PlayStation is in 'Decisive Decline' in Japan Following Lackluster PS5 Launch, According to Analyst - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 August 2021 / 9,936 Views
The PlayStation brand has seen a decline in popularity in Japan over the years with the PlayStation 4 not matching the sales of the PlayStation 3 in the country. The PlayStation 5 launched in Japan on day one, however, it has only sold about 242,000 units as of December 20. This is the worst ever for the launch of a PlayStation system, other than the PSP.
ACE Economic Research Institute analyst Hideki Yasuda speaking with GamesIndustry says that the PlayStation brand is in "decisive decline" in Japan and that Sony is not putting enough effort into selling the PlayStation in Japan.
"Early PS5 trends have shown that the PlayStation brand in Japan is in decisive decline and Ace Economic Research Institute cannot help but be disappointed," Yasuda said.
"Looking at the present situation, in which Sony (SIE) has failed to ship enough PS5s to Japan for the year-end shopping season, we cannot help but be deeply concerned for the future of the PlayStation market in Japan."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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The problem with the Brand is they never tried anything new with the PS4. Why didnt they release games like Splatoon, Ringfit or Yokai Watch that suits the Japanese culture. They just sticked to the big franchises like FF, DQ and MH. But the fanbase of those games is not enough to attract a bigget market which clearly showed how the PS4 couldnt beat the PS3. Games sells hardware.
If you are Sony that is not the right mindset you want to have. Did anyone expected any of the games I listed to sell millions as brand new IPs in Japan? They need to try something different with the PS5. If you want the Japanese people to support your console then you need to give them the reasons why they should.
I'm sure the prejudice they've been showing Japanese developers hasn't helped Japan's views on the brand, either.
By prejudice are you talking about?
Didn't know about this requirement and it is unnecessary imho, but makes small sense since it possibly need to be approved in USA. But that isn't prejudice. If every dev needs to make a proposal in English no matter the country of origin then that isn't anything specific against Japanese devs (nor it is really a big hurdle at all).
not really, not when japanese specific is an entire market thats mostly seperate from the rest of the world.
Sony should probably do something about this. I think japanese devs would happily make games targeting switch with the ps5 getting a lazy up res rather than being the lead or exclusive platform. Monster hunter rise is going to be a telling game for how platforms are chosen. They need to be the lead platform for some of these games or the switch is going to suppress the ps5 sales in Japan.
" it has only sold about 242,000 units as of December 20." = "it has 'only' sold 100% of available units"
Imagine if they didn't have the main Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, Kingdom Ηearts entries... of course availability plays a role but there's no denying Sony is in decline in Japan.
I don't think it matters much anyway, Sony is an estiblished king in Europe and more than healthy in the US, the GTA, Fortnite, CoD, FIFA online teens cult is here to stay.
I think they would still get ports of those games on ps5. But I could see focus moving to the switch for Japanese devs.
the ps5 sold out in japan, this article is crazy..
I think it is WAY too early to jump to conclusions about the PS5 in Japan. We need to wait for the device to be available before we can gauge consumers' interest.
Oh, please... as if Devs were just going to stand there waiting for the first two months of sales to decide if they were going to develop a game for the PS5 or not. And if by any chance there are some developers out there waiting to make up their mind, I'm sure they can wait two more months when the machine is finally available to have a more clear picture.
Why would Sony care, better to focus on new markets and the West than to appeal a niche market which doesn't really like home console gaming to begin with. Even if the PS5 ends up selling 5 million in Japan, if it increases sales worldwide by 7.5 million instead its still a win.
I think PS5 is too big in size for Japan... I think portability is a huge plus when it comes to tech: PS5 is not terribly portable.
are you suggesting japanese game on tiny tv screens?
Many do, yes: many game on Switch don't they? Many more game on their phones.
Thankfully, those tiny screens don't seem so tiny closer up.
Cheap thrill , what a world we live in.
Why did the PSP start so badly?
I definitely think this is blown out of context. Yes they provided more inventory to the North American and European markets. Because they are massive in comparison.
Japan's inventory will improve, it's just a matter of time. And with the PS5 being backwards compatible with PS4 titles, it's safer for devs to support both platforms with content.
Wait till stocks are up and running before making an analysis, don't count ur chicken before they hatch as my stepdad always say.
portable consoles always sell better in Japan than home consoles, there is a tendency of portable console from nintendo sold more than the same generation home console, but it not the same with Sony, Ps3 outsold psp and ps 4 outsold ps vita
"portable consoles always sell better in Japan than home consoles" vs. "Ps3 outsold psp and ps 4 outsold ps vita" ← What is it now?
Let's take a look:
PS3: 10.47M
PSP: 20.01M
PS4: 9.29M
Vita: 5.92M
So clearly PSP outsold PS3 (double), while the same is not true for Vita vs. PS4. After all it isn't so much about handheld vs. home console, but successful console vs. unsuccessful one. Sony just has to make a product that matches the japanese tastes, and they would sell a lot. But they willfully focus on different markets, that is why they are consistently declining.
playstation 4 sold 9.2 mil after 7 and half years since release date in Japan, playstation 4 sold 10.4 mil after 11 years since release date in Japan, a bit early to speculate that Ps4 is not as popular as PS3 in Japan? source wiki.
At best its probably stagnant. PS3 and PS4 both sold about 10 million. We are at a point where Japan isn't that important for Playstation anyhow.
PS3 sold 10.5 million and PS4 9.2 million and already basically stopped selling any relevant amounts. PS5 could again sell a million less.
ah, but the vita sold another 6 mil or so
And the PSP another 20M
ps2 to ps3/psp was a 50% growth while ps4/psvita was a minor drop in japan. if they sell only as much as the ps4 did, thats a 100% decrease in total market share, from around 35% of the market down to 15-20% or so. ergo, 7 milion VS 25, maybe even 30 milion
What Sony's PS5 can't do in Japan it more than makes up for it worldwide. I don't see this as a big deal. The Japanese culture has shifted. Home consoles aren't the lifestyle there anymore, mobile phones and handhelds are. The Switch has the handheld factor to it. That's why Nintendo is winning in Japan over Sony. Go outside of Japan and Sony is thriving. Also Sony is having stock issues for PS5 in Japan and clearly PS5 isn't in its 1st full year yet so lets wait and see what happens once Sony can saturate the market.
This.
Plus the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 are very large boxes and the homes that are typically occupied are very very small in the Asia region compared to your average western home...
So it generally makes more sense to get a Switch.
But Nintendo is also winning outside of Japan. They made a console that is enjoyed by multiple regions, countries and culture.
Well of course.
The factors that make the Switch a lucrative device in one region doesn't negate why it is doing amazing in other regions, just different reasons or extra reasons.
Just an example of why the Switch is doing well in japan when all other console manufacturers are in decline.
Nintendo just managed to tick all the boxes for lots of people.
Hopefully this doesn't impact the Japanese influenced titles on Playstation 5, that would be a sad loss to the gaming community as a whole.
this declinaton seems to be an one -way ticket
This guy clearly hasn't taken into account the world wide pandemic and everything else that has gone into it.
That makes no sense at all. The pandemic affects the whole world, yet PS is only failing in japan. The pandemic is also affecting other manufacturers, yet Nintendo is successful in japan. Your analysis clearly is worse than that of 'this guy'.
In a pandemic with fuck all supply, strange take. Must be a fanboy or just needs to write something to get paid. Sounds like the media in general to be honest.
Yet despite pandemic PS5 is selling well outside japan, and despite pandemic is Switch still selling well in Japan. There is something more to it.
What a very lousy analysis. Sure we know consoles are in decline in Japan and have been for over a decade already. But to base that on first weeks of PS5 sale that have been all the inventory available is silly.
Not consoles per se are in decline. Only Playstation. Xbox never could land in Japan and Nintendos success strongly corresponds with the design of the console in question. But generally speaking a successful console worldwide for Nintendo is also successful in Japan and an unsuccessful one also fails in japan. The decline of the Playstation brand is completely independent of the success of their console outside of japan.
Consoles are in decline no doubt. Xbox had a big dump with X1 and Series isn't doing much better either, WiiU didn't really put a good show, Switch is a hybrid. So there isn't a shred to support it isn't consoles that are in decline there for a long time.
X1 sold worldwide less. Also Xbox sells not enough in Japan to make any real conclusions.
Playstation on the other hand... PS1 sold 21.1% of their units in Japan, PS2 14.7%, PS3 12.0%, PS4 8.1%. That is a consistent decline.
Now for Nintendo consoles: N64: 16.8%, GC 18.6%, Wii 12.6%, WiiU 23.8%, Switch 22.8%. These numbers fluctuate, but there is no consistent decline, instead a lot depends on the console itself. But the latest ones WiiU and Switch have a share of their sales in japan comparable to PS1. They show no consistent decline as the PS-brand does.
Last I checled Nintendo Switch is a console.
Yeah, they only managed to sell everything that was available, what a failure. What is the point of this stupid analysis? I mean it's common knowledge that Japan is becoming more and more portable, but at least wait until there's enough stock to go around before making assessments.
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