Official Japan Sales Charts: Astro Bot Barely Registers at Retail, PS5 Numbers Plummet After Price Hike

[Megan]

The latest Japanese hardware and software charts are in, and they don't make for particularly positive reading if you're sitting on the Sony side of the fence. To start with, Astro Bot has entered in second place, but with just under 12,700 copies sold at retail, that's hardly worth bragging about. It's an incredibly low debut for a first-party PlayStation release. Here's hoping that digital sales are a lot more robust, because the spectacular platformer deserves all the success it can get.

Then there's the PS5 itself, which has seen its numbers fall off a cliff following the console's recent price increase in Japan. The current-gen system managed to move just 11,800 units — which is less than half the total that it posted in the previous week. Predictable, we suppose, but it's not a good look for Sony — especially in its native country, where its influence has significantly diminished over the years.

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Japan Sales Charts: Astro Bot Barely Registers at Retail, PS5 Numbers Plummet After Price Hike

Astro Bottom

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[Select27]

Astro Bot might not be a well-known name, but it has a lasting appeal. Games like this often maintain strong sales over time thanks to word of mouth. Instead of making a huge splash with 10 million sales in the first week, it steadily sells well over a longer period.

 

[StellaK]

Well Sony moved out of Japan a long time ago, idk if that's anything do with this but cmon give it some time, I'm sure the game will cook in sales since its slowly getting showered by praise with locals

 

[Ron-The_Ravenn99]

How about checking out X for some news on your own?
It seems like the game didn’t get much initial buzz, but it’s already sold out in Japan.

Gained traction through reviews and word of mouth, so the first shipment was pretty limited, but they’re increasing it now.
So, yeah, these articles might not be painting the whole picture.

 

[xxWRATH_AVengerxx]

Sony's decision to move their headquarters out of Japan makes sense when you consider that Japan is primarily Nintendo's territory and is also known for gacha games.

The Japanese market never had the same attachment to PlayStation as the rest of the world did, and Sony seems to be rapidly squandering any remaining goodwill they had.