[Japan] Famitsu sales for Week 38, 2019 (September 16th – 22nd) [Top 30]

Here’s the latest sales report from Famitsu (and Media Create), covering Week 38, 2019 in Japan.

Famitsu

Despite the launch of the Nintendo Switch Lite, things were rather calm on the Software front. The biggest release is quite clearly The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and it’s off to a decent debut with 141 375 units sold during the first week.

This may seem a bit disappointing compared to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which hasn’t really left the Top 30 since launch (over 2 years ago!), but it’s not really a surprise. First of all, this is a traditional, top-down view Zelda game (and a remake at that), and it has absolutely none of the elements that made Breath of the Wild so popular (no open world, no sandbox gameplay, etc.).

In other words, this “new” Zelda game seems to have sold more to the “traditional” Zelda audience, and in particular those who have nostalgia for Link’s Awakening. Of course, it’s certainly possible fans discovered the series with Breath of the Wild, and then bought this game because it’s the latest entry or they want to discover older entries. However, they’re clearly not in the majority.

Also, there’s the Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers to take into account, though it’s not clear how big an impact they had on launch week.

Here’s how much some of the previous Zelda remakes/remasters sold at launch:

• [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – About 182 998 units
• [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D – About 236 536 units
• [Wii U] The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD – About 53 000 units
• [Wii U] The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD – About 31 000 units

It’s not clear how much The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening will sell (the original on GameBoy sold about 540 000 LTD, and the DX version about 315 000 units LTD), but one thing is pretty much certain: it’s not going to have the same lasting power as Breath of the Wild. In fact, it’s pretty much guaranteed it will leave the Top 30 Software before it! But unless sales drop like a rock, this remake should be able to sell at least as much as the DX version.

As for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, the only other entry in the Top 10, it’s off to a rather non-impressive start with 11 237 units sold. The only notable aspect of this debut is that the PlayStation 4 version did not chart, which means it sold less than 8 811 units. In comparison, the original version on PlayStation 3 sold about 68 000 units at launch.

Those sales seem pretty much in line with those of other ports/remasters. Unfortunately, long term sales potential is pretty low for this game, and it will most likely be gone from the Top 10 as early as next week.

Next, here’s how the other games in the Top 10 have sold this week:

• 04./05. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo) {2019.06.28} (¥5.980) – 14.905 / 629.714 (+3%). Surprisingly limited impact of the Nintendo Switch Lite launch on sales;
• 05./07. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo) – 12.266 / 3.266.380 (+19%). Decent sales increase this week;
• 07./10. [NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft Game Studios) – 10.813 / 934.335 (+34%). With a cheaper and even more portable Nintendo Switch model, Minecraft sales are not going to slow down any time soon! It will reach the 1 million units milestone before the holiday season even starts;
• 08./09. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 10.786 / 2.459.809 (+26%). A healthy boost bringing total sales a bit closer to the 2.5 million units milestone;
• 09./08. [NSW] Fishing Spirits: Nintendo Switch Version (Bandai Namco Games) – 9.803 / 171.841 (+10%). A limited increase this week, due to the fact that this game is not playable at all in Handheld mode.

Famitsu – Software sales (Top 30)

01./00. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2019.09.20} (¥5.980) – 141.375 / NEW <60-80%>
02./01. [PS4] Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne Master Edition <Monster Hunter: World \ Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne> # <ACT> (Capcom) {2019.09.06} (¥6.990) – 39.594 / 319.915 <80-100%> (-47%)
03./02. [PS4] eFootball Winning Eleven 2020 <SPT> (Konami) {2019.09.12} (¥7.600) – 19.249 / 77.513 <60-80%> (-67%)
04./05. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2019.06.28} (¥5.980) – 14.905 / 629.714 <80-100%> (+3%)
05./07. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate # <FTG> (Nintendo) {2018.12.07} (¥7.200) – 12.266 / 3.266.380 <80-100%> (+19%)
06./00. [NSW] Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch <RPG> (Level 5) {2019.09.20} (¥5.500) – 11.237 / NEW <40-60%>
07./10. [NSW] Minecraft # <ADV> (Microsoft Game Studios) {2018.06.21} (¥3.600) – 10.813 / 934.335 <80-100%> (+34%)
08./09. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 10.786 / 2.459.809 <80-100%> (+26%)
09./08. [NSW] Fishing Spirits: Nintendo Switch Version <SPT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2019.07.25} (¥5.700) – 9.803 / 171.841 <80-100%> (+10%)
10./03. [PS4] Borderlands 3 # <RPG> (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2019.09.13} (¥7.400) – 8.811 / 44.847 <80-100%> (-76%)
11./00. [NSW] Card Fight!! Vanguard EX <TBL> (FuRyu) {2019.09.19} (¥6.980) – 7.989 / NEW <60-80%>
12./04. [NSW] Daemon X Machina <SLG> (Marvelous) {2019.09.13} (¥7.800) – 7.972 / 36.121 <60-80%> (-72%)
13./06. [PS4] Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne (ε) _PS Store Download Version_ |DL| (Download Card) # <ACT> (Capcom) {2019.09.06} (¥4.444) – 6.390 / 61.592 <80-100%> (-42%)
14./13. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} (¥6.980) – 6.281 / 1.405.880 <80-100%> (+41%)
15./16. [NSW] Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2018.11.16} (¥5.980) – 6.277 / 1.633.499 <80-100%> (+76%)
16./00. [PS4] Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered <RPG> (Level 5) {2019.09.20} (¥5.500) – 6.271 / NEW <40-60%>
17./12. [NSW] Super Mario Party # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2018.10.05} (¥5.980) – 5.836 / 1.113.488 <80-100%> (+23%)
18./15. [NSW] Splatoon 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.07.21} (¥5.980) – 5.788 / 3.159.092 <80-100%> (+42%)
19./14. [NSW] Fire Emblem: Three Houses # <SLG> (Nintendo) {2019.07.26} (¥6.980) – 5.643 / 245.461 <80-100%> (+26%)
20./00. [PS4] F1 2019 <RCE> (Codemasters) {2019.09.19} (¥7.680) – 4.248 / NEW <40-60%>
21./18. [NSW] New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe <New Super Mario Bros. U \ New Super Luigi U> <ACT> (Nintendo) {2019.01.11} (¥5.980) – 4.039 / 686.202 <80-100%> (+40%)
22./19. [NSW] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball <SPT> (Konami) {2019.06.27} (¥6.980) – 3.542 / 162.782 <80-100%> (+29%)
23./00. [PS4] Card Fight!! Vanguard EX <TBL> (FuRyu) {2019.09.19} (¥6.980) – 2.513 / NEW <40-60%>
24./24. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.10.27} (¥5.980) – 2.501 / 2.003.999 <80-100%> (+42%)
25./20. [NSW] Yo-kai Watch 4: We Are Looking Up at the Same Sky <RPG> (Level 5) {2019.06.20} (¥5.980) – 2.438 / 270.690 <80-100%> (+15%)
26./00. [NSW] Jakou no Lyla: Trap of Musk # <ADV> (Idea Factory) {2019.09.19} (¥6.800) – 2.414 / NEW <80-100%>
27./21. [NSW] Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game <SPT> (Sega) {2019.07.24} (¥4.990) – 2.254 / 50.889 <80-100%> (+14%)
28./17. [NSW] Astral Chain # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2019.08.30} (¥7.980) – 2.217 / 46.875 <80-100%> (-33%)
29./27. [NSW] Kirby Star Allies <ACT> (Nintendo) {2018.03.16} (¥5.980) – 2.101 / 752.260 <80-100%> (+33%)
30./00. [PS4] PlayStation VR Worlds |PlayStation VR| # <ETC> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2016.10.13} (¥4.900) – 2.090 / 94.913 <80-100%> (+108%)

Number of games in Top 30

NSW – 22
PS4 – 8

Famitsu – Hardware

We already shared our comments about Nintendo Switch (Lite) sales in this post, so please check it out if you’re interested!

As the Nintendo 3DS, the launch of the Nintendo Switch Lite was a total non-event for it. It sold 1 687 units this week, as opposed to 1 849 units the previous week, and 6 788 units during the same week last year. YTD sales now stand at 163 206 units, compared to 433 836 units last year after the same amount of weeks. Finally, the handheld has now sold 24 468 170 units since launch.

+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System |  This Week |  Last Week |  Last Year |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # |    239.740 |     51.619 |     36.751 |  2.322.153 |  1.719.320 |   9.211.699 |
| PS4 # |     24.857 |     27.437 |     17.299 |    847.254 |  1.197.198 |   8.399.344 |
| 3DS # |      1.687 |      1.849 |      6.788 |    163.206 |    433.836 |  24.468.170 |
| XB1 # |        513 |         97 |        125 |      5.065 |     10.853 |     107.996 |
| PSV # |         28 |         42 |      2.619 |     37.202 |    148.964 |   5.862.556 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  ALL  |    266.825 |     81.044 |     63.601 |  3.374.880 |  3.512.157 |  48.049.765 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW S |    177.936 |            |            |    177.936 |            |     177.936 |
|  NSW  |     61.804 |     51.619 |     36.751 |  2.144.217 |  1.719.320 |   9.033.763 |
| XB1 X |        358 |         62 |         69 |      3.451 |      7.449 |      16.907 |
| XB1 S |        155 |         35 |         56 |      1.614 |      3.404 |      19.087 |
|PS4 Pro|      9.375 |     10.138 |      4.454 |    307.478 |    294.263 |   1.280.068 |
|  PS4  |     15.482 |     17.299 |     12.845 |    539.776 |    902.935 |   7.119.276 |
|  PSV  |         28 |         42 |      2.619 |     37.202 |    148.964 |   5.862.556 |
|n-2DSLL|      1.516 |      1.704 |      4.341 |    133.737 |    270.183 |   1.077.981 |
| n-3DS |        171 |        145 |      2.192 |     28.378 |    145.738 |   5.884.203 |

Media Create – Software Top 10

01./00. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2019.09.20} (¥5.980)
02./01. [PS4] Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne Master Edition <Monster Hunter: World \ Monster Hunter: World – Iceborne> # <ACT> (Capcom) {2019.09.06} (¥6.990)
03./02. [PS4] eFootball Winning Eleven 2020 <SPT> (Konami) {2019.09.12} (¥7.600)
04./05. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2019.06.28} (¥5.980)
05./06. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate # <FTG> (Nintendo) {2018.12.07} (¥7.200)
06./04. [PS4] Borderlands 3 # <RPG> (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2019.09.13} (¥7.400)
07./00. [NSW] Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch <RPG> (Level 5) {2019.09.20} (¥5.500)
08./08. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980)
09./07. [NSW] Fishing Spirits: Nintendo Switch Version <SPT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2019.07.25} (¥5.700)
10./09. [NSW] Minecraft # <ADV> (Microsoft Game Studios) {2018.06.21} (¥3.600)

Number of games in Top 10

NSW – 7
PS4 – 3

Click here for more Japanese sales data!

Source: Media Create / Famitsu / Famitsu
Data compiled by: Chris1964 (ResetEra)
Additional data via: Game Data Library