Video game sales are weird. Let’s just get that out of the way. It’s awfully hard to discuss their significance in a vacuum, but comparing, say, Street Fighter V to Street Fighter IV could provide an closer look at how the franchise is faring.
Famitsu recently updated their sales charts with info for the past week, which includes data on Street Fighter V’s performance. According to to their information, the title sold 46,836 physical copies over the last few days. Please note that this doesn’t take into account digital sales (which translator MMCafe notes are typically negligible in Japan) or purchases through Steam.
That said, this is more than a little disappointing when compared to Street Fighter IV. While the number above surpasses the vanilla release’s 36,455 units on Xbox 360, it’s a far cry from the 84,937 figure recorded for PlayStation 3. Media Create (via 4Gamer) is reporting a more dire 41,990 in early sales, but one thing is certain: Street Fighter V’s early totals are around half of what its predecessor pulled.
For more perspective, we’ve included a more complete list first week sales in the genre over the past couple of years, taken from Famitsu’s previous reports, below.
- Super Smash Bros. (Wii U) – 244,747
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3) – 85,407
- Street Fighter IV (PS3) – 84,937
- Super Street Fighter IV (PS3) – 80,103
- Street Fighter V (PS4) – 46,836
- Ultra Street Fighter IV (PS3) – 45,660
- Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (PS3) – 45,347
- Street Fighter IV (360) – 36,455
- Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- (PS3) – 34,068
- Super Street Fighter IV (360) – 29,697
- BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND (PS3) – 23,273
- Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- (PS4) – 13,967
- BlazBlue: Chronophantasma EXTEND (PS4) – 11,432
- Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (360) – 9,229
- Dengeki Bunko FIGHTING CLIMAX IGNITION (PS4) – 7,112
- Ultra Street Fighter IV (360) – 2,813
As you can see, Street Fighter V is fairly strong when compared to the entire genre, but falls way below expectations for a Street Fighter title. Of course, the added focus on digital downloads in recent years could have contributed to the dip, but there’s really no telling. The world is a much different place than it was in 2009, especially when it comes to video games, and Street Fighter V’s release is far from a perfect parallel to Street Fighter IV’s.
While we’re not saying these figures give reason to panic, they certainly don’t inspire confidence when combined with the rough week Street Fighter V has seen since launch. We’ll keep you updated as more data becomes available.