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Everybody’s Golf was the best-selling title in Japan in September, according to the latest figures from Famitsu, beating Destiny 2 and PES 2018 to the top of the monthly charts.
Splatoon 2 put in another good performance last month despite a 48 per cent decline in sales month-on-month, rising one place to No.2 with over 138,000 copies sold. It still wasn’t enough to beat Sony’s golfing title, though, which shifted over 144,000 in its opening month.
Everybody’s Golf had a slight advantage, being the only new entry in the Top Ten to release in the first week of September, but PES 2018 still managed an impressive debut at No.3 despite having just two weeks on sale. Konami’s football title shifted over 88,000 units in September, putting it 14,000 copies ahead of Destiny 2 even though it launched a week later.
Last month’s No.1, meanwhile, the 3DS version Square Enix’s Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, dropped down to No.5 after sales fell 85 per cent month-on-month. The PS4 version, meanwhile, dropped out of the Top Ten altogether.
Other new entries included the download card version of Pocket Monster Gold and Silver, which entered the monthly chart at No.7, and Pokken Tournament for Switch at No.8. Both titles only went on sale during the last week of September but they still managed a respectable 50,000 copies apiece.
The performance of Pocket Monster Gold/Silver alone, in fact, actually helped Nintendo to the top of the publisher charts in September, helping it regain a 19.7 per cent market share and a combined sales value of ¥1.8bn. Sony wasn’t far behind, however, as its combined sales value hit ¥1.67bn with a market share of 17.9 per cent.
Overall, Japan’s physical game market was up 14 per cent in September year-on-year to ¥20.12bn, but that was mainly due to a 47.2 per cent leap in hardware sales, as software sales were actually down 9.6 per cent compared to this time last year. Still, the month marked the eighth consecutive month of year-on-year revenue growth for hardware, thanks primarily to the continued strength of Nintendo Switch sales, which hit 169,000 units.
Here’s the Top Ten software chart in full for the month ending September 24th:
1. Everybody’s Golf (PS4), Sony, 144,511 (New)
2. Splatoon 2 (Switch), Nintendo, 138,694
3. PES 2018 (PS4), Konami, 88,485 (New)
4. Destiny 2 (PS4), Sony, 74,713 (New)
5. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (3DS), Square Enix, 73,563
6. Monster Hunter XX (Switch), Capcom, 57,683
7. Pocket Monster Gold/Silver (Download Card Version) (3DS), 56,013 (New)
8. Pokken Tournament DX (Switch), Nintendo, 51,960 (New)
9. Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 (3DS), Atlus, 46,435 (New)
10. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch), Nintendo, 44,192
