Even as we all keep waiting for the demise of the Japanese gaming market that we have all been told for the better part of a decade is coming, the Japanese market continues its slow path to recovery. This last week of sales, which saw some abnormally high sales all around, bolstered by Holiday week shopping, saw the 3DS and the PS4 both achieving significant sales milestones in the region.
Nintendo’s 3DS, which is already the third highest selling system of all time in Japan, solidified its position further, by crossing 22 million units sold in Japan over its lifetime- a hefty number that it seems unlikely any other system will come close to challenging any time soon. The New 3DS range alone constitutes 5 million of these 22 million, so Nintendo is bound to be happy with how its mid cycle revision for the 3DS performed.
Over on the Sony end, the PS4 crossed 4 million units sold, a significant milestone for a home console, and one that it managed to achieve quicker than the PS3. The PS4 is currently outpacing PS3 sales in Japan, and if it can sustain its current level of performance, it could easily manage to outdo the PS3’s lifetime sales in Japan in the end.
Of course, this is without considering how Nintendo’s Switch might eat into its lunch- the new Nintendo system merges home consoles and portables, and is likely to be the perfect system for Japan. If Nintendo can rally developer support behind it the same way they did the 3DS, PS4 sales could be in trouble come this time next year.