PlayStation 4 Japan Hardware Launch Comparison to Past Platforms

PlayStation 4 (¥41.979 / ¥46.179) launched in Japan just three days ago and the results for how it performed during its first two days are in. Of course, this isn’t about how well the PlayStation 4 has performed, but how how well it has performed in comparison to past platforms.

[sonypsnow]

2000.03.04 [Sony PlayStation 2] (¥39.800) – 630.552 (2 days)

[abzdine]

Xbox more than Dreamcast? now that's an insult!
Good performance from PS4 without many games for Jap audience. PS2 has a weak line up but it appealed to the japanese audience: Dark Cloud, The Bouncer, Ridge Racer, Evergrace...

[lonelyplayer]

Looks like original xbox disappointed Japanese people and that's why 360 failed so hard over there.

[deafdani]

I loved The Bouncer, actually. It was the first PS2 game I finished. :P

[darthv72]

@lonely... the dismal 360 sales are more attributed to the dropping of the xbox platform right when the 360 came out. In JP, that kind of move is not very honorable and they showed their distaste for the move with the 360 sales overall.

Had Ms continued support for xbox, the 360 could have probably fared better but...who knows.

It is rather interesting how the order of platforms that had higher launches than the PS4 322k+ are this:
PS2 630k+ in 2 days
NDS 468k+ in 4 days
3DS 374k+ in 2 days
Wii 371k+ in 2 days
PSV 324k+ in 2 days

and missing the mark...
Wii-u 308k+ in 2 days

The majority of the list was over a 2 day period. The NDS showing 4 days is the odd man out. So the PS4 marks the 6th best opening weekend launch in JP gaming.

[Knushwood Butt]

@ darth

So what's the difference between that and Nintendo dropping the Wii completely prior to the launch of the Wii U?

[mediate-this]

@abzidine
Can you not refer the japanese as jap, itis insulting and degrading to japanese people. Plus i got in trouble for saying it.

[Shnazzyone]

2006.11.11 [Sony PlayStation 3] (¥49.980 / ¥59.980) – 88.443 (2 days)

That's a bummer.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Seems like a strong start.

Wedged between two Wii consoles.

[Neonridr]

ironically it sold just a tad more than the Wii U did during it's launch over the first few days.

[lonelyplayer]

Wii u had a good start but the lack of games is killing it.

[Shnazzyone]

Sure hope that doesn't happen to ps4. Those numbers are pretty close.

[Dunban67]

Additionally, The Wii U launched in November holiday shopping season and the PS4 is not- that will have some effect to the comparison- Wi U sales fell off a cliff after X-mas (and game delay announcements)

It will be interesting to see how long the PS4 will sell continue to sell out in Japan post launch

[Prime157]

I don't know enough about the Japanese culture... do they see the same sales surge during the western holiday months for your point to be true?

[Dunban67]

Prime157,

I don t know if it is quite as big but they def have a holiday seasonal sales surge in Japan - if you look at video game hardware and software sales in Japan from Nov thru Dec compared to the rest of the year it's clear they buy a lot during that time frame compared to non seasonal sales

If I remember correctly Iwata said as much as 80% of thier revenue globally could come from the Oct thru Dec quarter in a given year

Edit
It seems the Japanese Seasonal sales surge starts a little closer to Christmas than ours in the US. But November is still a strong month in Japan and December even stronger

[IRapeLolis]

PS4 is doing great. Elsewhere at EA HQ however... http://www.quickmeme.com/me...

[WeAreLegion]

Bubble for AD. There is absolutely no way Microsoft's check covered the potential profits EA would see from PS3/PS4 versions of Titanfall. They'll have to write a MUCH bigger check to keep the series exclusive. I'm not sure they'll be able to do that.

[Magicite]

EA and MS deserve each other.

[mediate-this]

Great because tf belongs on every possible platform. Its a great game that should be experienced by all gamers.

[barb_wire]

You know, for a country the size of Japan, those figures (no, matter which console) seem low.

One thing is certain though, Japan sure loves their handhelds.

[ritsuka666]

If you ask me it did better than the Vita. I just hope it does not fall like it. lol

[GordonKnight]

I think that is the reason Nintendo made the Wii U with the gamepad.

[worldwidegaming]

It honestly took too long to sell out! two days.It should have been the same day.

[CharlesSwann]

Sony's kickin arse would be a good substitute title

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Wait what O_O The Vita outsold the PS4 in first two day sales? That's actually pretty impressive.

[Wikkid666]

Kinda crazy that the Xbox had a better launch than the Dreamcast and PS3.

[mochachino]

Thos decimal points are throwing me off.

[fonger08]

The PS4 sold on the higher end of the release spectrum so I'm sure it sold through it's intial stock... I would really like to know why Dreamcast sold so low at launch, there had to be circumstances like low stock or something.

[scott182]

Demand seems to be really good, nothing like the PS2 launch, but then again sony only had about 350,000 available. They need to pump out some major jrpg's.

[TristanPR77]

Microsoft shouldn't launch in Japan, is going to be humiliating.

[ipach]

no way, the vita sold out the gate better than the PS4? Interesting... the PS4 launch window/year titles better prove to be more compelling than the Vita ones were if Sony wants to avoid having to do a price drop or something; chances are good, but interesting perspective

[worldwidegaming]

People expecting the Japanese to jump on board like the rest of the world forget that their tastes and needs are different. They need portability because many have long commute times to work/school. They are more likely to eat in the kitchen, live longer, have less crime, are not packing heat. the list goes on and on.
(compared with the US)
It just happens to be that the Japanese also prefer handhelds over consoles...
The PS4 WILL SELL! just not the same as other countries.

[CAB1802]

Are you people seriously gonna think that PS4 will sell amazing in Japan? LOL, no it won't, I'm warning you

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

exactly look what happened to Vita.

[JMaine518]

How can you compare it to the vita? If that's the case the 3ds did 374k in two days and is now sitting at 15 mil in japan. So how do you justify that the ps4 will sell like the vita?

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

@jmaine_ph

First understand what I am saying.
Did I say it will sell like Vita no.

I said look what happened to Vita as in when Vita first launched people thought it would do amazing due to launch sales.

Just because it sold a lot in first week in Japan doesn't mean much.
Hardware Sales in Japan drop much more quicker than everywhere else. If no solid releases or big games sales will drop. Most of PS4 games like Yazkuza sold better on PS3 and PS3 is getting all the new JRPG. Persona 5 for instance.

For a system in Japan to do amazing it must say above 20,000 weekly.

[JMaine518]

I hear exactly what your saying and the way you responded to the comment above you made it seem like you agreed and added to his statement of the ps4 not selling well. So I added that you can't assume it will do bad or good just because the vita fell off cuz the wii didn't fall off.

We got all year and beyond to hear about exclusives so jrpg can very well be on the way

[CrowbaitBob]

Yes, I'm going to go out on a really sturdy limb and assume that the PS4 will sell amazingly well in Japan, as well as the rest of the world.

[FinalomegaS]

i remember on an other site, this guy said "wait until the PS4 launch in Japan. That would be an other 4 million sold lolz."

I was like, how is it possible. Check the previous console release. Not going to happen, the entire PS3 7 year count is under 9Mil...

[RPG_Lover]

Average, but still a strong start.

[TheRedButterfly]

Hard to believe that the OG Xbox sold better [out of the gate] than the PS3 did… Especially considering the steam the PS brand had behind it after the PS2's "massive success." (<- understatement of the decade)

[Geekman]

I'm surprised that I'm not surprised it didn't outsell the Vita.

[blastergun]

Lol an average starting sale number for ps4. Take that you ps4 fanboys. This only shows that PS4 will not do as well as sony and you fanboy thought it would.
I keep hearing that Wii U is release in holiday season and PS4 is not.. Do you know that a year ago the world economy is not as good shape as of today.. Fanboy stop thinking that PS4 is great..News Flash! It is not great to many people. Graphic only sell that much ..No game Ps4 means no strong sales..

[SilentNegotiator]

"In the following week, Wii U would go on to sell 126,916, so it’ll be interesting to see if PS4′s momentum continues to match that of the Wii U or not"

....LOL, don't worry about that, NintendoEnthusiast. Even if it falls behind on Wii U's initial explosive numbers, it will at least not fall directly on its face a few weeks later.

[DanManDantheMan]

Need a tissue?

[SilentNegotiator]

Statements don't end in question marks. Here's your tissue, since you're upset that I called out NintendoEnthusiast's poor attempt to find a way to make Wii U look like it has a chance of doing better than Ps4 in Japan.

[solidjun5]

"Need a tissue?"

Need another new account?

[mysteryraz11]

lol wii u fanboys damage controlling the ps4 has already passed the wii u, the wii u is dead its a joke even knack outsold donkey kong tropical freeze, also ps4 sold more then wii u and it was in febuary not a holiday lmao

[paulcek]

the fact that you say "even knack outsold donkey kong tropical freeze" implies that you think DKTF is a way better game than Knack!
Otherwise, it'd be normal for Knack to outsell DKTF. Plus, PS4 has a greater install base than Wii U, so it'd be normal for their games to sell more, especially since there are not as many games right now on PS4(of course, the PS4 will get tons of great games very soon)

You admit the strength of Nintendo's games and that is what I buy consoles for: games. As long as Nintendo supports it, I don't care if the PS4 outsells it 7:1. (That was like how much the PS2 outsold the Gamecube lol, but I still loved my Gamecube because of all the great games!)

The PS4 is great! I'm glad it's doing well. Comparing launches is pretty valuable information. The PS4 launch showed similar number to the Wii U launch. That's a fact. Of course, I think that the PS4 will build its momentum because of the software that is being released compared to the Wii U losing all its momentum because of many, many issues.

[mysteryraz11]

knack is underrated and nintendrones like to play the same games over and over and over donkey kong,mario,zelda etc. the wii u had a whole year headstart and ps4 surpassed its sales in 3 months, noone wants the wii u its not next gen a tablet doesnt make it next gen, the hypocrisy is horrible with wii u fanboys, ps4 is doing everything right

[paulcek]

@Mysteryraz11

I never said PS4 was doing anything wrong? I said it was doing great. It had an amazing launch worldwide and in Japan. I said that the Wii U lost all of its momentum because of the lack of software and I said that the PS4 will build its momentum because of its great lineup of games! I don't know how your comment replies to mine.

And then, many people like to play the same games over and over again. It's not just Nintendo fans. I mean look at all the Cods, Fifas, Marios, Halos, Zeldas, Maddens, God of Wars, Gran Turismos, Forzas, Assassin Creeds etc...

If it wasn't fun, people wouldn't buy them. Also, have you ever maybe thought that a person who never played video games in their life would rather have a new sequel of a game on the latest console rather than a year old one? or a two year old one?

I for one, have never played a Donkey Kong Country game, so I kinda want to try DKTF out.

Also, I don't care about sales. Yes the PS4 is outselling the Wii U 3:1, or 4:1 every week, but the PS2 outsold the Gamecube 7:1 and that didn't make the Gamecube a worse console. It had great games like Chibi Robo, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Sunshine, SSB Melee (which was the first smash bros game i got), Kirby Airride...

I will probably pick up a PS4 when it gets cheaper in 2-3 years holiday season and then I will have a really great backlog of games.

Also, next gen is a term to describe the next iteration of a console. You're right, the "tablet" doesn't make it next gen, the fact that it's a new console that came out after the wii makes the Wii U "next gen".

You say "no one wants the Wii U" and that's just not true. Every week, 40000 ish people still buy the Wii U. Though that is not a lot sales wise, it's still THOUSANDS of people. Of course, the PS4 is even more amazing, reaching hundreds of thousands of people every week which I can not even imagine.
It's not very nice to call the 5 million people who own a Wii U "no one" or "nintendo fanboys" or "nintendrones". Namecalling isn't nice. :)

[DualWielding]

Really I'm surprised it sold at all in Japan since the only Japanese game available on the PS4 is Knack and the only two confirmed upcoming ones KH3 and FFXV are still a long time away

[ZeekQuattro]

I never expected to be greeted with news that the PS4 launched marginally better than the Wii U in Japan but below what the Vita did in the same time frame. Anyway its a good launch. Congratulations are in order.