Eddie-Griffin
Banned
https://www.gamereactor.eu/last-week-was-the-best-for-xbox-series-s-x-in-japan-since-launch-1185493/
To compare early performance with current performance
For Japan in the first 47 weeks
That's a gap around 10x as much.
For Japan in the last 47 weeks
That gaps is just under 4 times as much. So the gap has shrunk over time as Xbox gained and Sony has declined mostly due to neglect of the Japanese market, but they also don't really have to since they have no competition and there's zero chance of Xbox catching up.
The Xbox Series is selling much better than anticipated, it wasn't that long ago it was common to hear people wondering why Microsoft would release there, or that they should not have released in Japan at all this gen, but they are likely to be well past the Original Xbox LTD and PCFX LTD by the end of the year at the current pace. Will it reach the 360? it's on the path to doing so, it will depend if Microsoft can get games over there that appeal to Japanese gamers tastes, at least enough to sell over 1 million consoles.
Of course, there is a key thing to note about these sales, I don't think that an Xbox Series game has actually charted on Japanese charts, while the worst selling Xbox One did have multiple games chart multiple weeks, although usually one game charted during those weeks only.
Xbox and Sony in Japan need to work on the software situation because they are being destroyed by the Switch, even with low sales of a couple thousand units. Sometimes the PS5 will be able to get a few to chart, but you'll also see PS4 games chart too, and many weeks the charts are dominated by the Switch in the top 10 or even 15. Maybe Xbox needs to get more Japanese games on Gamepass, and Sony needs to help fund some Jrpgs to take advantage of PS5 hardware.
Both consoles are still supply constrained in the country (even the Series S) but if the software isn't there, that demand will eventually drop once all the early adopters get their consoles.
The duo of consoles seem to have found a Japanese audience, something the console only ever had during an early year for Xbox 360.
As a comparison, Xbox One reached 114,000 consoles during it's entire lifetime in Japan, and Xbox Series S/X has passed 318,000 sold units after less than two years on the market. If it can keep the pace up, it will beat the original Xbox, which reached 473,000 sold units in Japan during it's lifetime, while there's still a way to go before it passes Xbox 360 which sold 1,616,000 units in the country.
But there are signs pointing towards that it might be possible. Instead of dropping sales, Xbox Series S/X seems to be increasing speed in Japan, and last week was the best ever for the format since the launch, according to the analyst John Welfare who tracks Japanese game sales. 16,726 Xbox was sold in Japan, which in all fairness is still less than PlayStation 5 with 25,109 sold units and the beastly Switch with 113,530 consoles.
Still, it seems like Xbox Series S/X might be on track to do something Xbox has never had before, develop a real Japanese audience. Something that surely will improve the range of Japanese games available for the format
To compare early performance with current performance
For Japan in the first 47 weeks
- PS5: 1,085,018
- XBS: 99,144
That's a gap around 10x as much.
For Japan in the last 47 weeks
- PS5: 806,327
- XBS: 219,128 3.7x
That gaps is just under 4 times as much. So the gap has shrunk over time as Xbox gained and Sony has declined mostly due to neglect of the Japanese market, but they also don't really have to since they have no competition and there's zero chance of Xbox catching up.
The Xbox Series is selling much better than anticipated, it wasn't that long ago it was common to hear people wondering why Microsoft would release there, or that they should not have released in Japan at all this gen, but they are likely to be well past the Original Xbox LTD and PCFX LTD by the end of the year at the current pace. Will it reach the 360? it's on the path to doing so, it will depend if Microsoft can get games over there that appeal to Japanese gamers tastes, at least enough to sell over 1 million consoles.
Of course, there is a key thing to note about these sales, I don't think that an Xbox Series game has actually charted on Japanese charts, while the worst selling Xbox One did have multiple games chart multiple weeks, although usually one game charted during those weeks only.
Xbox and Sony in Japan need to work on the software situation because they are being destroyed by the Switch, even with low sales of a couple thousand units. Sometimes the PS5 will be able to get a few to chart, but you'll also see PS4 games chart too, and many weeks the charts are dominated by the Switch in the top 10 or even 15. Maybe Xbox needs to get more Japanese games on Gamepass, and Sony needs to help fund some Jrpgs to take advantage of PS5 hardware.
Both consoles are still supply constrained in the country (even the Series S) but if the software isn't there, that demand will eventually drop once all the early adopters get their consoles.