The latest Japanese sales data from Famitsu paints a familiar picture: Nintendo is winning, and it isn't particularly close. Pokémon Pokopia has held onto the top spot with 23,738 units sold this week, pushing the title ever closer to the 1 million milestone.
The more eye-catching storyline, however, is how PlayStation is faring in the hardware race. According to Nintendo Life's reporting on the Famitsu data, combined PS5 hardware sales in Japan are being outpaced by the Switch Lite - a budget-tier handheld that's been on the market since 2019. That's a rough headline for Sony, especially as price hikes continue to pressure consumer spending.
Starfield's PS5 debut falls flat
Bethesda's space RPG Starfield finally made its PlayStation debut this week, but the Japanese market wasn't exactly rolling out the welcome mat. The title debuted at number 3 on the software charts with just 4,094 copies sold - a modest showing by any measure.
For context, Mario Kart World outsold it by a significant margin, moving 7,238 copies at number 2. Nintendo's racing franchise continuing to shift units while a major multiplatform RPG launch struggles to crack 5,000 sales says a lot about where Japanese consumer priorities sit right now.
The bigger picture
Japan has historically been a tough market for Western-developed titles, and Starfield's RPG style has never screamed mass-market appeal in the region. Still, landing below a Mario Kart title in its debut week is a tough look for a game that was once Xbox's flagship exclusive.
The PS5 hardware situation is arguably the more concerning data point for Sony. Price increases across several major markets have been a recurring theme lately, and Japan appears to be feeling that squeeze acutely. When a six-year-old handheld is outselling your current-gen console, something has gone sideways.
Nintendo's position in Japan remains nearly untouchable heading into mid-2026, with strong software attach rates and Switch hardware continuing to move at a healthy clip across multiple SKUs.
