Japan: unit sales of video game consoles 2024

The PlayStation 5 had sold about 5.11 million units in Japan as of August 2024, while the Xbox Series X had sold around 310 thousand units. Sony and Microsoft launched the current generation of video game consoles in November 2020. Both companies also offer downgraded but more affordable versions of their products: While the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition was less popular than the standard model, the Xbox Series S was able to sell more units than the Xbox Series X. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch OLED Model, which was released in October 2021, had sold more than 7.7 million units since its launch.

The Japanese console gaming market

The Japanese video game market is one of the biggest gaming markets in the world. While smartphones are the most popular gaming devices in Japan today and drive the economic growth of the gaming industry as a whole, console gaming remains a large industry worth several hundred billion Japanese yen. The most successful titles can sell several million copies in the course of a single year. In 2017, the successful launch of the Nintendo Switch brought about the first growth of sales revenue for the gaming console industry after a longer period of declining revenue figures.

Leading video game companies

While the competition in the hardware market is more evenly distributed in other countries, Sony and Nintendo clearly outpace Microsoft in their home market. Next to two of the three major hardware companies, Japan is also home to some of the world’s leading gaming software developers, such as Bandai Namco, Square Enix, and Capcom. Their products, which include game franchises such as "Final Fantasy" or "Street Fighter," are not only well-received in Japan, but also have a broad audience internationally.

Cumulative unit sales of handheld and home video game consoles in Japan as of August 2024 (in millions)

Characteristic	Cumulative sales in million units
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Release date

August 2024

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Region

Japan

Survey time period

August 5 to 18, 2024

Supplementary notes

The New Nintendo 2DS LL was covered by the source until March 2024. As of March 31, 2024, it had sold approximately 1.19 million units.
The PlayStation 4 Pro was covered by the source until March 2021. As of March 28, 2021, it had sold approximately 1.58 million units.
The Xbox One S, Xbox One X, and the New Nintendo 3DS LL were covered by the source until December 2020. As of December 20, 2020, the Xbox One S had sold approximately 93.7 thousand units, the Xbox One X had sold approximately 21.1 thousand units, and the New Nintendo 3DS LL had sold approximately 5.89 million units.
The PlayStation Vita was covered by the source until the beginning of January 2020. As of January 8, 2020, it had sold approximately 5.86 million units.

Figures are estimates.
Values have been rounded.

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