Japan: Famitsu sales for May 2020 (Software, Hardware, Publishers)
Famitsu have shared their monthly report on video game sales in Japan, this time covering May 2020 (to be more precise, the period going from April 27th to May 31st, so 5 weeks in total).
The only entry in the Top 5 Software is Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, which is off to a good start with 90 789 units sold at launch (check out this post for more details).
But even with more entries, it’s unlikely that Animal Crossing: New Horizons would have dropped from the top spot: it sold 790 260 additional units in May after all (and ranked #1 for the 3rd month in a row). That’s a 39% drop compared to April, which already was a strong month. It’s now sold over 4 685 419 units at retail alone, and it’s pretty clear the game isn’t done selling yet.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is already the first Nintendo Switch game to sell over 4 million units at retail alone, and if you add digital sales, then you end up with well over 5 million units sold since launch.
Ring Fit Adventure is back in the Top 5 Software thanks to some big shipments (still not enough to fully meet demand). Sales jumped to 177 616 units, one of the best month since launch for the game. It has now sold nearly 1 million units LTD: 956 559 units to be precise, with the milestone to be reached sometime this month.
Another game about to hit a milestone makes its comeback in the Top 5 Software: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Its sales now stand at 2 965 844 units, with 67 995 units sold in May alone.
Here’s the Top 5 Software for May 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
01./01. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2020.03.20} (¥5.980) – 790.260 / 4.685.419 (-39%)
02./00. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure <HOB> (Nintendo) {2019.10.18} (¥7.980) – 177.616 / 956.559
03./00. [NSW] Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition # <RPG> (Nintendo) {2020.05.29} (¥5.980) – 90.789 / NEW
04./02. [PS4] Final Fantasy VII Remake # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2020.04.10} (¥8.980) – 80.213 / 919.287 (-90%)
05./00. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 67.995 / 2.965.844
Thanks to the lack of notable releases during this relatively slow month, the Nintendo Switch has the most games in the Top 5 Software:
NSW – 4
PS4 – 1
Once again, Nintendo largely dominated the competition with 1 443 000 units sold.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons does account for the majority of those sales, but that strong performance is also due to the many evergreen titles on Nintendo Switch; they saw a big increase in sale this month. In comparison, Nintendo sold 1 621 000 games in April: that’s about 200 000 units more than in May, while Animal Crossing: New Horizon saw it sales drop by about 400 000 units.
Here’s the Top 3 Publishers for May 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
Nintendo – 1.443.000
Square Enix – 218.000
Bandai Namco Games – 89.000
Hardware-wise, Nintendo Switch sales are actually up in May, thanks to the Golden Week and the increase in Nintendo Switch shipments. Shortages are once again widespread, and lotteries at retailers the only way to be able to buy the console, which means sales would have been even better had Nintendo been able to ship enough units. In comparison, the Nintendo Switch sold 314 931 units in April, and that was after an extremely strong March.
Compared to last year, sales are up by a significant margin: “only” 141 953 units were sold in May 2019… and there was no shortages back then! The gap between 2019 and 2020 is now over 1 million units, and it’s quite likely it will continue to expand in the upcoming weeks and months. The Nintendo Switch has now sold 13 754 707 units since launch, with 2 266 677 units for the Lite model, and 11 488 030 units for the OG model.
As for the Nintendo 3DS, sales are actually slightly up Year on Year, with 7 691 units sold (vs. 6 199 units in April 2020, and 15 475 units in May 2019). This year, the Nintendo 3DS has only sold 29 060 units (vs. 117 515 units in 2019 as of May). LTD sales now stand at 24 525 207 units.
Here’s Hardware sales for May 2020, courtesy of Famitsu:
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month | Last Year | YTD | Last YTD | LTD |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # | 355.993 | 314.931 | 141.953 | 2.371.276 | 1.294.573 | 13.754.707 |
| PS4 # | 48.357 | 166.150 | 49.205 | 384.593 | 544.869 | 9.132.836 |
| 3DS # | 7.691 | 6.199 | 15.475 | 29.060 | 117.515 | 24.525.207 |
| XB1 # | 690 | 380 | 586 | 2.472 | 2.752 | 113.718 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| ALL | 412.731 | 487.660 | 208.911 | 2.787.401 | 1.994.627 | 47.526.468 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW L | 102.140 | 155.064 | | 1.221.294 | | 2.266.677 |
| NSW | 253.853 | 159.867 | 141.953 | 1.149.982 | 1.294.573 | 11.488.030 |
| XB1 X | 602 | 240 | 309 | 1.776 | 1.934 | 20.418 |
| XB1 S | 88 | 140 | 277 | 696 | 818 | 21.298 |
|PS4 Pro| 26.459 | 50.281 | 20.425 | 145.210 | 195.162 | 1.540.180 |
| PS4 | 21.898 | 115.869 | 28.780 | 239.383 | 349.707 | 7.592.656 |
|n-2DSLL| 7.271 | 5.836 | 13.081 | 27.357 | 93.717 | 1.131.603 |
| n-3DS | 420 | 363 | 2.394 | 1.703 | 22.707 | 5.887.618 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+Finally, Famitsu points out that in May, both the Software and Hardware markets are up Year on Year. And that’s not the first time this year: it’s actually the 3rd month in a row that this has happened. And this is something really unusual: the last time the market was up Year on Year 3 months in a row was nearly 13 years ago (June to August 2007)! Then again, it’s not like a game of the caliber of Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes out every odd month.
Click here for more Japanese sales data!
