Famitsu Top 30: ‘Liz and the Angel’ Locks In Million-Seller Status, New Release Can’t Crack 900 Copies

Background and Key Points

Famitsu’s Top 30 is Japan’s weekly best-seller chart, compiled by Famitsu magazine (part of Kadokawa) from physical retail sell-through data reported by a national sample of stores. It has tracked the industry since the 1980s and remains the reference point for “hit” status in Japan, where crossing one million physical copies is still treated as a landmark achievement, even in an era when much of the market has moved to download purchases the chart cannot see. That gap matters directly here: Bubble Bobble: Sugar Dungeon Boost was mocked in the thread for selling under 900 physical copies, but posters had to walk back an early claim that it was a Switch exclusive — it also has a PS5 digital release that never touches this chart at all, so the number reflects a shrinking physical retail channel rather than the game’s total reach.

The thread’s real disagreement was less about that game and more about how much weight to put on this week’s numbers as a downturn signal — one poster called it a “gaming recession” across both software and hardware, while others pushed back that particular titles (like the “Reincarnation” game hovering at 2,800 copies) were simply past their launch bump, not evidence of a broader slump.

What outsiders likely miss is the PS5 physical-media context: Sony has signaled it will wind down disc production within a few years, and Japanese retailers are already visibly cutting PS5 shelf space and clearing stock well ahead of that date — a supply-side reason for weak physical numbers that has nothing to do with a game’s actual popularity.