Nintendo Switch moves 2m units during H1 | Japan Monthly Charts

gamesindustry.biz:

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

During the first six months in Japan, the Nintendo Switch moved 1.94 million consoles across its three model units.

Here's what you need to know for Japan's H1 2023:

Famitsu's retail sales data from December 26, 2022, to June 25, 2023, shows that Sony's PlayStation 5 hardware hit 1.4 million systems sold.

Nintendo led boxed title software sales, generating ¥28 billion ($203 million) during the first six months of the year, making up 44% of the market. Second was Square Enix at ¥6.74 billion ($48.6 million) during H1 2023, accounting for 10.6% of physical game sales. Third was the Pokémon Company at 7% of market share with ¥4.68 billion ($34 million).

Regarding physical game units sold during the period, Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the top-selling boxed game of H1. It's estimated to have sold 1.7 million units in the country. Second was Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, having moved a combined 719,000 copies. Nintendo's Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe was the third best-seller with 451,000 boxed games sold.

During June in Japan, the Nintendo Switch moved 380,000 consoles across its original, Lite, and OLED units.

Famitsu's monthly retail sales data from May 29 to June 25 shows that Sony's PlayStation 5 hardware hit 215,000 systems sold during the five weeks.

Nintendo led with 422,000 boxed titles in software sales, outpacing Square Enix's 364,000 fueled by the release of Final Fantasy 16. Meanwhile, Capcom was the third top publisher as it moved 83,000 physical game units sold.

The newly released Final Fantasy 16 debuted as the month's top-selling title at 336,000 copies sold on the PlayStation 5. Meanwhile, Nintendo's