The sales figures for November are in and the PS5 sold over seven times what the Xbox Series S/X did in the same time period in Japan.
Microsoft has its sights set on Japan this generation, but it has an uphill struggle ahead of it. Japan has always favored its homegrown companies when it comes to the home console market, with Nintendo and Sony dominating the sales charts in the region. The Xbox brand has always struggled in Japan, to the point where it was practically a non-entity during the Xbox One era.
The PS5 and Xbox Series S/X launched in November and the initial sales figures for the systems are now in. We know that the PS5 dominated in its first month in the UK, and Japan has followed suit. According to Famitsu, the PS5 sold 201,000 units in November, while the Xbox Series S/X sold a combined 28,0000 units in the same time period. The two systems were crushed by the Nintendo Switch, which sold 666,773 units in November. This follows on from the Switch dominating the sales the week before the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X were released.
It's not surprising to see the Xbox Series S/X have such a slow start in the region, even with the continuing stock shortages for the PS5. Game Pass aside, the new Xbox systems didn't have any launch exclusives, especially with the Xbox Series S/X version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon being delayed indefinitely in Japan.
The Xbox Series S/X had a slow start in Japan and it's currently behind the PS5 around the world, but the console war is far from over. There are rumors that Microsoft is looking to acquire Japanese studios to add to Xbox Game Studios, while the ZeniMax purchase will put some of the biggest gaming franchises in the world under the company's control. It will be interesting to see if this is the generation where Microsoft finally manages to build a sizable audience for the Xbox brand in Japan.
Source: Famitsu