Japan: Media Create data for 2017 (Software, Top 20 publishers, amiibo sales, and more)
Thanks to the latest Media Create White Book, we now have plenty of additional sales data for the Japanese video game market in 2017 (with even more to come later). Total Software sales (new and used), Top 20 publishers, amiibo sales, and more…
Media Create White Book 2018 – Software sales
First, total Software sales. Last year, no less than 32 246 044 units were sold in Japan. That’s only for new games, but used sales are nothing to sneeze at with 19 982 155 units sold. Japan is one of the countries where used sales remain extremely strong, so much that they pretty much kills long-term sales of any game without a multiplayer component (or not an evergreen title like Nintendo’s).
New games account for 61.85% of total Software sales by value, as opposed to 38.15% for used games.
Thanks to strong titles like Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the Nintendo 3DS managed to remain the Top console for Software sales one last year. No less than 12 008 236 units were sold on the handheld, which is 37.24% of Total Software sales… not too shabby! Unfortunately, the drop for 2018 is going to be pretty brutal, and we don’t even have to wait for the Media Create White Book 2019 to know that!
The Nintendo Switch accounted for 22.73% of Software sales last year in Japan, which is a pretty good performance considering third-party support was quite dire during that first year. In other words, most of the 7 328 882 units sold for Nintendo Switch Software come from Nintendo games.
Finally, the Wii U accounted for only 2.01% of sales, with 646 738 units sold.
3DS – 12.008.236 (37,24%)
PS4 – 10.021.801 (31,08%)
NSW – 7.328.882 (22,73%)
PSV – 1.967.023 (6,10%)
WIU – 646.738 (2,01%)
PS3 – 225.470 (0,70%)
XB1 – 47.894 (0,15%)
Media Create White Book 2018 – Publishers
This year again, Nintendo was the most successful publisher with 9 161 857 units sold: that’s more than a quarter of total Software sales (28.41% to be precise)… and that’s not including Pokémon games, which are directly published by The Pokémon Company in Japan. Pokémon games account for 7.35% of total Software sales, which shows just how strong the IP is in Japan!
01. Nintendo – 9.161.857 (28,41%)
02. Square Enix – 5.127.960 (15,90%)
03. Capcom – 2.708.324 (8,40%)
04. Pokemon Co. – 2.369.676 (7,35%)
05. Bandai Namco – 2.160.031 (6,70%)
06. Sony Interactive – 1.917.935 (5,95%)
07. Level 5 – 1.122.801 (3,48%)
08. Koei Tecmo – 880.743 (2,73%)
09. Ubisoft – 640.600 (1,99%)
10. Sega – 606.744 (1,88%)
Once again, the top publishers account for the majority of sales: those not in the Top 10 only account for 17.21% of sales, with 5 549 373 units sold.
Here’s the publishers ranked #11 to #20:
11. Konami – 564.652
12. Spike Chunsoft – 532.670
13. Electronic Arts – 450.027
14. Nippon Columbia – 410.054
15. Take-Two Interactive – 276.241
16. D3 Publisher – 267.461
17. Atlus – 232.244
18. Marvelous – 211.101
19. FuRyu – 204.610
20. Nihon Falcom – 193.648
Media Create White Book 2018 – amiibo sales
Unsurprisingly, the Splatoon series largely dominated amiibo sales in Japan. The three new amiibo released alongside Splatoon 2 sold the most, and even the Marie and Callie amiibo managed to sell more than new figures from other series! Combined, they all sold nearly 1 million units.
The other figures from the Top 10 are new ones from the Legend of Zelda and Super Mario series, and more precisely The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey.
01. Amiibo Girl (Neon Pink) <Splatoon> {2017.07.21} (¥1.200) – 246.905 / 246.905
01. Amiibo Boy (Neon Green) <Splatoon> {2017.07.21} (¥1.200) – 240.702 / 240.702
01. Amiibo Squid (Neon Purple) <Splatoon> {2017.07.21} (¥1.200) – 206.706 / 206.706
04. Amiibo Callie <Splatoon> {2016.07.07} (¥1.200) – 111.216 / 410.516
05. Amiibo Marie <Splatoon> {2016.07.07} (¥1.200) – 110.510 / 408.699
06. Amiibo Link (Rider) <The Legend of Zelda> {2017.03.03} (¥1.500) – 72.335 / 72.335
07. Amiibo Mario (Wedding Outfit) <Super Mario> {2017.10.27} (¥1.200) – 65.635 / 65.635
08. Amiibo Link (Archer) <The Legend of Zelda> {2017.03.03} (¥1.500) – 56.666 / 56.666
09. Amiibo Bowser (Wedding Outfit) <Super Mario> {2017.10.27} (¥1.200) – 54.488 / 54.488
10. Amiibo Peach (Wedding Outfit) <Super Mario> {2017.10.27} (¥1.200) – 49.722 / 49.722
Quite interestingly, amiibo sales were slightly up last year in Japan, with 2 713 441 units sold. That’s quite close to 2015, which was the best year for the figures with 3 036 448 units sold. Sales are expected to drop again in 2018, but the new Splatoon amiibo releasing in November should prevent it from being too severe.
But the most surprising thing about amiibo sales is that amiibo cards are still selling pretty well. The Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo packs even manage to sell more than during their launch year (though said year was effectly 2 months). But even the other packs still sold pretty well.
01. Animal Crossing Amiibo+ Card <Animal Crossing> {2016.11.03} (¥300) – 297.784 /553.731
02. Animal Crossing Amiibo Card Series 2 <Animal Crossing> {2015.10.29} (¥300) – 219.360 / 1.040.474
03. Animal Crossing Amiibo Card Series 3 <Animal Crossing> {2016.01.14} (¥300) – 212.284 / 627.368
04. Animal Crossing Amiibo Card Series 1 <Animal Crossing> {2015.07.30} (¥300) – 174.064 / 1.840.455
05. Animal Crossing Amiibo Card Series 4 <Animal Crossing> {2016.03.24} (¥300) – 171.258 / 431.703
Unlike amiibo figures, amiibo cards saw their sales drop Year on Year. That’s not too surprising: it’s been a while since a new pack was released, so it would stand to reason sales would drop. At the very least, the drop is rather limited: rouhgly 250 000 units. Since Nintendo doesn’t seem to have plans for a new series of amiibo cards any time soon, we can safely expect sales to drop even lower in 2018 (below the 1 million units milestone).
Total Amiibo Card Sales 2017: 1.130.206
Total Amiibo Card Sales 2016: 1.388.442
Total Amiibo Card Sales 2015: 2.030.538
Click here for more Japanese sales data!
Source: Media Create
Data compiled by hiska-kun (ResetERA) / hiska-kun (ResetEra)
