # | 4.492 | 2.167 | | 8.585 | | 40.009 |
| 3DS # | 3.409 | 3.121 | 5.752 | 9.368 | 15.170 | 24.568.276 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| ALL | 695.224 | 464.826 | 907.178 | 2.147.877 | 1.887.010 | 54.784.747 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| PS5 | 128.793 | 87.107 | | 278.854 | | 485.476 |
| PS5DE | 28.559 | 8.182 | | 46.207 | | 94.735 |
| XBS X | 2.753 | 1.755 | | 5.760 | | 30.636 |
| XBS S | 1.739 | 412 | | 2.825 | | 9.373 |
| NSW L | 180.327 | 95.558 | 623.192 | 454.891 | 964.090 | 3.526.983 |
| NSW | 338.811 | 254.889 | 212.902 | 1.290.083 | 736.262 | 15.558.365 |
|PS4 Pro| 61 | 62 | 19.902 | 224 | 68.470 | 1.575.723 |
| PS4 | 10.772 | 13.740 | 44.590 | 59.665 | 101.616 | 7.775.056 |
|n-2DSLL| 3.409 | 3.121 | 5.340 | 9.368 | 14.250 | 1.173.331 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+