PS5 Crushed by Switch in Japan; Worst Launch in History of Sony Consoles
The poor availability of PS5 in Japan annoyed the local gamers. The choir of discontent was joined by analysts who presented sales data for Sony's console, suggesting that the Japanese company has given up its home market.
- Sony offered a limited supply of PS5 for its Japanese premiere;
- Dissatisfied gamers have been wondering for a long time whether the company has waved off the local market;
- Analysts are starting to speak in similar tone, citing the disastrous results of PS5 sales in Japan.
PlayStation 5 in Japan launched far below expectations. ACE Research Institute analysts report that only 240,000 consoles were sold across the first six weeks, which is the worst result of all Sony consoles (excluding PSP).
However, the problem is not the lack of interest from Japanese gamers. Although home consoles are constantly losing popularity in the Land of the Rising Sun, in this case, it is Sony itself that has allocated exceptionally limited supply to the Japanese market, focusing on the rest of the world, where almost 3.4 million consoles were sold.
The article written by Hideki Yasuda reveals a picture of a company that abandoned the Japanese market and focused on the rest of the world. Assigning such a small number of consoles for the launch is, in the analyst's opinion, the best example of this. He suggests that if nothing changes in Sony's approach, the final sales of the PS5 may not even reach half of what the PS4 has achieved (the latest data speaks of over 9 million consoles sold in Japan). As a reminder, PlayStation 2 has sold over 20 million units in Japan, which shows how much the market has shrunk.
The Japanese company has commented on earlier reports from Bloomberg, denying that the Japanese market is no longer important to them. However, as Yasuda writes in his article, PlayStation fans in Japan do not believe it. When we look at the sales figures for PS5, it's hard not to agree.
Nintendo and its Switch will of course gain the most from this situation, having sold around 278 thousand units in Japan in the last week of December (according to Famitsu), with total sales of 17 million 340 thousand units. The PS5 turns out to be even more of a poor performer when we also compare the first weeks of market presence. The Switch sold about four times better in the same period, which perfectly reflects the scale of Nintendo's dominance in the Japanese market.
