The NES Classic Edition and Famicom Mini hit store shelves in early November, following weeks of anticipation amidst the coming holiday season. Reviews have already come in praising the console’s abilities and slew of retro titles. In Japan, the Famicom Mini is selling quite well, too. Famitsu reports that the Famicom Mini clocked in with well over 260,000 units sold within its first four days, which places the Japanese offering in a comfortable range with the Nintendo Wii U’s own launch numbers.
The news, which was shared on NeoGAF along with additional information on Japanese console launches, reveals that the Famicom Mini came in with 262,961 Japanese sales over the course of four days. In comparison, The PlayStation 4 sold 322,083 units in two days and the Nintendo Wii U hit 308,570 sales in its first two days as well. While the Famicom Mini doesn’t necessarily outpace either, it still holds a strong showing on the gaming market.
For those unfamiliar, the Famicom, or the “Family Computer,” was the initial Japanese release of what would later be referred to as the NES in America. The Famicom’s physical design differs sharply from the NES, in that it features a white and red colour scheme over the NES’s darker, bland and grey look. Obviously, Japan received a miniature version of the Famicom, as opposed to the NES Classic.
The Famicom Mini’s sales numbers aren’t a coincidence: Nintendo’s Virtual Console has also shown high sales numbers with the company’s classic re=-eleases. According to a financial results briefing from Nintendo of Japan for their 2015 fiscal year, Pokémon Virtual Console titles accounted for the top four sales in the entire Nintendo eShop. In particular, Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Pikachu faced a total of 1.5 million downloads. Nintendo sees this success as an opportunity for more retro releases. “We believe that we have successfully created a chance to appeal to the nostalgia of consumers who played these titles when they first came out,” Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima confirmed.
The NES Classic’s chances look promising in the United States, too. In the report, Kimishima confirmed that “half of [Pokémon Virtual Console] downloads came from the American market.” But it’s hard to say for certain until official stats are released in the West.
