Persona Series Has Sold 9.3 Million Copies Worldwide, Yakuza Series Has Sold 11 Million

Sega recently published its integrated report for 2018, revealing lifetime sales figures for its entire portfolio of IPs including those that the company acquired. The report also noted that two of Sega’s recent releases, Persona 5 and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life have become global hits.

Figures reported for each IP are as follows:

Acquired IPs

• Megami Tensei series (first appearance in 1987): 12.4 million units
• Persona series (first appearance in 1996): 9.3 million units
• Etrian Odyssey series (first appearance in 2007): 1.9 million units
• Total War series (first appearance in 2000): 22 million units
• Football Manager series (first appearance in 2005): 18.1 million units

In-house IPs

• Sonic the Hedgehog series (first appearance in 1991): 800 million units
• Puyo Puyo series (first appearance in 1991): 27 million units
• Ryu ga Gotoku (Yakuza) series (first appearance in 2005): 11 million units
• Aladdin series (first appearance in 1989): 570 thousand units
• Beast King series (first appearance 2001): 490 thousand units
• Phantasy Star series (first appearance in 1987): 5 million units
• Chain Chronicle series (first appearance in 2013): 15 million units

The report also reveals that Yakuza 6 sold as many copies overseas as it did in Japan. President and COO Kenji Matsubara added:

In the past, the Japanese market has generated the bulk of sales for these series, and although it has elements that are appealing to overseas. However, the game was not developed with European and U.S. markets in mind. Thanks to painstaking efforts to create a game that Japanese fans will appreciate, the title has become popular not only in Japan but also won over fans overseas who praise the refined game sense of the title. I believe this is why Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has become such a popular hit around the world.

As far as Persona 5 is concerned, its success is attributed to Sega improving its quality of content and localization.

“No matter if a game is popular in Japan, it is unlikely to win over fans around the world if the localization is insufficient,” reads the report.

Did our readers enjoy Persona 5 and Yakuza 6?

[Source: Sega]