Japanese market flat for H1 2014; PS3 sales beating Wii U

An increase in hardware sales and a decrease in software has left the Japanese games market flat for the first half of 2014, according to Famitsu data.

Hardware sales grew 6.4 per cent compared to the same period last year while software sales declined 3.8 per cent, leaving the overall market up just 0.1 per cent.

3DS is the best selling console so far in 2014, with sales nearly double that of nearest rival the Vita. PS4 sales are double that of the PS3 which itself is ahead of Nintendo’s Wii U.

1. 3DS – 1,079,166 units
2. PS Vita – 639,730 units
3. PS4 – 613,785 units
4. PS3 – 300,386 units
5. Wii U – 291,605 units
6. PSP – 80,251 units
7. Xbox 360 – 6,421 units
8. Wii – 6,194 units

And here are the lifetime sales for each platform:

1. PSP –19,688,744 units total
2. 3DS – 15,773,177 units total
3. Wii –12,744,273 units total
4. PS3 –9,868,886 units total
5. PS Vita –2,914,869 units total
6. Wii U –1,810,032 units total
7. Xbox 360 –1,613,980 units total
8. PS4 –613,785 units total

Despite only arriving in May, Mario kart 8 is already the fourth best selling game of the year. PS4 exclusive Knack is the eighth and Bandai Namco’s Dark Souls II is the tenth.

Six of the H1 2014 Top Ten are 3DS titles.

1. Yokai Watch (3DS): 849,027 (1,135,480 units total)
2. Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru to Ruka no Fushigi na Fushigi na Kagi (3DS): 739,032 (739,032 units total)
3. Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS) 633,695 (633,695 units total)
4. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U): 512,467 (512,467 units total)
5. Pocket Monsters X/Y (3DS): 416,864 (4,393,693 units total)
6. Puzzle and Dragons (3DS): 411,992 (1,417,689 units total)
7. Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS): 404,666 (404,666 units total)
8. Knack (PS4): 398,685 (398,685 units total)
9. Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS Full Boost (PS3) 367,354 (367,354 units total)
10. Dark Souls II (PS3) 335,226 (335,226 units total)