Sony managed to sell an enormous 2.6 million PS5 consoles in Japan last year, representing a colossal 124 per cent increase year-over-year. Of course, the dramatic upswing was to be expected following the dismal hardware shortages that plagued the platform in the post-pandemic period. This result, however, represents the most single year hardware sales for a PlayStation platform since the PS2 in 2004.
So, it’s a positive result, then – but the PS5 is struggling when it comes to software sales. All of the country’s top ten best-selling physical games for 2023 released on Nintendo Switch, which highlights the dominance the House of Mario is enjoying in its home nation. In fact, while the PS5 hardware numbers are decent, it’s perhaps worth pointing out that the Switch sold almost double, and is obviously now in its twilight years.
It’s unlikely Sony will ever be able to topple Nintendo in its home territory, and the inevitable Switch 2 is going to cause further headaches for the firm to overcome. The good news is that it’s shifting hardware pretty well, and while software is still lagging behind, there’s at least something for the PlayStation maker to build on here. The release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth should give it a further boost in the coming weeks.
