PlayStation has record low sales in Japan. It was less only in 1994

PlayStation suffered heavy losses in the Japanese market. For the whole of 2020, less than a million Sony consoles were sold in the country. The last time this happened was in 1994 — during the launch of the PS1.

Such figures were shared by Famitsu analysts. Their statistics included sales of both the recently released PS5 and its predecessor PS4. Moreover, the share of new—generation consoles in total sales turned out to be minimal – the PS5 was responsible for about a quarter of the volume of consoles released (Famitsu did not name the exact number).

Dynamics of sales of PlayStation consoles (1994-2020)
The drop can be partly explained by problems with the supply of a fresh console due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recall that immediately after the release of the PS5, retailers around the world faced a shortage of consoles in warehouses. A similar situation occurred in Japan.

However, the decline in sales can also be attributed to Sony’s policy. According to some analysts, the company has been moving away from the “home market” for a long time. As arguments, proponents of the theory call the initially limited edition of the PS5 for Japan, a reduction in the number of employees in Sony’s Japanese offices and the relocation of the headquarters to California. But Sony itself claims that it still considers the land of the rising sun one of its main markets.

Nevertheless, the other day Sony stopped releasing all PS4 models in Japan, except for one — a black PS4 Slim with 500 GB. The company justified this decision by the need to release the equipment for the production of PS5.

The company’s opinion about low Japanese console sales remains unknown.