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[Japan] Famitsu sales for May 2023 (Top 5 Software, Publishers, Hardware)

Here’s the latest sales report from Famitsu, with Hardware and Software sales for May 2023 in Japan (May 1st to May 28th 2023, so 4 weeks in total).

Famitsu

Top 5 Software

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the best-selling game in May with over 1.5 million units sold (1 515 673 units to be precise) at retail alone. Unless sales fall off a cliff in June, it should reach the 2 million units milestone before the end of the month.

In comparison, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold “only” 346 000 units during the first three weeks (Nintendo Switch + Wii U combined). And speaking of Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom has been boosting the sales of its predecessor for quite a few months now. In May alone, it was the 6th best-selling game with about 28 000 units sold!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe climbed two spots in the Top 5 Software, and ended #2 with 47 897 units sold. The 6 waves of DLC really are giving this game a second life, even though it did not quite need the extra help to keep selling!

01./00. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2023.05.12} (¥7.200) – 1.515.673 / NEW <80-100%>
02./04. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 47.897 / 5.310.115 <80-100%>
03./00. [PS4] Hogwarts Legacy # <RPG> (WB Games) {2023.05.05} (¥7.980) – 43.246 / NEW <80-100%>
04./01. [NSW] Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe <ACT> (Nintendo) {2023.02.24} (¥5.980) – 34.428 / 436.641 <80-100%>
05./03. [NSW] Pokemon Scarlet / Violet # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2022.11.18} (¥5.980) – 30.779 / 5.039.337 <80-100%>
06./00. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} (¥6.980) – 28.000 / 2.196.076 <80-100%>

Market share

NSW – 4
PS4 – 1

Publishers

Even without The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo was pretty much guaranteed to be the most successful publisher in Japan in May. With over 1.8 million units sold, it massively outperformed the other publishers. Most of those sales come from Tears of the Kingdom, with the usual evergreen titles making up the rest.

The Pokémon Company is the 3rd most successful publisher with about 42 000 units sold. Majority of sales come from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, though older games still contributed slightly under 1/3 of total sales.

  1. Nintendo: 1.839.000 units sold
  2. WB Games: 48.000 units sold
  3. The Pokémon Company: 42.000 units sold

Hardware

May is typically a pretty slow month for sales, and yet, Nintendo Switch sales were slightly up with about 345 000 units sold (up from 337 000 units in April). Those strong sales are due to both The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the recent release of the special OLED Model that came out two weeks before the game itself.

As of May 28th, the Nintendo Switch has sold nearly 30 million units in Japan alone (29.286.253 units to be precise), and within the next couple of months (by the end of July at the latest), it will join the extremely select club of platforms that have sold over 30 million units in Japan (the Nintendo DS and the Game Boy + Game Boy Color combined, both over 32 million units sold).

  1. Nintendo Switch: 344.934 units sold (337.464 units sold in April)
  2. PlayStation 5: 170.745 units sold (215.561 units sold in April)

Click here for more Japanese sales data!

Source: Famitsu
Some data compiled by: Chris1964 (Install Base)

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.