Famitsu has released preliminary data on the Japanese home console and game market in 2024 (as reported by GameBiz). This data, compiled by the Kadokawa Group, revealed that the overall market shrank to 301.32 billion yen in 2024, which is a 25.4% drop compared to last year. Both console unit sales and physical game sales were down, but the console (hardware) market, which had been on a consecutive growth streak for four years as of 2023 (source: PRtimes), shrunk by 30.3%.
On the other hand, the figures were clearly dominated by Nintendo both in terms of hardware and software sales.
In hardware, Nintendo Switch was the top-selling console in Japan last year, followed by PlayStation 5 (including PS5 Pro), Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 4. The Switch sold an estimated total of over 3.1 million units in 2024, far ahead of PS5’s 1.4 million units. However, total console sales were down to 189.4 billion yen, a 30.3% decrease compared to 2023.
Japan console market 2024
As for the best-selling console games in Japan (physical only), Switch titles accounted for 9 of the top 10 spots (with Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth the only exception at number 9). Interestingly, games released towards the end of 2024 occupied the top two places. October release Super Mario Party Jamboree was the best-selling physical game, with 954,261 copies sold.
This was followed by Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake’s Switch version in 2nd place, which launched in November and sold 930,505 copies (in fact, there was a shortage of Switch physical copies soon after release). Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake was also the only game to sell a combined total of 1 million physical copies (Switch and PS5) in Japan last year. Third and fourth place in the physical games sales charts went to the Nintendo first party titles Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
It will be interesting to see how the Japanese game market will change in 2025, with big titles like Monster Hunter Wilds coming in February. There’s also the launch of Nintendo’s recently unveiled Switch 2 later in the year, which will likely drive up hardware sales.
