Street Fighter 6 Has Sold Over 1 Million Copies In Japan

[Jaded Alyx]

I can’t imagine these numbers to be accurate. Something doesn’t add up and I have a hard time believing that Steam accounts for 600k+ sales in Japan.

Where’s the « I don’t believe you » gif when you need it

If you have a Capcom ID you can login on the Street Fighter 6 Buckler site and sort the players by region. The only filter that's been applied to this list is 'Japan' chosen as the Region:

https://www.streetfighter.com/6/buckler/ranking/league?character_filter=1&character_id=luke&platform=1&user_status=1&home_filter=3&home_category_id=7&home_id=85&league_rank=0&page=1

That's 19 of 20 players on the first page that are on PC (the other icon indicates console - which includes Xbox but is obviously far more likely to be PS4 or PS5)

Since I have nothing better to do - and to satisfy my own curiosity - if we go back 5 pages, or 100 players:

Page 1 - PC 19, Console 1
Page 2 - PC 19, Console 1
Page 3 - PC 19, Console 1
Page 4 - PC 17, Console 3
Page 5 - PC 17, Console 3

Total: PC 91, Console 9

Yes, this is a tiny sample size and the method isn't perfect but it's at least an indicator that the Steam version being the dominant one in Japan isn't so outlandish.

​

​

 

[Fisico]

Oh, he was. Color me surprised.
(Terunofuji is the former Yokozuna who abdicated recently)

I actually do follow sumo but more on a tournament basis checking the results every two months, didn't see that Terunofuji retired but he missed a bunch of tournaments the last two years (basically only one out of six basho in 2023, 2 out of 6 in 2024 and he quit in the in the Hatsu basho a couple weeks ago)

That means that there's no Yokozuna at all? That's the first time since... a shitton of time ago, Hakuho retired recently after reaching the status in 2009, before him was Asashôryu so that's back to the early 2000 and I don't know much about what happened before that.

Well checking now Hoshoryu was promoted, I'm a bit iffy on that, sumo association does whatever the fuck they want so consistency is not to be found there but pretty sure winning two consecutive basho as Ozeki used to be a prerequisite, a 13-2 2nd place and 12-3 victory is not that bad but it doesn't strike me as the usual Yokozuna promotion, he's young but his career wasn't the usual meteoric rise you see in a Yokozuna usually either, really feels like they wanted to fill the hole Terunofuji left by retiring and needed to have at least an active Yokozuna at all cost.

 

[Celine]

I actually do follow sumo but more on a tournament basis checking the results every two months, didn't see that Terunofuji retired but he missed a bunch of tournaments the last two years (basically only one out of six basho in 2023, 2 out of 6 in 2024 and he quit in the in the Hatsu basho a couple weeks ago)

That means that there's no Yokozuna at all? That's the first time since... a shitton of time ago, Hakuho retired recently after reaching the status in 2009, before him was Asashôryu so that's back to the early 2000 and I don't know much about what happened before that.

Well checking now Hoshoryu was promoted, I'm a bit iffy on that, sumo association does whatever the fuck they want so consistency is not to be found there but pretty sure winning two consecutive basho as Ozeki used to be a prerequisite, a 13-2 2nd place and 12-3 victory is not that bad but it doesn't strike me as the usual Yokozuna promotion, he's young but his career wasn't the usual meteoric rise you see in a Yokozuna usually either, really feels like they wanted to fill the hole Terunofuji left by retiring and needed to have at least an active Yokozuna at all cost.

I'm of the opinion that Hoshoryu didn't display in the last two basho strong enough dominance mandatory for a Yokozuna (his consistency improved though), however I believe he will improve further under his new responability role (he is young, relatively injury-free and increased his weight toward 150kg which guarantee him more strength) and will be a worthy Yokozuna.
Anyway I think Onosato will attain the Yokozuna rank in the near future (he is still very raw but being already an Ozeki despite the rawness is a testament of his potential).
The ukrainian Aonishiki is the shin makuuchi rikishi to watch next basho, I have high expecation for him ("next european Ozeki" high).

The last period without an active Yokozuna was 1993 if memory serves me right, before the promotion of american/hawaiian Akebono (if you ever wonder why the Xbox OG japanese specific controller had that codename now you know lol).

 

[Fisico]

I'm of the opinion that Hoshoryu didn't display in the last two basho strong enough dominance mandatory for a Yokozuna (his consistency improved though), however I believe he will improve further under his new responability role (he is young, relatively injury-free and increased his weight toward 150kg which guarantee him more strength) and will be a worthy Yokozuna.
Anyway I think Onosato will attain the Yokozuna rank in the near future (he is still very raw but being already an Ozeki despite the rawness is a testament of his potential).
The ukrainian Aonishiki is the shin makuuchi rikishi to watch next basho, I have high expecation for him ("next european Ozeki" high).

The last period without an active Yokozuna was 1993 if memory serves me right, before the promotion of american/hawaiian Akebono (if you ever wonder why the Xbox OG japanese specific controller had that codename now you know lol).

Two Ukrainian at the top 2 spots in Juryo with Aonishiki and Shishi, surely a first in sumo history
And yup speaking of meteoric Rise Aonishiki definitely looks like one.

And on SFVI in Japan

 

[opaidiota]

MK1 despite being disappointing for series standards still has sold more than SF6, especially outside Japan!

Yes, but MK1 is beyond dead at FGC.

Street Fighter 6 came out so strong that not even Tekken could compare.

With the very likely version of Street Fighter 6 (in fact I hope it's already Super Street Fighter 6) for Switch 2, this shouldn't change.

 

[SquidEnthusiast]

Compare MK1 and MK11 sales to get the full story of why MK1 is being considered a massive flop

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Compare MK1 and MK11 sales to get the full story of why MK1 is being considered a massive flop

'massive flop' is a bit harsh. It is about 3 million behind where MK11 was at the same time I think? So definitely not great comparatively. The main issue with MK1 is apparently little engagement with DLC and the Khaos Reigns addition, borne from competitive players largely dropping it and the mainstream/casual audience no longer as invested as before.

While PC has never been big for MK, it is honestly startling how little growth there has been for the series on Steam compared to the likes of Guilty Gear, Tekken, and Street Fighter. There are more people playing MK11 on Steam than MK1.

 

[Biscuit]

The initial excitement for Mortal Kombat 1 was very high, but its legs have fallen off catastrophically compared to its predecessor; I think that's why people call it a comparative flop. It may well be done selling, more or less, and the game has had to deal with rumours, lately, that active development might be ending soon. That's not an indication that active development will end, mind, but it is an indication that people aren't confident in the future of the game or very engaged with its current state

Street Fighter 6 is in the opposite spot, more or less; its usage rates jump back to near-peak every time a new character releases, and ongoing conversation, fervor, and sales around the game have been consistent and enthusiastic. It seems like SF6 leaving MK1 in the dust is an inevitability, especially if Super Street Fighter 6 or a Switch 2 release are in the cards

 

[SquidEnthusiast]

The initial excitement for Mortal Kombat 1 was very high, but its legs have fallen off catastrophically compared to its predecessor; I think that's why people call it a comparative flop. It may well be done selling, more or less, and the game has had to deal with rumours, lately, that active development might be ending soon. That's not an indication that active development will end, mind, but it is an indication that people aren't confident in the future of the game or very engaged with its current state

Street Fighter 6 is in the opposite spot, more or less; its usage rates jump back to near-peak every time a new character releases, and ongoing conversation, fervor, and sales around the game have been consistent and enthusiastic. It seems like SF6 leaving MK1 in the dust is an inevitability, especially if Super Street Fighter 6 or a Switch 2 release are in the cards

Both of those things are in the cards. In fact I feel like there's a pretty decent chance Capcom may debut SSF6 at the April Direct, Capcom has been revealing fighting game projects in Nintendo Directs a fair deal lately and there's going to be a TON of eyes on that Direct, even more so than the usual ones.

 

[Aostia82]

Capcom, April Direct, fighting games?

Power Ston3 baybay!

 

[mariodk18]

Both of those things are in the cards. In fact I feel like there's a pretty decent chance Capcom may debut SSF6 at the April Direct, Capcom has been revealing fighting game projects in Nintendo Directs a fair deal lately and there's going to be a TON of eyes on that Direct, even more so than the usual ones.

Capcom and Nintendo also have a good relationship. I'd say out of all their franchises, SF is the one guaranteed to be there not only on April 2nd, but close to the launch of the system. SSFIV 3D was announced less than 2 months after the console version had released (April 27 2010 > E3 2010) and was a day 1 launch title that took advantage of the 3DS's unique capabilities (3D, touch screen, oblique battle angle for 3D view, Streetpass, DL play, etc.). USFII (still Switch exclusive btw) was revealed at the January '17 Switch Presentation and launched a little under 3 months after the Switch's launch with it's own Switch unique features (Way of the Hadou). Both companies see value in the IP not only being present on the system, but being there early.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Both of those things are in the cards. In fact I feel like there's a pretty decent chance Capcom may debut SSF6 at the April Direct, Capcom has been revealing fighting game projects in Nintendo Directs a fair deal lately and there's going to be a TON of eyes on that Direct, even more so than the usual ones.

I don't think we'll hear anything about 'SSF6' until this current season is over, as SSF6 should technically be season 3 of SF6. I don't imagine Elena will be out by the beginning of April.

That's not to say that SF6 won't be there in some capacity of course.

 

[Seiez]

We live in a sad world, in which Capcom doesn’t announce anything of relevance during the finals of their ProTour anymore.

In this regard Capcom became very corporate with their Esports/Community.

Japan had their Finals for the Street Fighter League. That is some wrestling tier scope. And we are talking about just one team matchup.

Big Stage

 

[Lelouch0612]

Did we get any domestic sales data for SFV in the Capcom leak?

 

[AruanaRiva]

Surprise to see how big PC is now for fighting game in Japan.O_O Does SF6 got very big discount that push this big sales there?

 

[Bodokoh]

It doesn't surprise me at all for Steam sales to surpass PS5 versions in Japan, and soon it's going to be MHWilds.

 

[Biscuit]

It doesn't surprise me at all for Steam sales to surpass PS5 versions in Japan, and soon it's going to be MHWilds.

I wonder if they're going to need a PC version that runs excellently, for that to happen; Street Fighter 6 has it. It's not yet clear that Wilds has, nor the effect that a sub-par version of the game might have on sales over time

 

[Danny]

I wonder if they're going to need a PC version that runs excellently, for that to happen; Street Fighter 6 has it. It's not yet clear that Wilds has, nor the effect that a sub-par version of the game might have on sales over time

Every version of wilds is subpar, so not sure that would prevent PC from dominating.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Surprise to see how big PC is now for fighting game in Japan.O_O Does SF6 got very big discount that push this big sales there?

SF6 gets sales in Japan the same time it does elsewhere. Influencers and vtubers have just helped it blow up there.

PC is big for every fighting game now in general, not just Japan. Well except Mortal Kombat. But not to this extent.

Pro players becoming content creators while also realising that PC versions were much better last generation due to lower input delay, consistent frame rates, and no online fee has been a big influence alongside the growth of Steam.

 

[SquidEnthusiast]

Japan's internet infrastructure being much better than most places in the west is helpful for growing the online scene there as well.

 

[AruanaRiva]

SF6 gets sales in Japan the same time it does elsewhere. Influencers and vtubers have just helped it blow up there.

PC is big for every fighting game now in general, not just Japan. Well except Mortal Kombat. But not to this extent.

Pro players becoming content creators while also realising that PC versions were much better last generation due to lower input delay, consistent frame rates, and no online fee has been a big influence alongside the growth of Steam.

I see. PC adoption surprisingly is growing quite fast in Japan but SF6 indeed seems to be different beast. I wonder what make SF suddenly click with JP fighting audience there.

 

[Biscuit]

Every version of wilds is subpar, so not sure that would prevent PC from dominating.

The PS5 version is apparently as stable as Worlds was on the PS4, at least! I think that's probably the floor of acceptability, and the image quality/performance on PC is notably worse, mostly

 

[Jaded Alyx]

I see. PC adoption surprisingly is growing quite fast in Japan but SF6 indeed seems to be different beast. I wonder what make SF suddenly click with JP fighting audience there.

A lot of it is because of the Crazy Raccoon Cup events. Famous influencers and streamers/vtubers (who may or may not know anything about Street Fighter) including fps_shaka, the JP streamer with the most followers - are placed in teams and coached by fighting game pros. It has proven immensely popular.

fps_shaka streamed Sf6 earlier today and had 521,000 views.

That's higher than every day of Evo besides the final day.

 

[AruanaRiva]

A lot of it is because of the Crazy Raccoon Cup events. Famous influencers and streamers/vtubers (who may or may not know anything about Street Fighter) including fps_shaka, the JP streamer with the most followers - are placed in teams and coached by fighting game pros. It has proven immensely popular.

fps_shaka streamed Sf6 earlier today and had 521,000 views.

That's higher than every day of Evo besides the final day.

Damn that huge view.O_O This shows how much i am out of the loop of Japanese streamer market that can hugely influence PC sales there