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

Famitsu have shared their monthly report on video game sales in Japan, this time covering May 2021 (to be more precise, the period going from April 26th to May 30th, so 5 weeks in total).

For the third month in a row, Monster Hunter Rise was the best-selling game in Japan. It sold 255 430 units at retail during its third month, which brings total sales to over 2 million units. Will it manage to stay at the top for a fourth month? Even if it does, June would be the last time we would get to see it at #1. Famitsu point out that Monster Hunter Rise is now the 8th best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all times (at retail).

New Pokémon Snap had a solid debut with 229 443 units sold, though that’s less than the original during the same period (5 weeks) with 289 000 units. Of course, those numbers do not include digital sales, so it’s fairly safe to assume New Pokémon Snap sold as much (if not more) than its predecessor.

Rune Factory 5 is off to a great debut with 115 756 units sold at retail alone during the first two weeks, which is the best debut for the series. It should have no trouble outselling Rune Factory 4 (on Nintendo 3DS), though it would appear that poor word of mouth following launch (due to bugs and other issues) will prove a hindrance to the long-term sales potential of the game.

Finally, Miitopia is also doing really well with 107 176 units sold during the first two weeks. Just like Rune Factory 5, it should have no trouble outselling its predecessor (especially if you add digital sales), though how much it ends up selling will depend on whether it can become one of the many Nintendo Switch evergreen titles.

Overall, it was a rather busy month, with only Monster Hunter Rise left from the April chart.

Here’s the Top 5 Software for May 2021:

01./01. [NSW] Monster Hunter Rise # <ACT> (Capcom) {2021.03.26} (¥7.990) – 255.430 / 2.225.801 (-62%)
02./00. [NSW] New Pokemon Snap <ACT> (Pokemon Co.) {2021.04.30} (¥5.980) – 229.443 / NEW
03./00. [PS4] Resident Evil Village # <ADV> (Capcom) {2021.05.08} (¥7.990) – 173.132 / NEW
04./00. [NSW] Rune Factory 5 # <SLG> (Marvelous) {2021.05.20} (¥6.980) – 115.756 / NEW
05./00. [NSW] Miitopia <SLG> (Nintendo) {2021.05.21} (¥4.980) – 107.176 / NEW

This month again, the Nintendo Switch grabbed 4 of the 5 spots in the Top Software:

NSW – 4
PS4 – 1

Nintendo is back as the most successful publisher with 624 000 units sold. The release of Miitopia did help boost sales, but once again, it’s the evergreen titles that did most of the heavy lifting. Capcom is #2 with 495 000 units, and Monster Hunter Rise accounting for about half of those sales. Finally, The Pokémon Company is #3 with 257 000 units sold, almost exclusively thanks to New Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Sword and Shield.

1. Nintendo – 624.000
2. Capcom – 495.000
3. The Pokémon Company – 257.000

Hardware-wise, the Nintendo Switch had a great month with over 500 000 units sold (up from 431 225 units in April), which is partly due to the Golden Week boosting sales at the end of April, but also Famitsu’s tracking period having 5 weeks (instead of 4).

Also, as announced last week, the Nintendo Switch has now sold over 20 million units since launch in Japan. A pretty significant milestone that allows the hybrid console to reach the Top 5 of the best-selling consoles of all times in Japan.

+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System | This Month | Last Month |  Last Year |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # |    501.705 |    431.225 |    355.993 |  2.677.904 |  2.371.276 |  20.018.278 |
| PS5 # |    123.272 |     78.567 |            |    526.900 |            |     782.050 |
| PS4 # |      7.670 |      5.499 |     48.357 |     73.058 |    384.593 |   9.363.948 |
| XBS # |      4.113 |      1.381 |            |     14.079 |            |      45.503 |
| 3DS # |      2.323 |      2.436 |      7.691 |     14.127 |     29.060 |  24.573.035 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  ALL  |    639.083 |    519.108 |    412.731 |  3.306.068 |  2.787.401 |  55.947.697 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  PS5  |    101.654 |     65.435 |            |    445.943 |            |     652.565 |
| PS5DE |     21.618 |     13.132 |            |     80.957 |            |     129.485 |
| XBS X |      2.405 |        616 |            |      8.781 |            |      33.657 |
| XBS S |      1.708 |        765 |            |      5.298 |            |      11.846 |
| NSW L |    143.707 |    179.168 |    102.140 |    777.766 |  1.221.294 |   3.849.858 |
|  NSW  |    357.998 |    252.057 |    253.853 |  1.900.138 |  1.149.982 |  16.168.420 |
|  PS4  |      7.670 |      5.499 |     21.898 |     72.834 |    239.383 |   7.788.225 |
|n-2DSLL|      2.323 |      2.436 |      7.271 |     14.127 |     27.357 |   1.178.090 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+

Source: Famitsu
Data compiled by: Chris1964 (ResetERA)

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