PlayStation 5 began to surpass PlayStation 4 in sales dynamics in Japan, while Xbox Series X | S still lags behind Xbox One

In the 24 weeks since the launch of the PlayStation 5 in Japan, 658,000 new-generation consoles have been sold. This is evidenced by the latest statistics from the publication Famitsu. PlayStation 4 sales for the same period since its debut in 2014 – 643 thousand.

As previously reported, the PlayStation 5 started in Japan much worse than the PlayStation 4, but this was primarily due to the deficit for it, which remains to this day. Over the following months, the new system was able to catch up with its predecessor in terms of sales speed, and now it began to bypass it, and the difference between them will only increase. The fact is that the demand for the PlayStation 5 significantly exceeds the supply, so Sony is quickly selling everything it ships, while the PlayStation 4 was by this time in the public domain in 2014, and its Japanese sales left much to be desired.

The table below shows the difference in sales of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in Japan by week. The first, if available in the public domain, was sold in the amount of 5-6 thousand pieces per week, and the second remains in short supply, but thanks to regular deliveries, it is sold in editions of 15-20, and sometimes 40 thousand pieces.

At the same time, the weak link of the new console continues to be sales of games in Japanese retail – they are extremely rare guests on the charts. In contrast, in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, each new PlayStation 5 shipment results in a skyrocketing leap for console games in the physical charts.

Some experts associate low sales of PlayStation 5 games in Japan with high reseller activity, pointing out that a large part of the consoles is sold in China and other countries. However, it is not possible to calculate all this. Nobody keeps such statistics, and what is really happening is unknown.

The big test for the PlayStation 5 will be in Japan launches high-profile games like Resident Evil Village of Capcom. On PlayStation 4, with iron sales of 500-600 thousand pieces, games were released with sales of 100 thousand copies in the first week. For example, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.

Xbox Series X | S is also in short supply in Japan, but in terms of total sales it still falls short of the Xbox One, which in turn sold worse than the Xbox 360 and Xbox. Stores sell 100 to 1,500 pieces every week.

Both Sony and Microsoft acknowledge the importance of the Japanese market for the PlayStation and Xbox, and are actively working with Japanese gaming companies.