well this'll be a doozy

It only took a little over three months for PlayStation 4 to surpass Wii U’s global sales. Indeed, PlayStation 4 is still selling like gangbusters. But in Sony’s home country of Japan, PlayStation 4 isn't performing like some suspected it would.
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Each week, a Japanese organization known as Media Create releases sales charts that chronicle how each and every game and piece of hardware sold in the country. The numbers go back years and years, and offer a fascinating illustration of the ebbs and flows of the Japanese gaming industry, one that’s clearly very much in decline.

...Nintendo’s Wii U is steadily outpacing Sony’s PlayStation 4...
Indeed, if you examine Media Create reports for both PlayStation 4 and Wii U, you realize that, surprisingly, Nintendo’s Wii U is steadily outpacing Sony’s PlayStation 4 through their first three respective weeks.
Wii U launched in its home country after it already came out in the west, and its Japanese reception started strong and quickly declined. You can see the first three weeks in the grid below. (Wii U came out on December 8, 2012 in Japan; its first week is therefore only represented for two days.)
Week Dates Sales
Week 1 December 3-9, 2012 308,142
Week 2 December 10-16, 2012 126,916
Week 3 December 17-23, 2012 122,843
- - 557,901
PlayStation 4 also launched in Japan after being released elsewhere in the world, and it saw a strong start (far better than PS3's) followed by a steep decline. The grid below shows how it performed. (PlayStation 4 came out on February 22, 2014 in Japan; its first week is therefore only represented for two days, identical to Wii U.)
Week Dates Sales
Week 1 February 17-23, 2014 309,104
Week 2 February 24-March 02, 2014 65,685
Week 3 March 03-09, 2014 35,294
- - 410,083
What do these numbers tell us? It’s hard to say. Wii U suffered virtually no supply constraints in Japan. On the other hand, there are mixed reports when it comes to PlayStation 4. PS4 remains heavily supply constrained in the west months after its release, and may be suffering from a similar issue in Japan. Still, the decline in sales seems to indicate that that’s not the only problem.
Two bigger issues seem to be at the center of PS4’s soft Japanese sales. The first issue is the overall decline of the traditional console market in Japan. Indeed, even the handheld market – once a massive pillar of Japan’s gaming tastes – is taking a back seat to smart phones, with 3DS lagging behind DS’ performance, and Vita nowhere in the same hemisphere as PSP as far as sales are concerned.

Two bigger issues seem to be at the center of PS4’s soft Japanese sales.
The second problem is a lack of games, especially a lack of exclusive games. The biggest Japanese launch title for PlayStation 4 was Yakuza: Ishin, but it came out on PlayStation 3 the same day, and the PS3 version sold far better. Japan Studio’s Knack was a big hit for PS4, but don’t be deceived: it came with each and every launch PS4 sold.
Will PlayStation 4 rebound? Almost certainly. But its success is likely to be relative to the health of the traditional gaming market in Japan. We'll keep a close eye on how things develop moving forward.

mega!!!! wrote:yeah it makes sense considering the country has changed a lot regarding vidjers over the past four years. handhelds have shown higher demand over there than pretty much any region. the wii u also managed to have a monster hunter game and a tekken game at the japanese launch, where as the ps4 has nothing like that yet.

kkkRISTYAN FOOLE wrote:

mega!!!! wrote:yeah it makes sense considering the country has changed a lot regarding vidjers over the past four years. handhelds have shown higher demand over there than pretty much any region. the wii u also managed to have a monster hunter game and a tekken game at the japanese launch, where as the ps4 has nothing like that yet.

when sony went out to the launch pad without any japanese games i was like "whaaaat" that's gonna hurt them in the long run japan isn't above petty nationalist grudges

mega!!!! wrote:

kkkRISTYAN FOOLE wrote:

mega!!!! wrote:yeah it makes sense considering the country has changed a lot regarding vidjers over the past four years. handhelds have shown higher demand over there than pretty much any region. the wii u also managed to have a monster hunter game and a tekken game at the japanese launch, where as the ps4 has nothing like that yet.

when sony went out to the launch pad without any japanese games i was like "whaaaat" that's gonna hurt them in the long run japan isn't above petty nationalist grudges

you sure they still have grudges? iirc there was a point where battlefield 4 and gta v were in the top 20 over there.

mrspurinization wrote:erm you fellas are forgetting that this is just one country and the PS4 is curbstomping everyone like everywhere else (esp america where tha money is at)

MADAGASCAR SELLS 5 MORE TOYODAS THAN THE COMPETITION, FORD FORCED TO CLOSE ALL ITS FACTORIES!!

mrspurinization wrote:PS4 just needs summa dat ass and titties to get the players in kind of like idolmaster and xbox 360

the thing is nintendo can't release a game like that for their system for fear of soiling their name with the prudes in the west

mrspurinization wrote:PS4 just needs summa dat ass and titties to get the players in kind of like idolmaster and xbox 360

the thing is nintendo can't release a game like that for their system for fear of soiling their name with the prudes in the west

Diseased_Giraffe wrote:

mrspurinization wrote:PS4 just needs summa dat ass and titties to get the players in kind of like idolmaster and xbox 360

the thing is nintendo can't release a game like that for their system for fear of soiling their name with the prudes in the west

le bayonetta face