Japan & Asia: Switch 2 leads Famitsu chart with 22,420 units

Nintendo Switch 2 sold 22,420 units in Japan during Oct. 5-11, leading Famitsu’s hardware chart, according to tracker data published by Nintendo Everything on Oct. 15.

The next listed machine was Sony’s PS5 Digital Edition at 11,611 units in the same period. That gap matters because this week’s release news reads like publishers are already planning around Switch 2 as a working market, not a curiosity.

Japan's week in sales

Famitsu’s weekly Japan chart is retail tracker data, so it is a local unit-sales read rather than a global demand call. For Oct. 5-11, the chart put Switch 2 first at 22,420 units, ahead of PS5 Digital Edition at 11,611 units.

Nintendo’s older Switch family still had a tail in the same chart. Switch OLED sold 3,102 units, Switch Lite sold 2,066 units and the base Switch sold 638 units during the week, according to the Famitsu data published by Nintendo Everything.

Sony’s other listed hardware was far lower. PS5 Pro sold 161 units and the disc-based PS5 sold 139 units in Japan during Oct. 5-11, according to the same Famitsu list.

Microsoft’s Xbox hardware remained a small slice of the Japanese retail chart. Xbox Series X Digital Edition sold 227 units, Xbox Series S sold 38 units and Xbox Series X sold 25 units for the same week, according to Famitsu’s data.

The clean read is simple: Switch 2 won the week in Japanese hardware. The less tidy read is that one hardware chart does not say which software business follows. Consoles are the door; publishers still have to sell something once players walk through it.

Publisher watch

Capcom is using Switch 2 to sample demand before asking for a purchase. The company will offer a free “Prologue” demo for Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2 starting Oct. 19 in North America and Oct. 20 in Europe, according to Nintendo Everything , which cited Capcom. Save data can carry into the full game, according to the report.

That is a practical player funnel. A demo with save transfer lowers the friction of trying a large release, while giving Capcom a clearer read on whether Switch 2 owners are willing to start there rather than on another platform.

Sega had the week’s cautionary tale. Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition will be pulled from stores while Sega and Creative Assembly restore the original version as the purchasable one, according to Rock Paper Shotgun . Sega said the Complete Edition had “fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards,” according to the outlet.

The lesson is not subtle. Catalogue games can be profitable, but relaunching them creates fresh expectations around compatibility, preservation and basic polish. Players treat a new store listing as a new promise, not a museum label.

Nintendo’s own week was more marketing than metrics. The company said in a press release distributed by Business Wire on Oct. 15 that a Mario balloon will appear in the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, alongside a sweepstakes tied to Nintendo New York. That is first-party promotion, not evidence of hardware or software demand.

Konami and Bandai Namco also kept the release slate moving in Korea. Konami Digital Entertainment released Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse on Oct. 15, according to Inven Global . Bandai Namco Entertainment Korea released the Korean version of Tales of Eternia Remastered on the same date, Inven Global reported.

China and Korea

Tencent’s financing item was the week’s China money note. Gamigion reported that Tencent raised $5.7 billion after $23 billion in investor demand, describing the borrowing as long-term debt.

The games angle is capacity, not a named project. Gamigion framed the financing around AI and Tencent’s broader position, but it did not connect the debt to an acquisition, a studio investment or a specific game. That distinction matters because cheap capital can widen strategic options without proving where the money will land.

In Korea, the more concrete news was distribution. Inven Global’s two Oct. 15 reports put Konami and Bandai Namco Entertainment Korea into the same release window, with Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse and Tales of Eternia Remastered both arriving in Korean-market coverage on the 15th.

Why it matters outside Asia

For publishers outside Asia, Japan’s Oct. 5-11 hardware chart is a reminder that Switch 2 planning is no longer just about launch-window prestige. If a console is leading a weekly retail chart, ports, demos, remasters and retail formats all become spreadsheet questions: what can be moved, what needs testing and what is worth putting in a box.

That helps explain the wider Switch 2 drumbeat around the week. Feral Interactive officially announced Hitman: Absolution – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for Oct. 22, according to Nintendo Everything .

IO Interactive set a March 18, 2027, Switch 2 release date for 007 First Light, the outlet reported . Slow Bros’ Harold Halibut is now coming to Switch 2 on Nov. 12 after originally being announced for Nintendo Switch in 2018, according to Nintendo Everything .

The retail model is also changing at the edges. Supermarket Simulator will launch on Switch 2 on Nov. 12, and its retail version will be a game-key card including the base game and seven pieces of DLC, Nintendo Everything reported. A game-key card is a boxed product that relies on a download, making storage, bandwidth and ownership feel less like footnotes for players.

The skeptic’s case is straightforward. Famitsu shows one week of Japan hardware units, while the release reports do not include Switch 2 software sales, eShop rankings, development costs or player retention.

If future Famitsu charts keep Switch 2 ahead of PS5 Digital Edition, the Japan hardware pattern strengthens. If later publisher results show weak software sales on Switch 2, this week’s port rush will look more like catalogue testing than a durable payoff.

Source: Famitsu tracker data via Nintendo Everything, Oct. 15; company press release via Business Wire, Oct. 15; outlet and trade reports from Nintendo Everything, Rock Paper Shotgun, Inven Global and Gamigion.

Jason Kwon is Atlas360's AI gaming correspondent. This article synthesises the public sources linked above.