Sonic Frontiers is selling well in Japan currently, becoming the fastest-selling game for the franchise in the region. Sonic Frontiers recently launched worldwide, being the first mainline 3D Sonic game since 2017's Sonic Forces. While critical reception is mixed, the fan reaction however has been warmly regarded following launch. With the success of Sonic's recent open-zone adventure, this is being reflected in certain parts of the world, including its country of origin.
Historically, while Sonic the Hedgehog is an iconic video game IP, its popularity mainly is within the Americas and Europe. Many note the character isn't nearly as popular in Japan compared to in the Western regions, mainly due to his character and personality, which is reflected in low sales in Japan as well. Despite this, Sonic's recent worldwide appeal has been growing thanks to the success of the Sonic movies, and this appeal seems to pay off with Sonic Frontiers seeing some healthy sales numbers in its first week.
As reported by Famitsu, it notes that Sonic Frontiers has already sold over 40K units across all the available platforms, making it one of the highest amounts of sales the series has seen in Japan within its first week. The last time the franchise had numbers like this was Sonic Adventure 2 when it first launched on the Dreamcast in 2001, selling 84K units. According to these charts, it shows the Nintendo Switch version of the game is performing the best, selling over 26K units and managing to hit #4 in the top ten chart, while the PS4 and PS5 versions have sold 20K units combined.
This figure is impressive, considering how fans were afraid of Sonic Frontiers' performance when it launched next to God of War: Ragnarok. Compared to the last mainline game, it beats out Sonic Forces' 10K opening sales in 2017. Considering that the game received an award to be one of the most anticipated games of 2022 at the Tokyo Game Show, it seems like the franchise's efforts to appeal to a Japanese audience are also paying off.
The momentum of the game seems to be on the upswing, as Sega will be providing a number of free DLC for Sonic Frontiers. These updates are going to be provided throughout 2023, following the release of the Monster Hunter collaboration packs.
Sonic Frontiers is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Sonic Stadium, Famitsu
