As with every Wednesday, we have received numbers right out of Japan from Media Create regarding the performance of video game hardware and software in the country. And, as always, the Nintendo Switch has held on to the top spot, though in this case, only just- sales have contracted rather dramatically from last week, falling to a little over 38,000 units from over 74,000 units last week.
It does make sense that Switch sales are low- stock is presumably being constrained again as Nintendo stockpiles for the impending release of Super Mario Odyssey. Meanwhile, 3DS took second place with 23,000 units sold, while PS4 rounded out the top three with 22,000 units sold.
On the software front, the 3DS release Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga+Bowser’s Minions had a tepid debut, with under 26,000 units sold. Nevertheless, it still managed to top charts, which shows you how bad last week was for game sales in Japan. Last week’s debutants Fire Emblem Warriors and Trails of Cold Steel 3 both saw catastrophic declines in software sales. On the other hand, Switch games Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild continue to hold strong on the charts, and even ARMS manages to poke its head back into the top 20.
So yes- pretty bad week all around for software charts in Japan. Hopefully, with the impending release of Super Mario Odyssey, things get better.
Thanks, Neogaf.