Japan: more sales data for Week 28 2018, Octopath Traveler (Media Create, Dengeki)

More sales data from Japan, with the latest reports from Media Create, Dengeki, and Famitsu!

Media Create (Week 28)

Today, Media Create shared their weekly report on video games sales in Japan. It reveals that Software sales topped 407 000 units, which is 148.75% of Week 27 sales. That increase is obviously due to a certain popular new game (more details below), which caused sales of new games to jump to 180 000 units this week… that’s 6 times more than during Week 26!

As a result, the ratio of new games in total Software sales went from 10.06% last week to 44.34% this week: that’s a whopping 34 points at once. Media Create also point out that it’s the first time in 3 weeks that sales have exceeded 400 000 units.

With 110 000 units, Octopath Traveler is off to a great start. It’s by far the best debut for a third-party game on Nintendo Switch (though one might argue it’s not really an achievement), as it sold about 26 000 units more the previous record holder (Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate with 84 000 units sold at launch).

According to a Media Create survey, retailers saw an increase in pre-orders of about 30 to 40% following the release of the second demo, on June 15th. According to them, the demo was one the factors that contributed to the success of the game.

Still, it’s quite interesting that despite a clear increase in interest following the release of that demo, both Square-Enix and retailers managed to underestimate demand for the game. Not only did retailers not order enough copies, but Square-Enix also didn’t print enough of them (otherwise they would have been able to quickly shipped more copies), leading to the shortages currently impacting the game in Japan.

Hopefully, this will not have a negative impact on sales, and fans who really cannot wait for new shipments will buy the game on the Nintendo eShop instead of going for a used copy.

Source: Media Create

Day 1 sell-through (Media Create)

This week, we have the Day 1 sell-through for a few Nintendo Switch games:

• [NSW] Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun! (Bandai Namco Games) – 40%, similar sales than the Wii and Nintendo 3DS entries. 40% is a surprisingly high sell-through for such a game, that usually tend to sell (much) more during the week-end. Hopefully Bandai-Namco have prepared additional shipments, or they will join Square-Enix in the Nintendo Switch Shortages Club;
• [NSW] [PS4] Sonic Mania Plus (Sega) – 20%. Low sales;
• [PS4] [NSW] Closed Nightmare (Nippon Ichi Software) – 20%. Doesn’t bode well if sales don’t pick up during the week-end (it’s unlikely they do);
• [NSW] Touhou Genso Wanderer: Reloaded (Unties) – 30%.

Source: Media Create
Via: hiska-kun (ResetEra)

Dengeki (Week 28, Summer Season 2017)

Dengeki report that Octopath Traveler sold about 107 000 units at launch, with a really high sell-through: 90%. We’ve already had reports of shortages (including one from Square-Enix), but if you still had doubts… A strong debut that led to shortages during the week-end, as Square-Enix was unable to ship more copies in time.

As for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, it sold about 59 000 units at launch, with 43 000 units for the Nintendo Switch version and 16 000 for the Nintendo 3DS version. This is more than the Wii U version, which sold 27 000 units at launch. The original went and sold over 177 000 units LTD, and it will be interesting to see when the ports end up outselling it (they should have no trouble doing so).

Finally, we have Shining Resonace: Refrain, with 4 000 units sold.

This week, Dengeki share some sales data for the Summer season (July and August)… in 2017 (and more precisely July 3rd to August 27th). During that period, sales were dominated by two games: Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age on Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4, and Splatoon 2 on Nintendo Switch.

Those two games combined sold over 4 030 000 units:

• Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age – 2.88 million units
• Splatoon 2: 1.5 million units

Those two games alone account for 60.1% of sales by units, and 64.8% of sales by revenue.

As a result of those two hits, Hardware sales increased by 133.4% compared to the same period, to 1 310 000 units. Software sales saw a less impressive but still significant increase Year on Year, with +50.9% (6.7 million units sold). In other words, both Hardware and Software sales saw a major increase in sales.

Here’s some raw data:

• Hardware: 1.31 million units (+133.4%) / 34 billion Yen (+139.1%)
• Software: 6.7 million units (+50.9%) / 43.8 billion Yen (+72.6%)
• Total: 77.8 billion Yen (+96.5%)

Dengeki point out that it was the first time since 2010 (so 7 years) that sales during that period exceeded 70 billion Yen.

Unfortunately, this year doesn’t a major hit like the two games mentioned above, so Dengeki expect the market conditions to be rough throughout the Summer season.

Next, here’s Software sales for each platform:

Platforms	This week	This week (%)	Fiscal Year	Fiscal Year (%)
PS4	76,785	19.5％	1,905,318	36.7％
Vita	12,589	3.2％	407,849	7.8％
Switch	257,976	65.6％	2,317,784	44.6％
3DS	44,228	11.3％	536,227	10.3％
ETC	1,400	0.4％	31,024	0.6％
Total	392,978	100.0％	5,198,202	100.0％

And here’s Hardware sales:

Platforms	This week	This week (%)	Fiscal Year	Fiscal Year (%)
PS4	18,866	24.0％	284,925	26.9％
Vita	3,017	3.8％	40,864	3.9％
Switch	49,154	62.5％	610,418	57.6％
3DS	7,474	9.5％	120,365	11.4％
ETC	100	0.1％	2,527	0.2％
Total	78,611	100.0％	1,059,099	100.0％

Finally, here’s the Top 50 Software:

01./00. [NSW] Octopath Traveler (Square Enix) {2018.07.13} – 106,867 / NEW
02./00. [NSW] Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo) {2018.07.13} – 42,778 / NEW
03./01. [NSW] Mario Tennis Aces (Nintendo) {2018.06.22} – 20,861 / 231,450
04./00. [3DS] Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo) {2018.07.13} – 16,361 / NEW
05./02. [NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft Game Studios) {2018.06.21} – 17,056 / 131,512
06./04. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Nintendo) {2017.07.21} – 16,241 / 2,487,902
07./00. [PS4] Mary Skelter: Nightmares 2 (Compile Heart) {2018.07.12} – 12,288 / NEW
08./05. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} – 9,039 / 1,636,199
09./08. [NSW] Kirby Star Allies (Nintendo) {2018.03.16} – 5,017 / 580,622
10./03. [PS4] Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (Spike Chunsoft) {2018.07.05} – 5,006 / 21,280
11./10. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} – 4,361 / 794,945
12./11. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 + II.5 ReMIX (Square Enix) {2017.03.09} – 3,783 / 180,527
13./00. [NSW] Shining Resonance Refrain (Sega) {2018.07.12} – 3,756 / NEW
14./07. [PS4] The Crew 2 (Ubisoft) {2018.06.29} – 3,727 / 27,822
15./12. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo) {2017.10.27} – 3,506 / 1,677,584
16./09. [NSW] Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo) {2018.05.03} – 3,400 / 197,793
17./19. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun (Pokemon Co.) {2017.11.17} – 3,211 / 833,578
18./06. [PSV] Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (Spike Chunsoft) {2018.07.05} – 2,739 / 11,510
19./14. [PS4] Detroit: Become Human (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2018.05.25} – 2,650 / 76,212
20./25. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Moon (Pokemon Co.) {2017.11.17} – 2,506 / 808,569
21./13. [PS4] New Gundam Breaker (Bandai Namco Games) {2018.06.21} – 2,493 / 77,579
22./17. [NSW] Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit (Nintendo) {2018.04.20} – 1,994 / 190,725
23./18. [NSW] FIFA 18 (Electronic Arts) {2017.09.29} – 1,822 / 140,289
24./21. [PS4] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2018 (Konami) {2018.04.26} – 1,819 / 218,985
25./15. [PS4] Winning Eleven 2018 (Konami) {2017.09.14} – 1,733 / 161,629
26./29. [NSW] Pokken Tournament DX (Pokemon Co.) {2017.09.22} – 1,533 / 276,029
27./26. [PS4] Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege – Advanced Edition (Ubisoft) {2018.03.01} – 1,463 / 65,218
28./23. [PS4] Dark Souls Remastered (From Software) {2018.05.24} – 1,389 / 119,935
29./20. [PS4] FIFA 18 (Electronic Arts) {2017.09.29} – 1,322 / 113,781
30./61. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon Veteran Trainer’s Dual Pack (Pokemon Co.) {2017.11.17} – 1,289 / 371,715
31./16. [NSW] Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Nippon Ichi Software) {2018.06.28} – 1,244 / 10,783
32./22. [PS4] Far Cry 3: Classic Edition (Ubisoft) {2018.07.05} – 1,200 / 3,013
33./34. [NSW] Little Nightmares: Complete Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2018.06.07} – 1,139 / 14,610
34./32. [NSW] 1-2-Switch (Nintendo) {2017.03.03} – 1,122 / 469,097
35./31. [PSV] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2018 (Konami) {2018.04.26} – 1,094 / 103,770
36./37. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo (Nintendo) {2016.11.23} – 1,067 / 365,178
37./24. [PS4] Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star Link (Marvelous) {2018.06.07} – 1,025 / 105,171
38./27. [PS4] Super Bomberman R (Konami) {2018.06.14} – 1,013 / 12,558
39./28. [NSW] The Snack World: TreJarers (Level 5) {2018.04.12} – 1,011 / 100,252
40./30. [NSW] ARMS (Nintendo) {2017.06.16} – 1,006 / 439,652
41./43. [PS4] Minecraft: Playstation 4 Edition (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2015.12.03} – 828 / 325,627
42./33. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2018.06.14} – 793 / 6,581
43./41. [PS4] Little Nightmares: Complete Edition (Bandai Namco Games) {2018.06.07} – 763 / 12,532
44./35. [NSW] Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 for Nintendo Switch (Bandai Namco Games) {2017.09.07} – 744 / 190,746
45./39. [3DS] Mario Party: The Top 100 (Nintendo) {2017.12.28} – 744 / 211,158
46./49. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2015.10.08} – 731 / 381,307
47./51. [PS4] Monster Hunter: World (Capcom) {2018.01.26} – 711 / 1,998,985
48./65. [PS4] Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (Bandai Namco Games) {2018.02.08} – 700 / 121,654
49./40. [PS4] Cities: Skylines – PlayStation 4 Edition (Spike Chunsoft) {2018.04.12} – 694 / 36,867
50./36. [PSV] Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star Link (Marvelous) {2018.06.07} – 675 / 48,710

Source: Dengeki
Top 50 data compiled by ZSaberLink (ResetEra)

Click here for more Japanese sales data!