Sony's PS5 Sees Best Year in Japan Since 2004, Yet Nintendo Dominates

Despite strong hardware sales, Sony struggles with software as Nintendo's Switch continues to lead in both hardware and software sales.

Sony's PlayStation 5 (PS5) sold 2.6 million units in Japan in 2023, marking the highest single-year hardware sales for a PlayStation platform since the PS2 in 2004.
Despite the PS5's strong hardware sales, Sony struggled with software sales in Japan, with all of the country's top ten best-selling physical games for 2023 released on Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo's Switch sold almost double the number of units as the PS5 in Japan in 2023, despite being in its twilight years.
Nintendo has dominated the Japanese sales charts for 19 consecutive years, with all ten of the year's best-selling console games being for Nintendo Switch.
Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S consoles sold only 141,712 units in Japan in 2023, significantly less than both the PS5 and the Switch.