[Japan] Media Create sales for Week 52, 2017 (December 25th – December 31st) [Top 50]

11 January 201811 January 2018 Lite_Agent Famitsu, Mario Party: The Top 100, Media Create, NDCube

Media Create

Due to the holiday break, the sales data for Week 1 2018 from Media Create will only be available on Thursday (instead of Wednesday).

Media Create – Software Top 50

01./01. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.10.27} (¥5.980) – 105.051 / 1.397.332 (-50%)
02./04. [NSW] Splatoon 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.07.21} (¥5.980) – 96.404 / 1.764.870 (-30%)
03./05. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 87.356 / 1.132.793 (-13%)
04./03. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2017.11.17} (¥4.980) – 61.698 / 1.407.660 (-65%)
05./00. [3DS] Mario Party: The Top 100 <ETC> (Nintendo) {2017.12.28} (¥4.980) – 52.181 / NEW
06./02. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch Busters 2: Hihou Legend Banbarayaa – Sword / Magnum <ACT> (Level 5) {2017.12.16} (¥4.800) – 38.141 / 431.420 (-79%)
07./07. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} (¥6.980) – 33.024 / 771.050 (-7%)
08./11. [NSW] 1-2-Switch <ETC> (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} (¥4.980) – 21.235 / 349.929 (-8%)
09./14. [PS4] Earth Defense Force 5 <ACT> (D3Publisher) {2017.12.07} (¥7.800) – 16.522 / 181.466 (-20%)
10./09. [NSW] Arms <FTG> (Nintendo) {2017.06.16} (¥5.980) – 16.463 / 313.954 (-35%)
11./08. [NSW] Pokken Tournament DX <FTG> (Pokemon Co.) {2017.09.22} (¥5.980) – 13.650 / 191.485 (-50%)
12./22. [NSW] Xenoblade Chronicles 2 # <RPG> (Nintendo) {2017.12.01} (¥7.980) – 12.779 / 156.717
13./23. [PS4] Yakuza: Kiwami 2 # <ADV> (Sega) {2017.12.07} (¥7.590) – 11.806 / 184.445
14./30. [PS4] Call of Duty: WWII # <ACT> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.11.03} (¥7.900) – 10.153 / 348.704
15./06. [3DS] Kirby Battle Royale <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.11.30} (¥4.980) – 9.679 / 125.003 (-77%)
16./24. [NSW] FIFA 18 <SPT> (Electronic Arts) {2017.09.29} (¥5.800) – 9.131 / 62.783
17./15. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo <ETC> (Nintendo) {2016.11.23} (¥2.700) – 7.953 / 344.495 (-56%)
18./32. [NSW] Snipperclips Plus: Cut it Out, Together! <PZL> (Nintendo) {2017.11.10} (¥3.280) – 7.388 / 34.619
19./19. [NSW] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 – Deluxe Edition <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.12.21} (¥5.800) – 7.003 / 23.014 (-56%)
20./20. [NSW] Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 for Nintendo Switch <FTG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.09.07} (¥6.800) – 6.878 / 96.040 (-57%)
21./28. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition # <ADV> (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2015.03.19} (¥2.400)
22./21. [NSW] Sumikko Gurashi: Sumikko Park e Youkoso <ETC> (Nippon Columbia) {2017.12.07} (¥5.800)
23./40. [NSW] Super Bomberman R <ACT> (Konami) {2017.03.03} (¥4.980)
24./43. [NSW] Monster Hunter Double Cross: Nintendo Switch Ver. # <ACT> (Capcom) {2017.08.25} (¥5.800)
25./12. [3DS] Style Savvy: Styling Star <ETC> (Nintendo) {2017.11.02} (¥4.980)
26./00. [PS4] Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Gold Edition <Resident Evil 7: biohazard \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Banned Footage Vol.1 \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Banned Footage Vol.2 \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – End of Zoe \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Not a Hero> <ADV> (Capcom) {2017.12.14} (¥4.990)
27./17. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon Veteran Trainer’s Dual Pack {Pokemon Ultra Sun \ Pokemon Ultra Moon} <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2017.11.17} (¥9.960)
28./18. [PS4] Okami HD # <ADV> (Capcom) {2017.12.21} (¥2.990)
29./46. [PS4] Winning Eleven 2018 <SPT> (Konami) {2017.09.14} (¥7.600)
30./29. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (¥4.571)
31./16. [3DS] Sumikko Gurashi: Koko, Dokonan Desu? <ETC> (Nippon Columbia) {2017.07.20} (¥4.800)
32./48. [PS4] Star Wars: Battlefront II # <ACT> (Electronic Arts) {2017.11.17} (¥7.800)
33./42. [3DS] Harvest Moon: Twin Villages+ <SLG> (Marvelous) {2017.12.14} (¥3.980)
34./00. [PS4] Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition <Horizon Zero Dawn \ Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds> <RPG> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.12.07} (¥5.900)
35./00. [PS4] Gran Turismo Sport # <RCE> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.10.19} (¥6.900)
36./37. [PS4] Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.10.26} (¥6.100)
37./13. [PS4] Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings # <RPG> (Koei Tecmo) {2017.12.21} (¥7.300)
38./31. [3DS] Attack on Titan 2: Future Coordinates <ACT> (Spike Chunsoft) {2017.11.30} (¥5.980)
39./00. [PSV] Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory # <RPG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.12.14} (¥5.700)
40./27. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS <ACT> (Nintendo) {2016.12.01} (¥4.700)
41./10. [PS4] The Idolm@ster: Stella Stage # <SLG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.12.21} (¥8.200)
42./00. [PS4] Ark: Survival Evolved <ADV> (Spike Chunsoft) {2017.10.26} (¥6.800)
43./26. [PS4] A-Train Exp. <SLG> (Artdink) {2017.12.21} (¥7.800)
44./00. [NSW] Puyo Puyo Tetris <PZL> (Sega) {2017.03.03} (¥4.990)
45./00. [PS4] Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory # <RPG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.12.14} (¥6.800)
46./00. [PS4] Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition <ADV> (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2015.12.03} (¥2.400)
47./00. [PS4] FIFA 18 # <SPT> (Electronic Arts) {2017.09.29} (¥7.800)
48./33. [3DS] The Snack World: TreJarers <RPG> (Level 5) {2017.08.10} (¥4.800)
49./34. [3DS] Beyblade Burst: God <RPG> (FuRyu) {2017.11.23} (¥5.980)
50./00. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V [New Price Edition] <ACT> (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2015.10.08} (¥4.990)

Media Create – Number of games in Top 50

PS4 – 18
NSW – 16
3DS – 14
PSV – 2

Media Create – Hardware

Famitsu

Traditionally, Week 52 is a much slower week than Week 51, which is the biggest week of the year for video game sales in Japan. It was especially true for 2017, since there was literally nothing special during Week 51: Christmas was on Monday, but people are generally done with their Christmas shopping by then. As for New Year, it’s for Week 1.

That being said, Week 51 wasn’t all that bad, at least as far as Nintendo Switch Software is concerned. But before we talk about that, let’s take a quick look at the only new entry in the Top 30… Mario Party: The Top 100! It’s off to a decent start with 46 188 units sold: that’s about 40-60% of all units shipped to retailers (which is a tad low, though it’s clear Nintendo shipped that many copies for New Year in the first place).

Unfortunately, it’s the second worst debut for a Mario Party game, as only Mario Party: Star Rush, released last year, did worse (37 569 units sold at launch, and almost 190 000 units LTD… a number its successor is unlikely to reach). Of course, such a performance is not unexpected for such a late release, and a compilation of mini-games (not a brand new entry) to boot.

Still, the series as a whole has been on a decline in the past few years, though Mario Party: Island Tour (back in 2014) did manage to climb to over 500 000 units sold LTD. It will be interesting to see if the (inevitable) Nintendo Switch entry is able to reverse the trend, and how much Mario Party: The Top 100 will end up selling (it came out after Christmas, and 2018 isn’t going to be pretty for the Nintendo 3DS).

Quite interestingly, it’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe that sold the most during the last week of the year, with 89 033 units sold. It somehow managed to outsell both Super Mario Odyssey and Splatoon 2, thanks to a softer drop Week on Week than those two titles. That goes to show you should not underestimate the expanded port of a 2014 game!

Splatoon 2 enjoyed strong sales during Week 52, despite a 40% drop Week on Week. With 80 126 units sold this week (-40%), it’s getting closer and closer to the 2 million units milestone, that it should reach sometime in January or February (it will depend on how strong Week 1 sales are, and how bad the January drop is).

Meanwhile, Super Mario Odyssey saw the biggest drop Week on Week among the titles of the Top 3, due to lower Nintendo Switch shipments (and therefore, Super Mario Odyssey bundle shipments). Still, its sales remained strong, with 79 214 units sold (-58%), and 1 324 280 units sold. It will reach 1.5 million units sold sometime in January.

As for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, it’s now sold over 2 million units units (2 003 607 units if you count the dual-pack as two units, which is something Famitsu does), with 58 865 units this weel (-66%). That’s a pretty good and somewhat unexpected result for the first third-version since Pokémon Platinum. It will be interesting to see how it fares throughout 2018, that’s expected to be quite tough for the Nintendo 3DS.

Unfortunately, Yo-kai Watch Busters 2 didn’t fare as well, with slightly less than 400 000 units sold in 2017 (396 464 units to be precise). As expected, the drop was sharp during the post-Christmas week (-78%), with only 32 408 units sold. It will be interesting to see how it fares during Week 1, and more importantly during the rest of the year: will sales drop off a cliff, or will the game keep selling on the long run like the original did?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold pretty well throughout 2017, and it ended the year on a high note with 28 035 units sold during Week 52 (-23%). Unfortunately, it didn’t quite reach 700 000 units, but it came very close to that milestone with 688 044 units sold. Adding Wii U and digital sales, the total for the game should be well above 900 000 units.

1-2-Switch was pretty quiet throughout most of 2017, but it resurfaced for the holiday season, and actually ended the year in the Top 10 with almost 300 000 units sold (296 288 to be precise, but that’s without digital sales). 1-2-Switch sold 18 836 units during Week 52, which is a surprisingly soft drop for such a family-centric title.

Finally, ARMS is ranked #10, with 13 262 units sold. It also came close to the 300 000 units milestone, and will definitely reach it with Week 1 sales (even without digital sales). Considering ARMS is definitely going to keep selling throughout 2018 (though it will most likely drop from the Top 20 in January), it’s probably safe to expect sales to land north of 400 000 units LTD.

Next, let’s take a look at how games in the second half of the Top 20 are faring:

12./10. [NSW] Pokken Tournament DX (Pokemon Co.) – 10.915 / 176.381 (-54%). 200 000 units milestone will be reached in January!
13./23. [NSW] Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Nintendo) – 9.831 / 149.390 (-16%). It’s holding fairly well (it gained 10 places at once this week, due to a really soft drop Week on Week), and it’s expected to go up (or stay flat) next week. It will be interesting to see how it ends up faring in 2018, though it’s well on its way to become the best-selling Xenoblade Chronicles game in Japan (even without counting digital sales);
14./06. [3DS] Kirby Battle Royale (Nintendo) – 9.284 / 121.294 (-79%). A major drop was to be expected for the post-Christmas week;
16./16. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo (Nintendo) – 7.947 / 319.611 (-52%). No, it’s not done selling;
17./25. [NSW] FIFA 18 (Electronic Arts) – 7.390 / 57.303 (-34%). A rather unexpected comeback, especially since the PlayStation 4 is nowhere to be seen;
18./17. [NSW] Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 for Nintendo Switch (Bandai Namco Games) – 6.713 / 90.839 (-57%). It will reach 100 000 units sold sometime in Early January (maybe even during Week 1 if the increase is strong enough);
19./28. [NSW] Snipperclips Plus: Cut it Out, Together! (Nintendo) – 6.496 / 33.790 (-26%). This one debuted pretty low, but has been selling steadily ever since;
20./14. [3DS] Style Savvy: Styling Star (Nintendo) – 5.936 / 109.033 (-72%). Most likely the last week in the Top 20 for this title, unless sales remain steady during Week 1.

Famitsu – Software Top 30

01./05. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) – 89.033 / 1.103.744 <80-100%> (-28%)
02./04. [NSW] Splatoon 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.07.21} (¥5.980) – 80.126 / 1.752.096 <80-100%> (-40%)
03./01. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.10.27} (¥5.980) – 79.214 / 1.324.280 <80-100%> (-58%)
04./02. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2017.11.17} (¥4.980) – 58.865 / 2.003.607 <80-100%> (-66%)
05./00. [3DS] Mario Party: The Top 100 <ETC> (Nintendo) {2017.12.28} (¥4.980) – 46.188 / NEW <40-60%>
06./03. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch Busters 2: Hihou Legend Banbarayaa – Sword / Magnum <ACT> (Level 5) {2017.12.16} (¥4.800) – 32.408 / 396.464 <80-100%> (-78%)
07./07. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} (¥6.980) – 28.035 / 688.044 <80-100%> (-23%)
08./12. [NSW] 1-2-Switch <ETC> (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} (¥4.980) – 18.386 / 296.288 <80-100%> (-20%)
09./15. [PS4] Earth Defense Force 5 <ACT> (D3Publisher) {2017.12.07} (¥7.800) – 14.682 / 188.904 <80-100%> (-18%)
10./11. [NSW] Arms <FTG> (Nintendo) {2017.06.16} (¥5.980) – 13.262 / 285.063 <80-100%> (-43%)
11./18. [PS4] Yakuza: Kiwami 2 # <ADV> (Sega) {2017.12.07} (¥7.590) – 12.342 / 181.864 <80-100%> (-14%)
12./10. [NSW] Pokken Tournament DX <FTG> (Pokemon Co.) {2017.09.22} (¥5.980) – 10.915 / 176.381 <80-100%> (-54%)
13./23. [NSW] Xenoblade Chronicles 2 # <RPG> (Nintendo) {2017.12.01} (¥7.980) – 9.831 / 149.390 <80-100%> (-16%)
14./06. [3DS] Kirby Battle Royale <ACT> (Nintendo) {2017.11.30} (¥4.980) – 9.284 / 121.294 <60-80%> (-79%)
15./00. [PS4] Call of Duty: WWII # <ACT> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.11.03} (¥7.900) – 8.323 / 341.107 <80-100%> (+8%)
16./16. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo <ETC> (Nintendo) {2016.11.23} (¥2.700) – 7.947 / 319.611 <80-100%> (-52%)
17./25. [NSW] FIFA 18 <SPT> (Electronic Arts) {2017.09.29} (¥5.800) – 7.390 / 57.303 <80-100%> (-34%)
18./17. [NSW] Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 for Nintendo Switch <FTG> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.09.07} (¥6.800) – 6.713 / 90.839 <80-100%> (-57%)
19./28. [NSW] Snipperclips Plus: Cut it Out, Together! <PZL> (Nintendo) {2017.11.10} (¥3.280) – 6.496 / 33.790 <60-80%> (-26%)
20./14. [3DS] Style Savvy: Styling Star <ETC> (Nintendo) {2017.11.02} (¥4.980) – 5.936 / 109.033 <60-80%> (-72%)
21./00. [NSW] Monster Hunter Double Cross: Nintendo Switch Ver. # <ACT> (Capcom) {2017.08.25} (¥5.800) – 5.894 / 203.359 <80-100%>
22./20. [NSW] Sumikko Gurashi: Sumikko Park e Youkoso <ETC> (Nippon Columbia) {2017.12.07} (¥5.800) – 5.164 / 33.920 <60-80%> (-61%)
23./22. [NSW] One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 – Deluxe Edition <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.12.21} (¥5.800) – 4.954 / 16.689 <60-80%> (-58%)
24./00. [3DS] Harvest Moon: Twin Villages+ <SLG> (Marvelous) {2017.12.14} (¥3.980) – 4.859 / 29.121 <40-60%> (-33%)
25./00. [PS4] Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Gold Edition <Resident Evil 7: biohazard \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Banned Footage Vol.1 \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Banned Footage Vol.2 \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – End of Zoe \ Resident Evil 7: biohazard – Not a Hero> <ADV> (Capcom) {2017.12.14} (¥4.990) – 4.836 / 22.514 <60-80%>
26./00. [PS4] Star Wars: Battlefront II # <ACT> (Electronic Arts) {2017.11.17} (¥7.800) – 4.719 / 74.515 <60-80%> (-23%)
27./00. [PS4] Gran Turismo Sport # <RCE> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.10.19} (¥6.900) – 4.618 / 193.741 <80-100%> (+27%)
28./30. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition # <ADV> (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2015.03.19} (¥2.400) – 4.604 / 1.047.881 <80-100%> (-45%)
29./26. [3DS] The Snack World: TreJarers <RPG> (Level 5) {2017.08.10} (¥4.800) – 4.431 / 232.743 <80-100%> (-58%)
30./19. [PS4] Okami HD # <ADV> (Capcom) {2017.12.21} (¥2.990) – 4.084 / 18.279 <60-80%> (-71%)

Famitsu – Number of games in Top 30

NSW – 14
3DS – 8
PS4 – 7
PSV – 1

Famitsu – Hardware

This week saw a pretty big drop in sales for the Nintendo Switch (over 50%), but once again, it’s due to lower shipments from Nintendo. At the very least, the console didn’t drop off a cliff, and still managed to sell over 100 000 units even during a slower week. It’s pretty safe to expect sales to go back up during Week 1, which is another important week for the Japanese market (not as important as Week 51, obviously).

During Week 51, it’s parents buying presents for their kids at Christmas that drive sales, which is why Nintendo consoles and games perform the best during that week (and the holiday season in general). But during Week 1, it’s kids using money received for New Year (Otoshidama) to buy consoles and games, and so products aimed at a slightly older demographics get more attention during that week.

It will be interesting to see what happens this year, as so far, the Nintendo Switch doesn’t quite cater to the same audience as the Nintendo 3DS. While many families got the console for Christmas, the Nintendo Switch’s audience is still significantly older than previous Nintendo consoles. So what will happen during Week 1 this year? We will find out on Wednesday/Thursday!

A quick note about the Nintendo Switch: it’s now sold over 3 407 158 units since launch, which is more than the Wii U (3 301 555). In other words: it barely took 10 months for the Nintendo Switch to outsell its predecessor, which just goes to show how poorly it sold.

Right now, the Nintendo Switch is selling better than the Nintendo DS during a similar timeframe, but that’s before the big “explosion” in sales in the second half of 2016. It’s highly unlikely it will come anywhere near the total of the Nintendo DS, which is, after all, the best-selling console of all times in Japan!

Unfortunately, it’s about 600 000 units behind the Nintendo 3DS, almost exclusively because of the endless shortages throughout the year (though Nintendo did ship significant amount of consoles for the holiday season). Unfortunately, it’s impossible to say exactly how much the Nintendo Switch would have sold during the first calendar year without those shortages.

The Nintendo 3DS, being a pretty family-centric device, saw a big drop in sales this week (over 50% down), and it’s not because of shortages. It sold 35 357 units during Week 52 2017, as opposed to 119 848 units during the same week last year. It’s pretty clear the handheld is on its way to retirement, though it should still sell a substantial amount of units throughout 2018.

Finally, the Wii U sold 69 units this week.

Click here for more Japanese sales data!

Source: Media Create / Famitsu
Via: Chris1964 (ResetEra)