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The PS5 finally grabbed the top spot for sales in Japan in February, even beating out the reigning champion Nintendo Switch.
The PS5 has sold 366,982 units, as reported by Famitsu (opens in new tab), meaning that sales are up 457% year-on-year, as Sony only managed to sell 65,772 units back in February 2022. Twitter user Genki_JPN (opens in new tab) also pointed out that the PS5 sold more units in February than in the first quarter of 2022 combined.
This big news signifies that the PS5 has beaten out Xbox and, more impressively, the Nintendo Switch as best selling console in Japan. The Switch came in second with 221,041 units sold, so it wasn’t really a close fight.
Software struggles
The week ending February 19th also saw Sony climb the ranks of the best-selling software titles, as reported by Push Square (opens in new tab). Hogwarts Legacy and Wild Hearts topped the list selling 36,958 and 26,905 units respectively. However, this is to be somewhat expected when considering the increased number of PS5 units sold and how new both games are.
Despite Sony claiming the top two spots, the next closest ranked title was Tales of Symphonia Remastered on the PS4, which took the eighth place. Other than these three games, the Nintendo Switch ruled the software roost, with Pokemon Scarlet / Violet and Splatoon 3 both being at the top of the pile.
Secret to success
While it is shocking that the PS5 has ended Nintendo’s impressive winning streak, it isn’t as surprising that this success has happened now with the news that the PS5 shortage was over in Asia.
This massive boost in sales comes hand-in-hand with Sony’s announcement that the company has finally tackled the supply issues that had plagued this next-gen console for so long worldwide.
The CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, told an audience at the PlayStation Partner Awards (opens in new tab) that Sony finally resolved the PS5 shortages in December 2022. His message seemed to target Japanese audiences as the company could now deliver next-gen consoles to “many customers in Japan and Asia” starting “this year-end shopping season and into 2023”.
Therefore a rise in units available would naturally see a rise in units sold. However, that doesn’t diminish the incredible success that the PS5 has had, especially in the face of the Nintendo Switch.