A new report in Famitsu indicates that PlayStation 5 sales figures in Japan have hit a new milestone. Hardware sales estimates for the week of October 17-23, 2022 show Japanese PS5 sales topping out with two million units sold. This figure is a combination of both the standard version PS5 and the less expensive digital version. (That’s the one without the optical drive.)
Overall, PS5 sales in Japan totaled 2,027,783 units sold. 1,749,737 units are the version equipped with the standard drive. The PS5 digital version was significantly less popular with 278,046 units sold. PS5 launched in Japan in November 2020, just 102 weeks before hitting the milestone. By comparison, the PS4 took 90 weeks to reach two million copies sold. This relative slowdown is exacerbated by supply issues caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Even now, the PS5 is often sold in Japan through the lottery system.
In May 2022, Sony reported that the PS5 passed 19.3 million units sold globally.
While the sales milestone is an achievement for the PS5 in Japan, overall the Nintendo Switch still dominates. The Switch OLED model alone has sold more than 2.8 million units in the time since its launch. Across the three existing Switch models, more than 26.5 million units have been sold in Japan over the life of the platform. Switch titles made up eight of the top 10 best-selling games of the week. Splatoon 3 leading the way, along with the Switch version of Persona 5 Royal. The best selling PS5 game of the week is Gran Turismo 7, next is the PS5 version of Persona 5 Royal.
