Hogwarts Legacy Becomes Third Biggest PlayStation 5 Launch In Japan

Since its release a week ago, Hogwarts Legacy has become the best thing sliced bread in the entertainment world. Despite the controversy surrounding it, the RPG is breaking records left, right, and center. Its launch overtook Elden Ring’s and topped Steam charts further proving how popular the franchise is.

Hogwarts Legacy also topped the Japanese retail charts in the week of its release, beating out Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But, even more, impressive was how the game’s PlayStation 5 retail launch has become the 3rd biggest in the console’s Japanese history. Only Gran Turismo 7 and Elden Ring’s release in the country sold more than the fantasy title in its first week.

Hogwarts Legacy had the 3rd biggest retail launch on PS5 in Japan.

The game has had stock issues so good digital sales should be expected, should easily be over 100k. pic.twitter.com/widl9nbzEV

— Game Data Library (@GameDataLibrary) February 16, 2023

Ever since Hogwarts Legacy topped the Steam charts weeks before its release, everyone was predicting a big launch. For sure there has been a lot of controversy around the fantasy RPG due to creator JK Rowling’s comments. But, most expected it to be no match for the sheer popularity of the Harry Potter franchise.

And, that is exactly what happened when Hogwarts Legacy launched last week. It sold like hotcakes all around the world and set new records on Steam with its concurrent player count. The Avalanche Software title had especially remarkable sales in Europe.

Hogwarts Legacy sold 56% more in Europe than 2022’s Game of the Year Elden Ring did in its first week. In doing so, the RPG also became the biggest launch in the continent since 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2. So, the game had a mega first-week launch in the continent of its creation.

Moving on to Asia, the story isn’t much different as Hogwarts Legacy ruled Japan in its first week. The Harry Potter game was on the top of the Japanese weekly retail charts spanning February 6-12. With only 3 days of tracking for its base edition, the fantasy title sold 67k units.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and Splatoon 3 were beaten out by Hogwarts Legacy this week. Nintendo’s new Pokémon game sold 29k units, bringing its total to 4.8 million units in retail sales. Meanwhile the Japanese cultural sensation Splatoon 3 sold 13k units, making its lifetime sales 3.8 million units.

But, the most impressive numbers were definitely those of Hogwarts Legacy. It sold almost 70k units in only 3 days as the game came out on February 10, 2023, around the world. Digital sales for the RPG are supposed to be much higher, so the actual numbers are greater than this.

Furthermore, only the PlayStation 5 version made the top 10 charts and went to the No.1 spot. The Xbox Series console version didn’t make the charts, meaning it sold less than 5k units. Nevertheless, the PS5 version of Hogwarts Legacy made up for this as it became one of the biggest launches in Japan.

🇯🇵 Japan Charts | Week 6, 2023 (Feb 6 – Feb 12) pic.twitter.com/wH9iRTvAGH

— Pierre485 (@pierre485_) February 16, 2023

Hogwarts Legacy’s PlayStation 5 version was the 3rd biggest retail launch for any game on the console in Japan. Only Elden Ring and Gran Turismo 7 had a bigger launch on the next-gen console than Hogwarts Legacy. The former sold 90k units in its first week while the latter sold 73k copies during its launch period.

What makes this even more impressive is how Hogwarts Legacy had supply issues at retail. Moreover, most people do prefer buying games digitally nowadays so assuming the RPG sold more than 100k units at launch won’t be wrong. Japan’s retail chart also doesn’t account for PC sales, which as we know are through the roof on Steam.

Hogwarts Legacy sales will only increase with the PlayStation 5 starting to meet demand and topping hardware charts. The release of the Nintendo Switch version later this year will only help this cause. You can play Hogwarts Legacy right now on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, and PC.