PS4 sales in Japan rocket thanks to Metal Slime Edition

This week's Japanese sales charts saw the PlayStation 4 rocket and increase its sales week-on-week by a factor of 5. The reason? The launch of the Dragon Quest Metal Slime Edition of PlayStation 4. Typically when this kind of special edition is launched it is paired with the launch of an anticipated game, but the game in this case Dragon Quest Heroes won't be out until February in Japan so buyers only got a download code with their console to use in a couple of months time. The launch of GTAV on PS4 likely also contributed to the sales increase, even if the franchise isn't as popular in Japan as it is over here.

Japanese PS4 sales have been a bit sluggish so this injection was welcome and it should indicate that interest for Dragon Quest Heroes is very high. Of course, even with the massive increase in sales, PS4 still trailed the New Nintendo 3DS in weekly sales. And Wii U also had a relatively good week. And though we kind of feel bad to have to point it out, Xbox One really isn't doing well in Japan.

Hardware Chart (Famitsu) (week ending Dec 14)

1. New Nintendo 3DS LL - 77,889
2. PS4 - 64,017
3. New Nintendo 3DS - 32,028
4. Nintendo 3DS - 30,186
5. Wii U - 29,411
6. Nintendo 3DS LL - 23,341
7. PS Vita - 22,064
8. PS3 - 7,011
9. PS VitaTV - 1,043
10. Xbox One - 916
11. PSP - 82

As for the software chart Yokoi Watch 2: Shinuchi (3DS) from Level-5 sold a massive 1.2 million copies. In second and third respectively Pokémon: Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (151,011) and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (84,269) continued to do well, while Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V (73,167) on PS4 had a respectable opening week in fourth.