Where PlayStation and Nintendo have always had a dominant presence in Japan (though the former has been dwindling of late), the Xbox brand hasn’t had the sort of cache and recognition in the region that it does in western markers. With Xbox recently having celebrated its 20th Japanese anniversary though, the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu (via VGC) recently provided some interesting tidbits for how it has performed in the country to date.
Apparently, from February 2002 until now, Microsoft has collectively sold 2,345,975 Xbox consoles. The Xbox 360 has been Microsoft’s best-selling console in the region to date, with 1,616,128 units sold, while the original Xbox trails in second place, with sales numbers standing at 472,992 units. Meanwhile, interestingly, the Xbox Series X/S have already outsold the lifetime sales of the Xbox One.
Given the Xbox 360’s figures, it shouldn’t be surprising that its library dominates the list of best-selling Xbox games in Japan. Dead or Alive 3 leads proceedings with 271,149 sold, and is followed by Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope, Tales of Vesperia, Blue Dragon, and The Last Remnant. You can find the full sales figures below.
Microsoft has been placing a much greater emphasis on expanding its presence in Japan of late, especially with the launch of the Xbox Series X/S, which, unlike the Xbox One, saw simultaneous release in Japan.
Xbox has also been making moves to attract more Japanese games and developers to its platforms, and with Bethesda’s Tango Gameworks, has also added Japanese studio to its first party lineup- though some analysts have suggested that Microsoft might struggle to make larger acquisitions of companies in the nation. Read more on that through here.
XBOX CONSOLE SALES IN JAPAN:
- Xbox – 472,992
- Xbox 360 – 1,616,128
- Xbox One – 114,831
- Xbox Series X/S – 142,024
BEST-SELLING XBOX GAMES IN JAPAN:
- Dead or Alive 3 (Xbox) – 271,149
- Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope (Xbox 360) – 208,521
- Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360) – 204,305
- Blue Dragon (Xbox 360) – 203,740
- The Last Remnant (Xbox 360) – 154,493