Japanese software/hardware sales for Feb. 20th to Feb. 26th, 2023

I'm breaking my head wondering just why the hell is everyone buying a PS5 if no PS5 games even reach the top? Even Octopath II is doing better on Switch than it is elsewhere... Is this the Japanese harsh way of telling Sony that they just bought the consoles only to sell it off at high price? Like as in scalping?

We're even seeing PS4 games getting there...am I missing something or is this really the move of scalpers hoarding the sales?

Anyways Switch being second doesn't really hurt Nintendo because the demand is still there and PS5 selling at the top in six weeks isn't saying or even hinting at anything yet.

Hey, Socar! How ya doin'?

I think it can be that the PS5 is finally actually available in Japan. Sony ditched Japan in a way with focusing on the Western market and shipped as many units over here as they could, so Japan was kinda barren in that department. And with taht they are catching up with the older games on the system. Should look at the sales of those games. Perhaps Demon's Souls got a sales boost?

Now that PS5s are available about everywhere I doubt scalpers will keep, uhm, scalping for long.

Octopath was inspired by the 90's SNES era of gaming so I guess it kinda fits? And, if I didn't fuck this up, there are 25394491 more Switch than PS5s in Japan just now. That's almost ten times more. Could be a reason =)

Yeah sure, buy hardware with no games worth getting. I'm guessing this has something to do with Final Fantasy as that is the only thing I can think of why PS5 is selling now so that once the game is out, the sales start to sour when you consider that not a single game was worth getting hyped for PS5 during their own "direct".

There just has to be a reason. If a console sells, you expect software to sell with that. It only makes sense that Final Fantasy is what's keeping it on hype levels. And if that's the case, then all the more reason for scalpers to hoard more units than before because of the hype.

Anyways, its still not on the level that Nintendo is facing any kind of threat because the Switch is a hybrid and the PS5 isn't. Also, Kirby says hi.

Again: PS5s are available. They were not before. There are a lot of games from the last 2+ years of it's release people can finally play since they finally have a PS5. And also, as you mention, FF16 is coming along with several other games. So they know games will come in the future+ has great games from before= good investment.

"Everyone" has a Switch already. It has sold insane amounts and will sell good for the next years to come. But it has to stagnate sometime too, as with every console out there...ever.

Pretty simple!

This is pretty much what I said already. Nintendo isn't facing any threat in the sales charts right now.

And again just release consoles in other regions to boost more sales.

Let's see what happens after final fantasy 16.

Nice try to derail the talk here.

Again, the PS5 is selling because of several factors I mentioned above. I could also just add the Playstation brand to the list.

Do you think people get a Switch later on just to play the games released after they purchase it, or do you think they want to get into the already existing library on the system? Probably both, right? Late adaptors get the best of both worlds. The exact same with the PS5.
For more comparisons: You keep mentioning FF16 is a reason, or THE reason, people getting a PS5 now. But with that logic, TOTK is the only reason someone would get a Switch now. It's a reason some people would, of course, but not the only reason. But "Let's see what happens after TOTK." with your logic (Pikmin 4 is NOT a system seller).
Nintendo has, from what we know, no games after this summer.

What other regions are you talking about BTW? They can try to sell more Switches there, but it could be costly if it fails. There's no "just release in other regions" button.
But since the Switch's momentum is falling in the three biggest markets, they would perhaps want to get that piece of the cake to still be spending money on them., and that could be a new system.

We can agree, partially, on one thing: We'll have to wait and see.

Sorry! Out of troll-crackers for today =/

Actually there is more on the Switch than TOTK right now as we're seeing Kirby already reaching the top of the charts so...

As for Nintendo not having any games after this summer? Well what about PS5. Nothing in their "direct" was worth getting hyped over based on the feedback I've seen.

By other regions I'm talking about regions Nintendo never considered marketing their products from the beginning. Like Indonesia for instance.

Anyways We'll wait and see where it goes. Second place still isn't the "danger" zone for Nintendo.

"As for Nintendo not having any games after this summer? Well what about PS5. Nothing in their "direct" was worth getting hyped over based on the feedback I've seen."

Thing is we don't know any of their games of now. Yeah the PS Direct was best for us PSVR2 owners and, well Street Fighter 6 and RE4R look good. Where RE4R will get a VR version.

So there's Pikmin 4 and Stellar Blade for each system. Non are system sellers, but both look like some good fun.

The PS5 is still pretty young and Sony are sure to ahve several games in the works though. Also now with the PSVR2 just launching and all. The Switch is in it's 7th year(?) and that's already a long lifespan for a Nintendo console. But since it's selling so good they sure will want to sell more, but it's stagnating. I can imagine cross-gen games between Switch and Switch 2 for a pretty long time actually.

Indonesia? Doesn't seem like Nintendo would bet on that market from the looks of it. They ahve shown no interest in it so far. Could be too much of a risk.

YEah, well this year in gaming in general is looking like an interesting one. Will MS acquire ActBlizz? If so then with what butchered deal and how will it shape the gaming industry? If not then how will it impact MS's image? Will the PSVR2 succeed? Will Nintendo announce a new console?

Yeah, time will tell!