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

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.

As of December 13, the Wii has sold 9,048,012 units since it went on sale in Japan, while the PS3 has sold 4,020,563. The PS3 experienced a significant spike in sales this year. In December 2008, Enterbrain tallied 2.6 million PS3 units sold in Japan. The Wii sold 7.5 million.

Wii title New Super Mario Bros. Wii continues to give a 1up to software sales, moving 1.4 million copies in its first 11 days on sale. As previously posted, the game is the fastest selling Wii title to date.

販売台数Wiiは900万台、PS3は400万台を突破！ 気になるアレは大台達成！ - ファミ通.com [Famitsu]

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

This colorful graph from the TV Tokyo news shows console sales in Japan from 2005 to 2009. Each platform is color coordinated, and there is a color key in the corner. The gray box that reads その地 means "Other".

The numbers on the side start at 2 million and max out at 16 million. Notice the drop off in 2008 and then 2009? Notice anything else?

Well, besides the lady's fancy finger nails. That's right, the Xbox 360 has all but disappeared from the sales tally. 2008 saw Xbox 360 games like Tales of Vesperia. 2009 didn't. At least the PS2 is still hanging in there!

ゲーム機売上、Xbox360が棒グラフでは表示できないレベルに！ [オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

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

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

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

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

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.

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

On September 3, the price of the PS3 was dropped by ¥10,000 to ¥29,980 from the previous price of ¥39,990. In that week, 150,832 units were sold. By October 11, Sony had seen a 707 percent increase in PS3 sales in Japan.

Sony also lowered the price of the PSP-3000. The ¥19,800 was lowered slightly to ¥16,800. Small price cut or not, PSP sales in Japan spiked 126 percent by October 11.

Last month, Nintendo announced a price cut for the Wii: the ¥25,000 console would go for ¥20,000 starting October 1. According to Enterbrain's data, Wii sales increased by 29 percent as of October 11.

Microsoft also cut the price of the Xbox 360 in Japan. On September 10, the ¥39,800 Elite console was marked down to ¥29,800. During the week of September 7 to the 13, Microsoft did see a bounce in sales. But for the period ending October 11, Xbox 360 sales were actually down 70 percent in Japan.

According to Famitsu, the spike in sales for the PS3 and for the Wii can be attributed to the upcoming end-of-year titles: Final Fantasy XIII and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

シェア争いに異変あり!?　相次ぐハードの値下げによる効果を検証する [ファミ通.com]

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

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

"What I can tell you is we remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation," Greenberg told Game Informer. "It is similar to a game of baseball, it is not about just winning one inning, but instead being able to win the game by consistently delivering across all nine innings." Wonder what inning we're in now...

Previously Greenberg has discussed the price cut sales spikes, stating that he thought they were short term.

"I actually think the story here is about much more than just hardware sales," Greenberg continued to GI. "It's about the entire ecosystem and investing in the future; something we are very focused on. There is also the whole financial side of the equation that people rarely seem to pay attention to."

Interested in extra innings? Full interview with Greenberg in the link below.

Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg Looks To Holiday, Beyond [GameInformer] [Pic]

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

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

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

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

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.