Kotaku: media create

Mario, Zelda Strike Down Final Fantasy XIII In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:30:00 MST

After a debut week as impressive as an Odin summon, Final Fantasy XIII's second week on the market in Japan shows that Lightning's sales legs that aren't quite as impressive as Mario's.

Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii returns to software sales chart dominance after a week off, moving another half-million copies in Japan. The Wii game beats out Link's newest adventure, giving The Legend of Zelda: Spirits Tracks a second place debut appearance on the charts with 291,000 copies sold. Nintendo also took third, with the astoundingly popular Tomodachi Collection.

That leaves Final Fantasy XIII in fourth place, moving another 189,000 copies this week, according to Media Create.

The rest of the top ten is all Nintendo—and Namco Bandai—with DS and Wii games outselling everything else in Japan. The numbers, after this.

01. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 506,000 / 2,440,000
02. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS) - 291,000 / NEW
03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 227,000 / 2,317,000
04. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) - 189,000 / 1,690,000
05. Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver (DS) - 125,000 / 3,465,000
06. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 114,000 / 1,315,000
07. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS) - 99,000 / 908,000
08. Wii Sports Resort (DS) - 72,000 / 1,568,000
09. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii) - 64,000 / 200,000
10. Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue (DS) - 64,000 / 559,000

11. PokePark Wii: Pikachu no Daibouken (Wii)
12. Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP)
13. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS)
14. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
15. Pen 1 Grand Prix: Penguin no Mondai Special (DS)
16. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PSP)
17. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
18. Momotarou Dentetsu 2010 Senkoku Ishin no Hero Daisyuugou ! No Ken (Wii)
19. Sengoku Musou 3 (Wii)
20. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus (PSP)
21. Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 (PSP)
22. Power Pro Kun Pocket 12 (DS)
23. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channel (DS)
24. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)
25. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
26. Dorabase 2: Nettou Urutorasu Tajiamu (DS)
27. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
28. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
29. Little Busters! Converted Edition (PS2)
30. Metal Fight Beyblade: Bakutan Cyber Pegasus (DS)

Big Final Fantasy XIII Sales Mean Big PS3 Sales In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:00:00 MST

When you're selling over 1.5 million copies of Final Fantasy XIII to the Japanese game buying public, you're gonna sell some PlayStation 3s to go along with it. How many? More than triple what Sony sold the week before.

That big red slice in the Japanese hardware pie represents the 237,000-plus PS3s snapped up by gamers hungry for some Final Fantasy. And that similarly impressive slice of blue? That's the Wii, which managed to move over 190,000 units last week, according to Media Create.

Those big Wii sales—combined with similarly solid DS sales—gives Nintendo the dominant share of the pie this week, somewhat unexpected given Sony's install base spike with the PS3. Full numbers for all nine systems are after this.

PlayStation 3 - 237,086
Wii - 191,915
Nintendo DSi - 95,227
PSP - 79,194
Nintendo DSi LL - 75,241
Nintendo DS Lite - 12,879
Xbox 360 - 8,965
PSPgo - 3,260
PlayStation 2 - 2,982

Final Fantasy XIII Versus The Competition, By The Numbers

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:30:00 MST

Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIII last week, a release that, in its first four days, sold more than 1.5 million copies. But how did the competition fare with the Final Fantasy sales juggernaut vying for Japanese gamer's yen?

Quite well, especially if you consider the competition to be New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which has sold another 568,000 copies, just a hop, skip and jump away from crossing the two million mark in Japan. And speaking of selling two million copies of something to Japanese consumers, it appears Nintendo's other hit, Tomodachi Collection, has done just that. The Nintendo DS game once again shows off its long legs, securing third place behind Final Fantasy XIII and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

And what games would dare go up against Square Enix? Well, clothes-ripping, breast-teasing PSP game Queen's Blade: Spiral Chaos, which moved 50,000 copies to horny Japanese gamers in its debut week.

A handful of other competitors also made first appearances on this week's Media Create software sales chart, highlighted below. Can you find them all?! Probably, since they've been bolded.

01. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) - 1,502,000 / NEW
02. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 568,000 / 1,934,000
03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 166,000 / 2,090,000
04. Pokemon SoulSilver / HeartGold (DS) - 111,000 / 3,340,000
05. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 93,000 / 1,201,000
06. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS) - 71,000 / 808,000
07. PokePark Wii: Pikachu no Daibouken (Wii) - 71,000 / 192,000
08. Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue (DS) - 54,000 / 496,000
09. Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) - 50,000 / 412,000
10. Queen's Blade: Spiral Chaos (PSP) - 50,000 / NEW

11. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
12. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii)
13. Pen 1 Grand Prix: Penguin no Mondai Special (DS)
14. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS)
15. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus (PSP)
16. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
17. Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 (PSP)
18. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PSP)
19. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)
20. Sengoku Musou 3 (Wii)
21. Tales of Graces (Wii)
22. Power Pro Kun Pocket 12 (DS)
23. Stitch! Ohana to Rhythm de Daibouken (DS)
24. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
25. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channel (DS)
26. Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! DS Ore Ga Bosu! Saikyou Famiri Taisen (DS)
27. Momotarou Dentetsu 2010 Senkoku Ishin no Hero Daisyuugou ! No Ken (Wii)
28. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
29. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS2)
30. Metal Fight Beyblade: Bakutan Cyber Pegasus (DS)

Wii Dominance Continues In Japan, PS3 Dominance Due Shortly

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:40:10 MST

Continued strong sales of New Super Mario Bros. Wii means continued strong sales of the Wii. In fact, this week's sales are much better than the week prior, putting the Wii atop the Media Create chart with 135,000-plus sales.

Anticipation for Final Fantasy XIII also means a big boost for the PlayStation 3, which moved an impressive 75,000 units in Japan this past week, a number we expect to see dwarfed next week when hardware numbers arrive.

Sales were up across the board with one exception, the PSPgo. And while the DSi shows strong, the Nintendo DSi LL isn't quite matching sales of its DS siblings. Sales were up over the week prior, but not in line with other variations on Nintendo's dual screen platform.

I mean, look at these numbers and tell me what you see.

Wii - 135,898
PlayStation 3 - 75,086
PSP - 71,885
Nintendo DSi - 68,184
Nintendo DSi LL - 58,006
Nintendo DS Lite - 11,376
Xbox 360 - 10,646
PSPgo - 3,077
PlayStation 2 - 2,463

That's a total of 436,621 hardware units sold in Japan, according to Media Create, compared to 357,013 consoles and handhelds sold the week prior.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Holds Onto #1 In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:20:00 MST

New Super Mario Bros. Wii continues its strong sales performance in Japan, moving the Wii game well past the million mark with another 431,000 copies sold. You know, maybe Nintendo should make *more* Mario games!

Sure, New Super Mario Bros. Wii's rock solid performance comes as little surprise and we expect to see the game at or near the top of the charts for weeks to come. Obviously we expect Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII to be right up there with it, but those figures won't be in until next week.

Other games that charted well this week, according to Japanese sales monitor Media Create, include Namco Bandai's Tales of Graces for the Wii, the Japanese version(s) of Modern Warfare 2, and the latest Naruto title for PSP.

For the rest of the top thirty games in Japan for the week of December 7 to 13, read on, list reader.

01. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 431,000 / 1,366,000
02. Tales of Graces (Wii) - 143,000 / NEW
03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 102,000 / 1,924,000
04. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) - 93,000 / NEW
05. Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 (PSP) - 77,000 / NEW
06. Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver (DS) - 75,000 / 3,228,000
07. Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) - 74,000 / 361,000
08. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 64,000 / 1,109,000
09. PokePark Wii: Pikachu no Daibouken (Wii) - 57,000 / 121,000
10. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus (PSP) - 57,000 / 280,000

11. Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue (DS)
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
13. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS)
14. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PSP)
15. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS2)
16. Sengoku Musou 3 (Wii)
17. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
18. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii)
19. Luminous Arc 3: Eyes (DS)
20. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS)
21. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
22. Power Pro Kun Pocket 12 (DS)
23. Kyoukugen Dasshutsu 9 Jikan 9 nin 9 no Tobira (DS)
24. Momotarou Dentetsu 2010 Senkoku Ishin no Hero Daisyuugou ! No Ken (Wii)
25. Assassin's Creed II (PS3)
26. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS3)
27. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
28. Metal Fight Beyblade: Bakutan Cyber Pegasus (DS)
29. Stitch! Ohana to Rhythm de Daibouken (DS)
30. Tokimeki Memorial 4 (PSP)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

New Super Mario Bros. Helps Wii Reclaim Top Spot In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:40:00 MST

After months of so-so weekly sales in Japan, the Wii returns to the top of the country's hardware sales charts, its best weekly tally since the release of Monster Hunter 3. Thank New Super Mario Bros. Wii for that!

Japanese Wii sales more than doubled on the release—and massive sales—of the new four-player Mario game, putting Nintendo's console well ahead of its closest competitor, the PSP. Sony's portable platform saw a solid boost from the release of Phantasy Star Portable 2 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus.

Sony's other lead platform, the PlayStation 3, saw a nice uptick in sales too. Perhaps for Assassin's Creed II, perhaps just due to seasonal spending, but enough to give it a third place showing.

With those three consoles at the top, that means previous hardware chart topper, the Nintendo DSi LL, had to settle for fourth, just ahead of the regular-sized DSi.

Here's how sales tracker Media Create saw the Japanese hardware contest shake down last week.

Wii - 106,555
PSP - 67,880
PlayStation 3 - 57,782
Nintendo DSi LL - 53,791
Nintendo DSi - 51,635
Nintendo DS Lite - 8,367
Xbox 360 - 5,314
PSPgo - 3,412
PS2 - 2,277

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Leads The New Of The New

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:40:00 MST

Nintendo released New Super Mario Bros. Wii in Japan last week, giving the console its biggest first-week software sales in the country to date, more than 950,000 copies sold, according to Media Create.

That puts it ahead of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, ahead of Mario Kart Wii, and ahead of everything else released in Japan this week. While two new PSP games—Phantasy Star Portable 2 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus—scored second and third place with impressive numbers, their sales couldn't come close to the newest of New Super Mario Bros.

And speaking of New Super Mario Bros., the Nintendo DS original is still represented well on this week's chart, managing to score 24th place this week, many years after its initial debut.

As for the new games, Assassin's Creed II managed a top ten showing, as did PokePark for the Wii. In danger of slipping from Media Create's top thirty is poor old Dragon Quest IX. Hang in there, DQ!

01. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 953,000 / NEW
02. Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) - 287,000 / NEW
03. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus (PSP) - 223,000 / NEW
04. Sengoku Musou 3 (Wii) - 121,000 / NEW
05. Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue (DS) - 85,000 / 392,000
06. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 75,000 / 1,822,000
07. PokePark Wii: Pikachu no Daibouken (Wii) - 64,000 / NEW
08. Pokemon Heart Gold / Soul Silver (DS) - 63,000 / 3,153,000
09. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 52,000 / 1,044,000
10. Assassin's Creed II (PS3) - 49,000 / NEW

11. Tokimeki Memorial 4 (PSP)
12. Power Pro-Kun Pocket 12 (DS)
13. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS)
14. Metal Fight Beyblade: Bakutan Cyber Pegasus (DS)
15. Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes W (Wii)
16. Assassin's Creed II (Xbox 360)
17. Momotarou Dentetsu 2010 Senkoku Ishin no Hero Daisyuugou ! No Ken (Wii)
18. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
19. Stitch! Ohana to Rhythm de Daibouken (DS)
20. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii)
21. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS)
22. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS3)
23. Kaiju Busters (DS)
24. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
25. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
26. J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J (PSP)
27. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
28. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channeru (DS)
29. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (The Best) (PSP)
30. Dragon Quest IX (DS)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

Nintendo DSi LL Has Strong Second Week, Wii Squeaks By PS3 In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:40:00 MST

The bigger, larger and more enormous Nintendo DSi LL continued to outsell the competition in its second week on the market in Japan, another 67,000-plus hardware units sold. It's a stark contrast to competitor Sony's most recent PSP revision.

While the PSP continues to sell well in Japan—another 38,000 handhelds sold—the PSPgo managed to move less than 4,000 units in the past week, according to sales tracker Media Create. That puts it in Xbox 360 territory, perhaps an indicator of Japanese consumer hardware acceptance for the download-only device.

Sony's PlayStation 3, on the other hand, continues to move at a good clip, with hardware sales way up from the week prior. It managed to be outsold by the Wii this week, but by a mere 115 units. Media Create's numbers are after this.

Nintendo DSi LL - 67,243
Wii - 46,673
PlayStation 3 - 46,558
PSP - 38,839
Nintendo DSi - 37,021
Nintendo DS Lite - 7,268
PSPgo - 3,809
Xbox 360 - 3,685
PlayStation 2 - 2,057

Professor Layton Schools Competitors On Sales, Nintendo Conquers Chart

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:20:00 MST

Level 5's latest Professor Layton puzzle-adventure, Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue, debuts at the top of Japan's video game software sales charts, another 300,000 Nintendo DS games added to the series' impressive sales.

Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke didn't have much in the way of competition this week, with cute railroad sim Momotaro Dentetsu 2010: Sengoku Ishin no Hero Daishuugou! no Maki and Cave shoot 'em up Mushihimesama Futari Ver. 1.5 debuting closest to Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue at spots 5 and 11, respectively.

The top ten is mostly Nintendo platform content, with bestsellers Tomodachi Collection and Pokemons Heart Gold and Soul Silver holding strong in the sales department, Wii Fit Plus backing them up.

For near total Nintendo-mination, check out the full top thirty.

01. Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue (DS) - 306,000 / NEW
02. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 59,000 / 1,748,000
03. Pokemon Heart Gold / Soul Silver (DS) - 55,000 / 3,090,000
04. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 47,000 / 993,000
05. Momotaro Dentetsu 2010: Sengoku Ishin no Hero Daishuugou! no Maki (Wii) - 44,000 / NEW
06. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS) - 28,000 / 664,000
07. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS3) - 30,000 / 312,000
08. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS) - 19,000 / 42,000
09. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 17,000 / 1,396,000
10. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii) - 16,000 / 45,000

11. Mushihimesama Futari Ver. 1.5 (Xbox 360)
12. J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J (PSP)
13. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
14. Naruto: Shippuden Ryujinki (Wii)
15. Dragon Ball Raging Blast (PS3)
16. La Pucell: Ragnarok (PSP)
17. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
18. Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden (DS)
19. Higurashi Daybreak Portable: Mega Edition (PSP)
20. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channeru (DS)
21. Dorabase 2: Nettou Urutorasu Tajiamu (DS)
22. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
23. Persona 3 Portable (PSP)
24. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
25. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
26. Armored Core Portable: Silent Line (PSP)
27. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360)
28. Strike Witches: Aoi no Dengekisen - Shin Taichou Funtousuru! (DS)
29. Mega Man Battle Network: Operating Shooting Star (DS)
30. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

Nintendo DSi LL Grabs XL Hardware Sales In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:00:00 MST

The Nintendo DSi LL, having officially launched in Japan this past week, has outsold everything else to the tune of 100,000-plus units, adding a "wine red" slice to the weekly Japanese hardware chart. Welcome, wine red.

After giving up pie chart real estate to Sony for the past few weeks, the ninth hardware platform on the Media Create weekly sales chart pushes Nintendo back into the leadership position in a major way. The DSi LL's closest competitor was the PlayStation 3, which commands a second place spot this week, outselling—but not by a whole lot—the Wii, PSP and regular sized Nintendo DSi. It's a fairly close race for second these days, with four platforms running neck and neck on the hardware sales front.

Not much of a competitor this week is the PSPgo, which settles for a spot between the DS Lite and Xbox 360.

The full list of hardware numbers is after this, along with a less colorful chart that may paint a better picture of how the general platform content is working out.

Nintendo DSi LL - 100,553
PlayStation 3 - 34,752
Wii - 32,844
PSP - 32,752
Nintendo DSi - 32,070
Nintendo DS Lite - 5,051
PSP go - 4,574
Xbox 360 - 4,085
PlayStation 2 - 2,024

Pokemon Sales Super Effective Against Zombies In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:00:00 MST

After being kicked around by Bayonetta and a pair of soccer sims from Sega and Konami, Nintendo's Pokemon double team of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver return to the top of Japan's video game charts.

This week's tally from sales tracker Media Create pushes the newest Pokemon games past the 3 million mark. Its Nintendo DS compatriot, Tomodachi Collection, continues to sell almost as well. It grabs the number two spot with another 49,000 copies sold. Don't be surprised to see the Mii collecting game push 2 million by spring of next year.

A trio of games scored top ten debuts this week, including Valve's Left 4 Dead 2, which sold just a little poorer than Namco Bandai's newest Wii drumming game Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! but better than Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for the Nintendo DS.

For the rest of Japan's bestselling games in handy list format, read on.

01. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS) - 55,000 / 3,036,000
02. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 49,000 / 1,689,000
03. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 43,000 / 946,000
04. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire/Blizzard (DS) - 29,000 / 635,000
05. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii) - 28,000 / NEW
06. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) - 28,000 / NEW
07. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS3) - 24,000 / 291,000
08. J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J (PSP) - 24,000 / 109,000
09. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS) - 23,000 / NEW
10. Dragon Ball Raging Blast (PS3) - 17,000 / 75,000

11. Dorabase 2: Nettou Urutorasu Tajiamu (DS)
12. Armored Core Portable: Silent Line (PSP)
13. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
14. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time (PS3)
15. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
16. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii)
17. Persona 3 Portable (PSP)
18. Metal Fight Beyblade: Gachinko Stadium (Wii)
19. Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden (DS)
20. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channeru (DS)
21. Bayonetta (PS3)
22. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
23. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
24. Mega Man Battle Network: Operating Shooting Star (DS)
25. Tekken 6 (PS3)
26. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
27. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
28. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (PS3)
29. Infamous (PS3)
30. Hexyz Force (PSP)

PlayStation Hardware Continues Pie Dominance In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:20:00 MST

Avid readers of The Japanese Hardware Chart weekly updates won't be surprised—especially after reading about the PlayStation family's software dominance—that Sony hardware is selling better than the competition in Japan. No change this week.

Scratch that. There was a slight change. PSP sales jumped up, PlayStation 3 sales dropped down and the two platforms switched positions from the week prior.

With PSP games and PS3 games selling well, sometimes better than their Nintendo DS and Wii rivals, it's not much of a surprise to see Sony's current generation platforms reaping the benefits of a larger install base. With Final Fantasy XIII due to hit the PS3 in Japan in less than a month, expect those increases to continue.

This is Japan's bestselling hardware for the week of November 9 to 15, courtesy of Media Create.

PSP - 38,770
PlayStation 3 - 38,498
Nintendo DSi - 33,749
Wii - 26,764
PSP go - 6,427
Nintendo DS Lite - 5,036
Xbox 360 - 4,124
PlayStation 2 - 2,031

Japan Still Loves Soccer, Favors PlayStation Games

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:40:00 MST

Last week, Japan's video gaming populace snatched up enough copies of Konami soccer sim World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 to put it in first place. This week, Sega's J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J scores.

The PSP game kicked its way to the top of the Media Create sales charts, pushing past Nintendo's still strong Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, which are destined to cross the 3 million sold mark any day now. The PlayStation Portable's software dominance gives the PlayStation brand more than just a first place showing. It helped games on Sony's trio of platforms score 17 of the top 30 spots this week. (One PlayStation 2 title managed to chart.)

New PlayStation 3 debuts like Dragon Ball: Raging Blast and Need for Speed: Shift helped Sony's ratio, but it was the PSP that scored the most spots, with 10 games for the portable platform showing this week. Not all of them showing well, mind you, but enough to secure a top 30 spot.

And look, there's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers, getting the usual Crystal Chronicles response...

01. J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J (PSP) - 85,000 / NEW
02. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS) - 63,000 / 2,980,000
03. Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (PS3) - 58,000 / NEW
04. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 56,000 / 1,639,000
05. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 53,000 / 903,000
06. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS3) - 49,000 / 267,000
07. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire/Blizzard (DS) - 37,000 / 607,000
08. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers (Wii) - 35,000 / NEW
09. Mega Man Battle Network: Operating Shooting Star (DS) - 23,000 / NEW
10. Persona 3 Portable (PSP) - 17,000 / 158,0000

11. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
12. Bayonetta (PS3)
13. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
14. Lunar: Harmony of Silver Star (PSP)
15. Hexyz Force (PSP)
16. Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden (DS)
17. Higarushi no Naku Koro ni: Jan (PSP)
18. Tekken 6 (PS3)
19. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channeru (DS)
20. Need for Speed: Shift (PS3)
21. Battle Spirits: Kiseki no Hasha (PSP)
22. Infamous (PS3)
23. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
24. Sengoku Hime: Senran ni Mau Otometachi (PSP)
25. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
26. Dissidia Final Fantasy - Universal Tuning (PSP)
27. Summon Night X: Tears Crown (DS)
28. Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Xbox 360)
29. Sengoku Hime: Senran ni Mau Otometachi (PS2)
30. Warship Gunner 2 Portable (PSP)

PlayStation 3 Is Japan's Bestselling Platform

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:40:00 MST

Once again, Sony controls the majority of this week's Japanese hardware chart, thanks to the company's four platforms representing. Oh, and the fact that the PlayStation 3 is outselling everything else in Japan.

And doing so by a relatively wide margin, as the PS3 outsold the Nintendo DSi by more than 10,000 units, the console's closest competitor. Less exciting for Sony executives is the PSPgo's second week sales, mustering up just shy of 14,000.

The full Japanese hardware sales rundown, courtesy of Media Create is after this.

PlayStation 3 - 48,925
Nintendo DSi - 37,421
PSP - 33,784
Wii - 31,810
PSP go - 13,992
Nintendo DS Lite - 5,515
Xbox 360 - 4,679
PlayStation 2 - 2,066

Konami Kicks Bayonetta Off Top Of Japan's Game Charts

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:40:00 MST

Last week's queen of Japan's video game sales charts Bayonetta didn't have the legs to stay on top for very long. Konami's latest soccer game, World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010, is this week's new software champ.

Sega's Bayonetta was reduced to an eighth place showing, falling behind perennial bestsellers like Pokemon, Wii Fit Plus and Tomodachi Collection, Nintendo titles that continue to sell incredibly well week after week. Unfortunately, one Nintendo title that didn't see to garner much interest from Japanese consumers was Treasure's Sin & Punishment 2, which debuted last week at #21 and has fallen off the charts this week.

Speaking of unimpressive debuts, two new PS3 games, 3D Dot Game Heroes and Infamous, failed to capture a wide audience in their first week on the chart. At least Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Tekken 6 appear to be hangin' in there.

For the rest of the top 30 games in Japan, according to Media Create, read on.

01. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PS3) - 218,000 / NEW
02. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS) - 74,000 / 2,918,000
03. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 70,000 / 850,000
04. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 64,000 / 1,583,000
05. Persona 3 Portable (PSP) - 46,000 / 141,000
06. Inazuma Eleven 2 Fire / Blizzard (DS) - 42,000 / 570,000
07. Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden (DS) - 35,000 / 150,000
08. Bayonetta (PS3) - 29,000 / 165,000
09. Summon Night X: Tears Crown (DS) - 24,000 / NEW
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii) - 22,000 / NEW

11. Tekken 6 (PS3)
12. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
13. Dissidia Final Fantasy Universal Tuning (PSP)
14. Infamous (PS3)
15. Bayonetta (Xbox 360)
16. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
17. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channeru (DS)
18. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
19. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
20. Flash Precure! Asobi Collection (DS)
21. Gran Turismo (PSP)
22. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (Xbox 360)
23. Rune Factory 2 (DS)
24. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special (PSP)
25. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 4 (PSP)
26. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
27. Stein's Gate (Xbox 360)
28. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (PSP)
29. Love Plus (DS)
30. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

PSPgo Gives PlayStation A Big Slice Of Japanese Hardware Pie

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:30:00 MST

The Japanese release of Sony's PSPgo may have been low-key in terms of numbers, but we're only getting a look at one day of sales of the platform. It was enough to give Sony the upper hardware hand this week.

Media Create's tally of PSPgo sales in Japan was 29,109—about what we were expecting—good enough for a fourth place showing. Enough to just barely outsell the Wii this past week but a contribution that puts the PlayStation family in charge of more than half of the week's total hardware sales. And look! It's brought a little purple to the pie chart. Welcome, purple.

PlayStation 3 sales were up considerably from the week prior, probably thanks to the release of Bayonetta in Japan, with the Wii and Xbox 360 seeing smaller percentage gains. Numbers in list form, right after this.

The bestselling console hardware in Japan for the week of October 26 to November 1 is....

Nintendo DSi - 37,517
PlayStation 3 - 36,061
PSP - 34,911
PSP go - 29,109
Wii - 28,888
Nintendo DS Lite - 6,902
Xbox 360 - 6,047
PlayStation 2 - 1,966

Numbers courtesy of Media Create.

Bayonetta Brushes Back Pokemon, Tops Japan's Game Charts

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:40:19 MST

PlatinumGames and Sega's Bayonetta kicked her way to the top of the Japanese game charts, moving nearly 200,000 copies during week one, making it the country's bestselling game. So long Pokemons!

It was the PlayStation 3 version of Bayonetta, responsible for 135,000 of those copies sold in Japan, that secured the top spot on Media Create's list. It beat new DS release Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden by more than a hair, forcing Square Enix's latest outing to settle for second. The Xbox 360 version of Bayonetta sold a little less than half of its PS3 counterpart, giving it a second top ten spot.

PlatinumGames saw chart-topping success its previous DS release Infinite Space, which debuted at number one in June.

The week was strong with new releases, including Tekken 6 for the PS3 and 360—again, the PS3 won that contest—Persona 3 Portable and the "Universal Tuning" re-release of Dissidia Final Fantasy. Starting off slowly were two other new releases, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS and Sin & Punishment 2 for the Wii. Those games charted at spots 16 and 21, respectively.

01. Bayonetta (PS3) - 135,000 / NEW
02. Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden (DS) - 115,000 / NEW
03. Tekken 6 (PS3) - 103,000 / NEW
04. Persona 3 Portable (PSP) - 94,000 / NEW
05. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS) - 88,000 / 2,844,000
06. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 81,000 / 780,000
07. Bayonetta (Xbox 360) - 64,000 / NEW
08. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 53,000 / 1,519,000
09. Inazuma Eleven 2 (DS) - 41,000 / 527,000
10. Super Robot Taisen NEO (Wii) - 27,000 / NEW

11. Tekken 6 (Xbox 360)
12. Dissidia Final Fantasy Universal Tuning (PSP)
13. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
14. Flash Precure! Asobi Collection (DS)
15. Rune Factory 2 (DS)
16. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
17. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
18. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special (PSP)
19. Gran Turismo (PSP)
20. Elminage II: Sousei no Megami to Unmei no Daichi (PSP)
21. Sin & Punishment 2 (Wii)
22. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
23. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
24. Love Plus (DS)
25. Steins Gate (Xbox 360)
26. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 4 (PSP)
27. Umihara Kawase Jun Second Edition kanzenban (DS)
28. Sekirei: Mirai Kara no Okurimono (PS2)
29. Way of the Samurai 3 Plus (the Best) (PS3)
30. Ultimate Macross Frontier (PSP)

DS Lite, Xbox 360 Only Positives In This Week's Japanese Hardware Chart

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:40:00 MDT

Hardware buying was down ever so slightly in Japan this week, with Media Create's sales figures showing the Wii bearing the brunt of that slowdown. Two consoles were up, however — the Nintendo DS Lite and Xbox 360.

The latter likely has Forza Motorsport 3 to thank for its jump in sales. And though the Wii may have been harder in sales than its nearest competitor, the still strong PlayStation 3—which pulls further away from the Wii this week—a little bit more than half of the chart belongs to Nintendo platforms.

Will the announcement of the Nintendo DSi LL have an effect on DS/DSi sales on next week's chart? And what color will we use to represent the third DS platform in the pie when it ships?!

Nintendo DSi - 42,199
PSP - 32,865
PlayStation 3 - 29,977
Wii - 25,917
Nintendo DS Lite - 6,550
Xbox 360 - 4,470
PlayStation 2 - 1,951

Forza 3 Makes Inroads Into Japanese Game Chart

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:20:06 MDT

Forza Motorsport 3 gives the Xbox 360 a rare top ten placement on Media Create's weekly list of the bestselling games in Japan. It's one of a handful of new debuts that came nowhere near unseating Pokemon as software champ.

Yes, Pokemons Heart Gold and Soul Silver once again top the Media Create software chart, followed by chart toppers Wii Fit Plus and Tomodachi Collection. Another good week for Nintendo. It was also a pretty good week for games like Rune Factory 3, FIFA 10 and Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special.

Last week's top ten debut from Nathan Drake and the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves cast is followed by another top ten appearance. Not too shabby!

01. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (S) - 118,000 / 2,756,000
02. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 88,000 / 699,000
03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 52,000 / 1,466,000
04. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire/Blizzard (DS) - 49,000 / 486,000
05. Rune Factory 3 (DS) - 41,000 / NEW
06. Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360) - 32,000 / NEW
07. FIFA 10 (PS3) - 21,000 / NEW
08. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 19,000 / 1,319,000
09. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) - 19,000 / 72,000
10. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special (PSP) - 18,000 / NEW

11. Gran Turismo (PSP)
12. Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Unmei no Meikyuu Aizouban (PSP)
13. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
14. Undead Knights (PSP)
15. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
16. Love Plus (DS)
17. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)
18. Macross Ultimate Frontier (PSP)
19. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 4 (PSP)
20. Antiphona no Seikahime: Tenshi no Gakufu Op.A (PSP)
21. Tales of Vesperia (PS3)
22. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (PS3)
23. FIFA 10 (Xbox 360)
24. Fullmetal Alchemist: Senka wo Takuseshi Mono (PSP)
25. Minna no Sukkiri (PSP)
26. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
27. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (the Best) (PS3)
28. Okami (Wii)
29. Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid Special (PS3)
30. Steins Gate (Xbox 360)

Nintendo DSi Leads Japan's Hardware Pack; PSP, PS3, Wii Tie

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:30:01 MDT

Technically, the PSP beat the PlayStation 3 which in turn beat the Wii (by a slimmer margin) in Japan this week, but sales of the three platforms were close enough, averaging around 30,000 units each.

But, as is the norm, the Nintendo DSi was the hardware champ in terms of Japanese hardware sales according to Media Create, moving nearly 50,000 units in a week. Likely on the continued strength of Pokemon and Tomodachi Collection.

The good news, for Sony at least, is that the price cut on the PS3 seems to be helping, putting it ahead of the Wii in Japan once again, perhaps with a little bit of help from treasure hunter Nathan Drake. We'll see if Drake's sales fortune helps the PS3 stay on top next week...

Nintendo DSi - 49,145
PSP - 33,508
PlayStation 3 - 30,231
Wii - 29,965
Xbox 360 - 3,662
Nintendo DS Lite - 2,590
PlayStation 2 - 2,109

Nathan Drake Charts Among Japan's Bestselling Games

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:40:41 MDT

Nathan Drake makes double the appearance on this week's list of the top thirty game in Japan, his two PlayStation 3 adventures selling well, but not nearly well enough to dethrone the Pokemons.

Just like last week, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver secured the number one spot on Media Create's software chart, moving another 165,000 units between 'em. And like last week, Wii Fit Plus scores second place, showing incredibly fit legs to move past a half million units sold.

The week's new debuts, including the Japanese release of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and the Wii port of Okami, managed to crack the top ten in some instances. In others, like the release of Undead Knights and the latest Beatmania, new games had to settle for just a top thirty showing.

01. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS) - 165,000 / 2,639,000
02. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 118,000 / 610,000
03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 63,000 / 1,414,000
04. Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha Fire/Blizzard (DS) - 61,000 / 437,000
05. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) - 54,000 / NEW
06. Okami (Wii) - 24,000 / NEW
07. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 23,000 / 1,300,000
08. Gran Turismo (PSP) - 22,000 / 196,000
09. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS) - 20,000 / 117,000
10. Love Plus (DS) - 20,000 / 141,000

11. Beatmania IIDX 16 Empress + Premium Best (PS2)
12. Undead Knights (PSP)
13. Fullmetal Alchemist: Senaka wo Takuseshi Mono (PSP)
14. Steins Gate (Xbox 360)
15. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
16. Macross Ultimate Frontier (PSP)
17. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 4 (PSP)
18. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
19. Tales of Vesperia (PS3)
20. Minna no Sukkuri (PSP)
21. Kimi ni Todoke: Sodateru Omoi (DS)
22. Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid Special (PS3)
23. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (PS3)
24. UFC Undisputed 2009 (PS3)
25. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3)
26. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii)
27. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
28. Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyoujuu (DS)
29. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (the Best) (PS3)
30. SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu - Goddess of Destiny (DS)

Wii, PS3 Sales In Dead Heat In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:40:48 MDT

This week's report from Japanese sales tracker Media Create shows that recent price drops on Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 are having nearly equal impact on sales of each console, a slight edge going to the PS3.

A curious tie, we suppose, as Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus continue to sell better than the PlayStation 3 competition. But less curious is the continued dominance of the Nintendo DSi and PSP, both doing just fine on the software and hardware front.

For the bestselling console hardware in Japan for the week of October 5 to 11, look down.

Nintendo DSi - 50,144
PSP - 40,100
PlayStation 3 - 30,896
Wii - 30,741
Nintendo DS Lite - 5,454
Xbox 360 - 3,326
PlayStation 2 - 2,133

Japan Snaps Up A Lot More Pokemon Heart & Soul

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:40:00 MDT

Nintendo shows this week's Japanese software chart its Pokemons, once again proudly displaying them atop Media Create's list of bestselling video games overseas. It's nearest competitor? Once again, Wii Fit Plus.

The only new video game release that came close to threatening Nintendo's software domination this week was Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. The Nintendo DS role-playing managed a third place debut, beating out less impressive placements from RPG peers Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyoujuu and the White Knight Chronicles EX Edition re-release.

Not much activity elsewhere in the charts, as Wii, DS, and PSP games continue to outsell other platforms.

01. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS) - 189,000 / 2,474,000
02. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 153,000 / 492,000
03. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS) - 97,000 / NEW
04. Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha Fire/Blizzard (DS) - 96,000 / 376,000
05. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 63,000 / 1,351,000
06. Gran Turismo (PSP) - 40,000 / 174,000
07. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 24,000 / 1,277,000
08. Ultimate Macross Frontier (PSP) - 19,000 / 100,000
09. Love Plus (DS) - 19,000 / 122,000
10. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 16,000 / 3,982,000

11. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 4 (PSP)
12. Tales of Vesperia (PS3)
13. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3)
14. Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid Special (PS3)
15. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
16. Minna no Sukkuri (PSP)
17. Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyoujuu (DS)
18. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
19. White Knight Chronicles EX Edition (PS3)
20. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii)
21. SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu - Goddess of Destiny (DS)
22. Valhalla Knights Elder Saga (Wii)
23. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
24. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4 (PSP)
25. Trinity Universe (PS3)
26. Penguin no Mondai X: Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
27. Winning Post 7 2009 (PSP)
28. Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Story 2 (DS)
29. Phantasy Star Portable (the Best) (PSP)
30. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (the Best) (PS3)

Wii, PSP Price Drops Invigorate Console Sales In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:20:59 MDT

Nintendo and Sony both issued hardware price drops in Japan, effective October 1, on the Wii and PSP-3000, respectively. The clear winner from those cuts? The PSP.

The PSP's new 16,800 yen price almost helped dethrone the nearly unstoppable Nintendo DSi. The cut tripled week-over-week PSP sales, but fell short of surpassing the DSi by about 2,000 units. It was the same story for the now cheaper Wii, which came close to outselling the newer, cheaper, slimmer PlayStation 3, but didn't quite pull it off.

Somewhat surprising that Nintendo didn't pull ahead of Sony's now-gen console, especially in light of those impressive Wii Fit Plus sales. But tripling one's sales from the week prior, as Nintendo did in Japan this week, is still a nice little boost.

Nintendo DSi - 53,293
PSP - 51,215
PlayStation 3 - 37,538
Wii - 35,392
Nintendo DS Lite - 10,661
Xbox 360 - 4,244
PS2 - 2,179

Wii Fit Plus Takes Japan by Storm

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:20:54 MDT

The release of Wii Fit Plus has been met with open arms in Japan. The newest Wii Balance Board-powered fitness game from the house of smiles sold more than 340,000 copies in its first week on sale.

It was a good week for Nintendo platforms, with Level 5's soccer RPG sequel Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha scoring the second place spot, an impressive 280,000-plus copies moved week one. It was also the first week that Square Enix's Dragon Quest IX didn't appear in the top ten since its release in Japan. It was pushed out by four new PSP and PS3 releases.

Yeah, that's right. It was also a very good week for Sony's platforms, with Gran Turismo and Macross Ultimate Frontier for the PSP making appearances at the top of the chart. Also showing strong (enough) were Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid Special for the PlayStation 3.

Looks like sales tracker Media Create is now clumping together sales of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. Probably for the best!

01. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 340,000 / NEW
02. Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha (DS) - 281,000 / NEW
03. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver - 267,000 / 2,285,000
04. Gran Turismo (PSP) - 134,000 / NEW
05. Macross Ultimate Frontier (PSP) - 81,000 / NEW
06. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 68,000 / 1,288,000
07. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3) - 42,000 / NEW
08. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 27,000 / 1,253,000
09. Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid Special (PS3) - 27,000 / NEW
10. Tales of Vesperia (PS3) - 26,000 / 292,000

11. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 4 (PSP)
12. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
13. Love Plus (DS)
14. Minna no Sukkiri (PSP)
15. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
16. SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu - Goddess of Destiny (DS)
17. Trinity Universe (PS3)
18. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii)
19. Winning Post 7 2009 (PSP)
20. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4 (PSP)
21. Mana Khemia 2: Ochita Gakuen to Renkinjutsushi Tachi Portable+ (PSP)
22. Shin Hisui no Shizuku: Hiiro no Kakera 2 (PS2)
23. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (PS3)
24. Dynasty Warriors Multi Raid Special (Xbox 360)
25. Ys 7 (PSP)
26. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
27. Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Story 2 (DS)
28. Penguin no Mondai X: Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
29. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)
30. Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha Kanshu Shiranai Mama dewa Son wo Suru: Mono ya Okane no Shikumi DS (DS)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

Japan Console War Sees PS3 Sales Slim, Wii Sales Bottom Out

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:40:44 MDT

This week's Media Create hardware sales numbers are in, with the Nintendo DSi retaining its top spot on the charts, thanks to continued software sales of Tomodachi Collection and the latest Pokemon re-releases.

Less stellar were this week's Wii sales, which sunk to below 12,000 units for the week ending September 27. The dip in Wii sales is likely due in part to the price drop that Nintendo announced during the Tokyo Game Show, a cut that didn't go into effect until today, October 1. Speaking of price drops, how's that cheaper PS3 holding up?

Not too shabby, even if sales of Sony's console are down from the week prior. But with the exception of the Nintendo DS Lite, everyone was down following a week of slow releases.

Check back next week to see the impact of that cheaper Wii. And keep an eye out near the end of the month when the PlayStation 3 gets Bayonetta and Tekken 6 while the Wii gets Super Robot Taisen NEO and Sin & Punishment 2.

Nintendo DSi - 63,342
PlayStation 3 - 39,960
PSP - 17,334
Nintendo DS Lite - 15,057
Wii - 11,731
Xbox 360 - 4,854
PlayStation 2 - 2,347

Japan Chooses Miis! Pokemon Is Defeated!

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:30:00 MDT

Who can dethrone Pokemons Heart Gold and Soul Silver in Japan? Only Tomodachi Collection, the Mii collecting game for the Nintendo DS that shipped in June, a title that led a slow week of releases that included Halo 3: ODST.

Bungie's latest Halo outing managed to squeak into the Media Create top ten, moving 30,000 copies in Japan in its debut week. That's about half of what Halo 3 did when the game launched over there nearly two years ago.

Given the slow week, there's not much activity on the Media Create software sales charts, but at least the top ten is a nice blend of multiplatform releases.

Below are Japan's bestselling games for the week of September 21 to 27.

01. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 97,000 / 1,220,000
02. Pokemon Heart Gold (DS) - 68,000 / 1,009,000
03. Pokemon Soul Silver (DS) - 64,000 / 1,010,000
04. Tales of Vesperia (PS3) - 49,000 / 265,000
05. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 4 (PSP) - 42,000 / 146,000
06. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 36,000 / 1,226,000
07. SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu - Goddess of Destiny (DS) - 32,000 / 124,000
08. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 30,000 / 3,944,000
09. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360) - 30,000 / NEW
10. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4 (PSP) - 14,000 / 65,000

11. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
12. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii)
13. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (PS3)
14. Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Story 2 (DS)
15. Ys 7 (PSP)
16. Forever Blue 2: Beautiful Ocean (Wii)
17. Mobile Suit Gundam Senki Record U.C. 0081 (PS3)
18. Penguin no Mondai X: Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
19. Puyo Puyo 7 (DS)
20. Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha Kanshu Shiranai Mama dewa Son wo Suru: Mono ya Okane no Shikumi DS (DS)
21. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
22. Love Plus (DS)
23. Pokemon Platinum (DS)
24. Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena 2 - Spirits Burst (PSP)
25. Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Oosouji (DS)
26. Idolm@ster: Dearly Stars (DS)
27. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (Xbox 360)
28. Way of the Samurai 2 Portable (PSP)
29. Mario Kart DS (DS)
30. 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de (PSP)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

DSi, PS3 Battle For Hardware Championship In Japan (Spoiler: DSi Wins)

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:00:00 MDT

Thanks to continued sales of the latest pair of Pokemon games, the Nintendo DSi holds onto its top spot on Japanese hardware charts. Also holding strong? The PlayStation 3.

The newer, cheaper, more matte PS3 retains its second place position on Media Create's hardware chart, probably in part thanks to the release of Tales of Vesperia for the platform. The appeal of less expensive hardware probably doesn't hurt. While sales were down slightly from the week before, they're still much better than pre-slimmed down numbers.

Seeing the biggest week-to-week was the Xbox 360, losing about a third of its sales from the period prior.

Nintendo DSi - 66,073
PlayStation 3 - 51,055
PSP - 21,073
Wii - 16,698
Nintendo DS Lite - 13,555
Xbox 360 - 4,965
PlayStation 2 - 2,723

Tales Of Vesperia Just Can't Beat Those Pokemons In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:20:00 MDT

It was a big, big week for new software releases in Japan, with six new titles landing in the top ten. But nothing could dethrone last week's software co-champs, Pokemon Soul Silver and Pokemon Heart Gold.

But the PlayStation 3 version of Tales of Vesperia certainly came close, selling more than 200,000 copies in its first week on Japanese store shelves. The PS3 game beat out the RPG competition, including new releases Ys Seven and SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu - Goddess of Destiny.

There's no lack of new additions to this week's Media Create sales charts, with a few you might be familiar with, including the new Korg DS-10, The House of the Dead: Overkill and another Idolm@ster game. Oh, I know you know that last one.

Here are the top 30 games in Japan for the week of September 14 to 20, courtesy of Media Create.

01. Pokemon Soul Silver (DS) - 225,000 / 948,000
02. Pokemon Heart Gold (DS) - 220,000 / 941,000
03. Tales of Vesperia (PS3) - 216,000 / NEW
04. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 4 (PSP) - 104,000 / NEW
05. SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu - Goddess of Destiny (DS) - 91,000 / NEW
06. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 73,000 / 1,124,000
07. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4 (PSP) - 51,000 / NEW
08. Ys Seven (PSP) - 33,000 / NEW
09. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 33,000 / 3,914,000
10. The Idolm@ster: Dearly Stars (DS) - 31,000 / NEW

11. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
12. Forever Blue 2: Beautiful Ocean (Wii)
13. Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena 2 - Spirits Burst (PSP)
14. Tears to Tiara Gaiden: Avalon no Nazo (PS3)
15. Mobile Suit Gundam Senki Record U.C. 0081 (PS3)
16. 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de (PSP)
17. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
18. Love Plus (DS)
19. Monster Hunter 3 Tri (Wii)
20. Bae Yong-joon to Manabu Kankokugo DS (DS)
21. Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Story 2 (DS)
22. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (the Best) (PS3)
23. Korg DS-10 Plus (DS)
24. Ookami to Koushinryou: Omiowataru Kaze (DS)
25. Kintaihi Shounen no Jiken: Kyakusen Eris-Gou no Sangeki (DS)
26. Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha Kanshu Shiranai Mama dewa Son wo Suru: Mono ya Okane no Shikumi DS (DS)
27. Penguin no Mondai X: Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
28. Taikou Risshiden V (PSP)
29. Puyo Puyo 7 (DS)
30. The House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii)

Pokemon Fever Helps DSi Return To Hardware Dominance In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:20:00 MDT

The release of the newer, cheaper, more Gundam-filled PlayStation 3 gave Sony's console a massive boost in the hardware battle in Japan last week. This week, two chart topping Pokemon games give the DSi the number one spot.

In week two of the slimmer PS3's existence at retail, the console sold another 55,000 units. That's close to what it sold the week of the release of the Final Fantasy XIII demo and better than during high profile releases such as Yakuza 3 and Resident Evil 5.

So things appear to be lookin' up for the PS3, but we'll wager that the console's bestselling days aren't yet here. Sometime around December and early January should see the Media Create hardware chart drowning in bright red.

Not a whole hell of a lot of action elsewhere, with PSP and Wii sales down, Xbox 360 sales slightly up.

Nintendo DSi - 66,498
PlayStation 3 - 55,344
PSP - 18,375
Wii - 17,568
Nintendo DS Lite - 11,179
Xbox 360 - 7,568
PlayStation 2 - 2,612

Pokemon Silver & Gold Remakes Steal Gundam's Top Spot In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:30:00 MDT

Last week, Bandai's latest Gundam game for the PlayStation 3 took the top spot on Japan's list of bestselling games. Typically, that territory is saved for Nintendo DS and Wii games. Well, things are back to normal.

As you may already know, Pokemon Soul Silver and Pokemon Heart Gold sold a lot. Close to 1.5 million copies in a week between the two. Not bad. Also selling well (once again) was Nintendo's Tomodachi Collection, the latest Nintendo DS game to cross the million mark. Also holding strong? Dragon Quest IX.

Square Enix's RPG hit is soon to surpass 4 million units sold in Japan, getting ever closer to the 5 million the company eventually expects to sell. Perhaps those expectations were set a little too low?

Not much in the way of new debuts for the week, with GPS-powered travel software Maplus: Portable Navi 3 cracking the top ten and budget versions of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PS3 and Xbox 360 just missing a top ten showing. Here's the full list...

01. Pokemon Soul Silver (DS) - 723,000 / NEW
02. Pokemon Heart Gold (DS) - 720,000 / NEW
03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 74,000 / 1,051,000
04. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 37,000 / 3,881,000
05. Mobile Suit Gundam Senki Record U.C. 0081 (PS3) - 33,000 / 211,000
06. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 32,000 / 1,160,000
07. Love Plus (DS) - 22,000 / 68,000
08. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii) - 16,000 / 873,000
09. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP) - 13,000 / 953,000
10. Maplus: Portable Navi 3 (PSP) - 13,000 / NEW

11. Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Story 2 (DS)
12. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (PS3)
13. Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha Kanshu Shiranai Mama dewa Son wo Suru: Mono ya Okane no Shikumi DS (DS)
14. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Bargain Edition) (Xbox 360)
15. Puyo Puyo 7 (DS)
16. Way of the Samurai 2 Portable (PSP)
17. Penguin no Mondai x Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
18. SD Gundam G Generation Wars (PS2)
19. Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Oosouji (DS)
20. 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de (PS3)
21. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
22. Wii Fit (Wii)
23. Soulcalibur Broken Destiny (PSP)
24. Arabians Lost (DS)
25. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (the Best) (PS3)
26. Pokemon Platinum (DS)
27. Tales of Vs. (PSP)
28. Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Story (DS)
29. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
30. Simple 2500 Series Portable!! Vol. 12: The Hohei 2: Senyuu yo, Sakini Ike (PSP)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

PS3 Slim Gets A Huge Slice Of Japan's Hardware Pie

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:30:00 MDT

PlayStation fans in Japan lined up to get their hands on the newer, slimmer, cheaper PS3. Over 150,000 of them invested in the revised PlayStation 3, leading to a giant red slice of Sony dominance at home.

That's a considerable change from the console's representation from the week prior, when it moved a paltry 1,040 units. And the 151,783 consoles sold, according to Media Create, went a long, long way to helping Mobile Suit Gundam Senki Record U.C. 0081 become Japan's bestselling game.

That's partly due to the release of a Gundam/PS3 bundle, factored into Media Create's software figures.

The rest of the Japanese console war is largely same-as-it-ever-was, with the Nintendo DSi settling for second, PSP for third. Here's that war, quantitatively.

PlayStation 3 - 151,783
Nintendo DSi - 60,419
PSP - 22,184
Wii - 21,557
Nintendo DS Lite - 8,309
Xbox 360 - 6,827
PlayStation 2 - 3,001

The PS3 has a handful of titles coming in the next month that could help continue that momentum, including Tales of Vesperia, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid Special. After that, Bayonetta and Tekken 6, which could help things going.

New PS3 Helps Gundam Rocket To Top Of Japanese Game Charts

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:30:36 MDT

Thanks to a spike in Japanese PlayStation 3 sales, the platform claims the top spot in this week's Media Create software sales chart with Mobile Suit Gundam Senki Record U.C. 0081, one of two new PS3 games to chart highly.

The other is Sega's 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de, a PS3 game we're unlikely to see anywhere outside of Japan. Revitalized interest in Sony's current gen platform gave a boost to a few older PlayStation 3 titles, including the greatest hits—aka "The Best"—re-releases of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Hot Shots Golf 5, securing spots in the top thirty.

The rest of the chart largely still belongs to Nintendo and its platforms, as bestsellers Tomodachi Collection and Dragon Quest IX continue to move at a healthy evergreen pace.

Japan's top games for the week of August 31 to September 6 are as follows.

01. Mobile Suit Gundam Senki Record U.C. 0081 (PS3) - 178,000 / NEW
02. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 87,000 / 977,000
03. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 50,000 / 3,844,000
04. Love Plus (DS) - 46,000 / NEW
05. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 43,000 / 1,128,000
06. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii) - 22,000 / 857,000
07. Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Story 2 (DS) - 19,000 / NEW
08. Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha Kanshu Shiranai Mama dewa Son wo Suru: Mono ya Okane no Shikumi DS (DS) - 16,000 / 37,000
09. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP) - 15,000 / 940,000
10. 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de (PS3) - 15,000 / NEW

11. Puyo Puyo 7 (DS)
12. Way of the Samurai 2 Portable (PSP)
13. SD Gundam G Generation Wars (PS2)
14. Soulcalibur Broken Destiny (PSP)
15. Little King's Story (Wii)
16. Penguin no Mondai x Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
17. Dream Club (Xbox 360)
18. Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Oosouji (DS)
19. SweetHoneyComing (PS2)
20. Tales of Vs. (PSP)
21. SupaRobo Gakuen (DS)
22. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (the Best) (PS3)
23. Nanashi no Game Me (DS)
24. Wii Fit (Wii)
25. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
26. Anpanman to Touch de Waku Waku Training (DS)
27. Hot Shots Golf 5 (the Best) (PS3)
28. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 5 (PS3)
29. Irodzuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (DS)
30. Simple 2500 Series Portable!! Vol. 12: The Hohei 2: Senyuu yo, Sakini Ike (PSP)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

Weekly Japanese Hardware Charts Say Sayonara To Old PS3

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:40:21 MDT

See that tiny little sliver of PlayStation 3 sales? Think of this week's barely perceptible performance from Sony's current-gen console the end of the chrysalis stage, set to burst forth in a beautiful butterfly of reinvigorated sales.

Because with just 1,040 PS3s sold last week, there's nowhere to go but up. And with solid, but not spectacular weekly sales showings from the competition—the Nintendo DSi tops the charts with just shy of 60,000 units sold—expect the redesigned PS3 to register closer to the top.

In general, week to week showings are pretty much the same, with the Xbox 360 sliding a bit from last week's chart. You'd think those solid Dream Club sales would help, not hurt.

Nintendo DSi - 59,881
PSP - 26,081
Wii - 25,038
Nintendo DS Lite - 7,304
Xbox 360 - 7,254
PlayStation 2 - 3,179
PlayStation 3 - 1,040

Nintendo Still Sitting Pretty Atop Japanese Game Charts

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:20:28 MDT

No new Japanese video game release can topple the Nintendo DS powerhouse that is Tomodachi Collection, the Mii collecting game that sits, once again, atop the weekly Media Create sales chart. It's certainly not for a lack of new releases...

Games like PSP fighter Soulcalibur Broken Destiny and Xbox 360 hostess game Dream Club sold well enough in their first week on sale in Japan to score a top ten spot, but not enough to dethrone the current software champs. That includes Dragon Quest IX and Wii Sports Resort, also sitting comfortably near the top of this week's software chart.

Dream Club was the only Xbox 360 title to make the list, with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin the only PlayStation 3 game to chart in the top thirty. I'd wager a different story will be told next week, when price drops for those high-def consoles start to reflect on Media Create's sales charts and new Gundam games ship!

01. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 80,000 / 890,000
02. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 71,000 / 3,794,000
03. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 46,000 / 1,085,000
04. Dream Club (Xbox 360) - 46,000 / NEW
05. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii) - 34,000 / 836,000
06. Soulcalibur Broken Destiny (PSP) - 29,000 / NEW
07. SupaRobo Gakuen (DS) - 28,000 / NEW
08. Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha Kanshu Shiranai Mama dewa Son wo Suru: Mono ya Okane no Shikumi DS (DS) - 21,000 / NEW
09. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP) - 18,000 / 925,000
10. Hakuouki: Zuisouroku (PS2) - 17,000 / NEW

11. SD Gundam G Generation Wars (PS2)
12. Puyo Puyo 7 (DS)
13. Hakuouki Portable (PSP)
14. Nanashi no Game Me (DS)
15. Melty Blood: Actress Again (PS2)
16. Penguin no Mondai x Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
17. Tales of VS. (PSP)
18. Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Oosouji (DS)
19. Blood of Bahamut (DS)
20. Memories Off 6 Next Relation (PS2)
21. J-League Winning Eleven 2009 Club Championship (PS2)
22. Ookami Kakushi (PSP)
23. Irodzuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (DS)
24. Wii Fit (Wii)
25. Tenchu San Portable (PSP)
26. Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes (PS2)
27. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
28. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 5 (PS2)
29. Mario Kart DS (DS)
30. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (PS3)

Nintendo's Mii Collecting Game Still A Big Hit In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:20:16 MDT

When Nintendo describes its software as "evergreen," it means games like the Nintendo DS title Tomodachi Collection, which was released mid-June and sits atop this week's Japanese software sales chart.

The Mii collecting game beats out DS rival Dragon Quest IX to secure the top spot once again amid a non-eventful release week. Stuff like Melty Blood: Actress Again and Ookami Kakushi manage to sell well enough to make an appearance in Media Create's weekly top ten, but not well enough to defeat bestsellers like Monster Hunter 3 for the Wii.

Of course, when Nintendo refers to evergreen titles, it also means much of what consistently hovers in the top 20 and 30 bestselling titles in Japan. Those are all listed right after this, Media Create's top Japanese software for the week of August 17 to 23.

01. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 83,00 / 810,000
02. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 79,000 / 3,723,000
03. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii) - 51,000 / 800,000
04. Melty Blood: Actress Again (PS2) - 44,000 / NEW
05. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 32,000 / 1,039,000
06. SD Gundam G Generation Wars (PS2) - 26,000 / 258,000
07. Ookami Kakushi (PSP) - 23,000 / NEW
08. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP) - 18,000 / 907,000
09. Puyo Puyo 7 (DS) - 18,000 / 127,000
10. Kiniro no Corda 2 f Encore (PSP) - 14,000 / NEW

11. Tales of VS. (PSP)
12. Penguin no Mondai x Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
13. Irodzuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (DS)
14. Blood of Bahamut (DS)
15. Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes (PS2)
16. J-League Winning Eleven 2009 Club Championship (PS2)
17. Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Oosouji (DS)
18. S.Y.K.: Shinsetsu Saiyuuki (PS2)
19. Wii Fit (Wii)
20. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
21. Heart no Kuni no Alice (PSP)
22. Armored Core Portable 3 (PSP)
23. Boku no Natsuyasumi 4: Seitouchi Shounen Tanteidan, Boku to Himitsu no Chizu (PSP)
24. Mario Kart DS (DS)
25. Pokemon Platinum (DS)
26. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 5 (PS2)
27. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
28. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Wii)
29. Magna Carta II (Xbox 360)
30. Rhythm Heaven (DS)

DSi Honors Japanese Bestelling Hardware Tradition

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:40:00 MDT

Not much activity in the Japanese hardware market these days, as the Nintendo DSi remains atop Media Create's weekly sales chart, with the PlayStation 3 an understandably distant third.

Hey, when there are no PS3s to buy, the console can't very well show itself in an impressive way in terms of console sales. Depleted stock and a wait and see attitude reflected in last week's sales, something that will likely be turned around by Sony's recently announced price drop and hardware redesign. For now anyway, the numbers aren't pretty.

Nintendo DSi - 59,578
PSP - 27,187
Wii - 26,972
Xbox 360 - 8,979
Nintendo DS Lite - 5,735
PlayStation 2 - 3,295
PlayStation 3 - 2,052

DSi Reclaims #1 Spot In Japan, Hi-Def Console Sales Still Low

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:40:00 MDT

Last week's strong showing by the Wii doesn't repeat this week, as the Nintendo DSi rightfully reclaims its seat at the top of the Japanese hardware sales chart. Things quickly get ugly in the bottom half.

While the DSi, Wii and PSP continue to sell strongly week in and week out, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 still languish with less than 6,000 units, according to Media Create. There really just hasn't been much in the way of system selling software for either console this summer, but the Japanese release list begins to pick up a bit in September.

Of course, some of that underwhelming performance could be attributed to a lack of supply, at least on the part of the PS3, in the country.

Here's how the Japanese console war went down for the week of August 3 to August 9.

Nintendo DSi - 70,066
Wii - 47,140
PSP - 33,893
Nintendo DS Lite - 8,699
PlayStation 3 - 5,826
Xbox 360 - 5,436
PlayStation 2 - 4,601

Japan Still Lovin' The PS2, Still Buyin' Gundam

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:30:00 MDT

The power of the PlayStation 2 and the appeal of Gundam is still strong in Japan. Or at least the fan base of each is, as PS2 software sits atop this week's weekly Japanese software sales chart.

SD Gundam G Generation Wars was Japan's bestselling game this past week, a new debut in a long list of new debuts that likely put a smile on Namco Bandai executive faces. The Gundam game was one of four new titles from Namco Bandai to secure a spot in the top ten, including Tales of VS., Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes and the Wii version of SD Gundam G Generation Wars.

Plenty of new titles made appearances throughout the Media Create sales chart, including Magna Carta II (another Namco Bandai game), Square Enix's Blood of Bahamut, EA Sports Active and Red Faction: Guerrilla.

01. SD Gundam G Generation Wars (PS2) - 175,000 / NEW
02. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii) - 137,000 / 657,000
03. Dragon Quest IX (DS) - 136,000 / 3,517,000
04. Tales of VS. (PSP) - 133,000 / NEW
05. Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 92,000 / 602,000
06. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 73,000 / 902,000
07. Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes (PS2) - 52,000 / NEW
08. SD Gundam G Generation Wars (Wii) - 35,000 / NEW
09. Irodzuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (DS) - 33,000 / NEW
10. J-League Winning Eleven 2009 Club Championship (PS2) - 33,000 / NEW

11. Magna Carta II (Xbox 360)
12. Blood of Bahamut (DS)
13. Puyo Puyo 7 (DS)
14. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP)
15. EA Sports Active (Wii)
16. Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Oosouji (DS)
17. Penguin no Mondai x Tenkuu no 7 Senshi (DS)
18. Armored Core Portable 3 (PSP)
19. Bleach DS 4th: Flame Bringer (DS)
20. Boku no Natsuyasumi 4: Seitouchi Shounen Tanteidan, Boku to Himitsu no Chizu (PSP)
21. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 6 (PS2)
22. CR Shinseiki Evangelion: Saigo no Mono (PS2)
23. Wii Fit (Wii)
24. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)
25. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 6 (PS3)
26. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
27. Pokemon Platinum (DS)
28. Hayarikami 3 (PSP)
29. Red Faction: Guerrilla (PS3)
30. Red Faction: Guerrilla (Xbox 360)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

Wii Has A Monster Week In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:20:59 MDT

Sales of the Nintendo Wii skyrocketed in Japan this week, nearly quadrupling its performance from the week prior, thanks to the release of a new, black version of the console and strong sales of Capcom's Monster Hunter 3.

According to Japanese sales tracker Media Create, Wii sales jumped from about 24,000 units last week to over 95,000 this week, a boost surely helped by the introduction of a Monster Hunter 3 hardware bundle. That increase in Wii sales didn't translate to much in the way of help to the competition, with sales on most of the other platforms mostly flat, fluctuating only slightly.

One platform that did drop was the Nintendo DSi, likely on the cooling of Dragon Quest IX sales. Somehow we don't think Nintendo is losing much sleep over it.

Wii - 95,357
Nintendo DSi - 73,710
PSP - 33,049
Nintendo DS Lite - 12,027
PlayStation 3 - 8,760
PlayStation 2- 3,617
Xbox 360 - 3,552