Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart: Prologue

Here's something you might not have expected. Despite having debuted in the second week of November, Mario Party DS for the Nintendo DS tops this week's Japanese software sales chart. It beat out the recently released Wii Fit—now past the half-million mark—and new debut Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PlayStation 3. In fact, this past week represents Mario Party DS's best sales week ever. In general, software for Nintendo platforms was way up, with Wii Sports and Wii Play returning to top ten glory. Probably going to be a good week for the console.

What didn't perform too well? The long-awaited sequel NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, which, according to Media Create, charted at #27 in its first week. Poor Sega. I almost feel bad for them! I'll try to maintain a straight face while you check out the top ten for the week of December 10th to 16th. More after the jump.

01. Mario Party DS (DS) - 180,000 / 826,000
02. Wii Fit (Wii) - 124,000 / 535,000
03. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3) - 116,000 / NEW
04. Professor Layton and The Devil's Box (DS) - 74,000 / 444,000
05. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 74,000 / 550,000
06. Dragon Quest IV (DS) - 73,000 / 868,000
07. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 64,000 / 212,000
08. Wii Sports (Wii) - 55,000 / 2,341,000
09. Wii Play (Wii) - 55,000 / 1,921,000
10. Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: The Labyrinth of Forgotten Time (Wii) - 41,000 / NEW

Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart: King Wii Fit

Last week, Professor Layton and his mystery solving skills stole Wii Fit's thunder, forcing it to settle for a number two debut. This week, however, Wii Fit reigns supreme atop its bloody Japanese throne, gazing down upon Professor Layton and the Devil's Box, Lost Odyssey and a trio of Mario games. While Mistwalker's latest latest RPG didn't have a first week showing on par with Blue Dragon, it did pretty well. Unfortunately for Suda 51 and the rest of the gang at Grasshopper Manufacture, seems sales of No More Heroes were, indeed, rather piss poor, as the game failed to crack the top thirty.

For the week of December 3rd through the 9th, the sales charts stacked up like so.

01. Wii Fit (Wii) - 150,000 / 411,000
02. Mario Party DS (DS) - 107,000 / 646,000
03. Tales of Innocence (DS) - 104,000 / NEW
04. Hot Shots Golf Portable 2 (PSP) - 87,000 / NEW
05. Professor Layton and the Devil's Box (DS) - 76,000 / 370,000
06. Dragon Quest IV (DS) - 63,000 / 795,000
07. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) - 55,000 / NEW
08. Power Pro Kun Pocket 10 (DS) - 54,000 / NEW
09. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 45,000 / 476,000
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 45,000 / 148,000

Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart

Good news! Mario Party DS' success probably means there will be future Mario Party games! Thanks, God. We appreciate you answering our prayers. What didn't hold up as expected was Shin Sangoku Musou 5, also known as Dynasty Warriors 6, which certainly didn't sell as well as Mario Party and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. Still, it's a fairly solid week for the underdog PlayStation 3, which charted with the aforementioned, Hot Shots Golf 5, Ratchet & Clank Future, and newcomer Heavenly Sword. Plus, folks bought Game Center CX. Good for them!

The following stuff sold pretty well in Japan for the week of November 12th to the 18th.

01. Mario Party DS (DS) - 116,000 / 350,000
02. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii) - 83,000 / NEW
03. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (PS3) - 76,000 / 264,000
04. Pro Yakyuu Famista DS DS (DS) - 49,000 / NEW
05. Game Center CX (DS) - 46,000 / NEW
06. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 40,000 / 365,000
07. Heavenly Sword (PS3) - 15,000 / NEW
08. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS) - 14,000 / 230,000
09. Wii Sports (Wii) - 13,000 / 2,211,000
10. Soukou Kihei Votoms (PS2) - 12,000 / NEW

It's been a banner several weeks for new games and this one is no different. No matter what your taste there is a little something for everyone. Mass effect, Rock Band and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune will be on my holiday play list as I sit in my parents rec room after ingesting too much food. What will you be playing post-turkey time?

Mass Effect (X360)
Space, ho!

Rock Band (PS3, X360)
Rock out with more than just a guitar.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Relive every great 80's adventure movie you ever saw.

Unreal Tournament 3 (PC)
Get real with Unreal..3!

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PC)
It's like a buddy movie with killing.

Ghost Squad (WII)
Fight the war on terror at home on your Wii

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)
More Final Fantasy... more!!

College Hoops 2K8 (X360, PS3, PS2)
Next-gen college basketball.

Soul Calibur Legends (WII)
The Soul Calibur franchise tries a new style.

Time Crisis 4 (PS3)
Shoot those bad guys up. Now with scrolling.

Link's Crossbow Training (WII)
Test out the Wii Zapper Zelda style!

Circuit City Game Deals

Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart

Mario tops the charts again this week, with Mario Party DS selling close to a quarter million copies in its debut week in Japan. It's followed by the game that is sure to push tens of thousands of PlayStation 3s, Shin Sangoku Musou 5, to be known as Dynasty Warriors 6 in North America. Its Xbox 360 counterpart cracked the top ten, as did Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank Future, all of which should make for an interesting week in hardware sales.

Oddly enough, only one PlayStation 2 title appears this week and it's NBA Live 08. What a world...

01. Mario Party DS (DS) - 235,000 / NEW
02. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (PS3) - 188,000 / NEW
03. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 74,000 / 325,000
04. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS) - 23,000 / 215,000
05. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (Xbox 360) - 22,000 / NEW
06. Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles (PSP) - 19,000 / NEW
07. Wii Sports (Wii) - 15,000 / 2,197,000
08. DS Nishimura Kyotaro Suspense Shin Tantei Series: Kyoto Atami Zekkai no Kotou - Satsui no Wana (DS) - 13,000 / 129,000
09. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS) - 13,000 / 690,000
10. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3) - 12,000 / NEW

Mario Party DS Gameplay

Why Nintendo hasn't done a Mario Party for the DS yet is beyond me... I mean before now of course. It seems like a perfect match for the nifty portable system. I just wish it included online support.

Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart

We may be in Germany, but that doesn't mean we're going to ignore Japan's weekly soap opera of software sales. Most shocking? Mario Party 8 reclaims its number one position in the Media Create sales list for the week of August 13th to the 19th in a bloodless sales coup. Amazingly, Hot Shots Golf 5 is still hanging tough in the top ten, kind of impressive for a PLAYSTATION 3 up against 2006's New Super Mario Bros.

Sales sexiness continues after the top ten.

01. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 112,724 / 616,000
02. SD Gundam G Generation Cross Drive (DS) - 48,321 / 186,000
03. Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (DS) - 47,730 / 93,000
04. Wii Sports (Wii) - 35,430 / 2,035,000
05. Wii Play (Wii) - 32,939 / 1,639,000
06. My Housekeeping Diary (DS) - 32,714 / 122,000
07. J.League Winning Eleven 2007: Club Championship (PS2) - 32,210 / 227,000
08. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - 31,897 / 756,000
09. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 29,979 / 4,729,000
10. Hot Shots Golf 5 (PS3) - 28,044 / 278,000

Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart

Forgive this week's late and incomplete Japanese software sales chart. It's not my fault! Japan decided to take a holiday and left us twisting in the wind. Yes, some of the weekly sales data may be slightly askew or completely UNKNOWN, but at least we know how well Mario Party 8 is doing in Japan. And that Wii Sports has passed the 2 million mark.

The rest of the top 30 is after the jump!

01. SD Gundam G Generation Cross Drive (DS) - 149,000 / NEW
02. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 102,000 / 504,000
03. Final Fantasy XII - International Zodiac Job System (PS2) - 66,000 / NEW
04. J. League Winning Eleven 2007: Club Championship (PS2) - 54,000 / 217,000
05. Donkey Kong Jungle Climber (DS) - UNKNOWN/ NEW
06. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) 27,000 / 734,000
07. Wii Sports (Wii) - 34,000/ 2,005,000
08. Wii Play (Wii) - UNKNOWN
09. Wild Arms XF (PSP) - UNKNOWN / NEW
10. Flash Focus: Vision Training In Minutes A Day (DS) - UNKNOWN

Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart

In addition to loving the hell out of baseball, Japanese video game buyers also adore soccer to bits. Konami's sporty back up cash cow, the Winning Eleven series, took the number one sales spot, beating out Wii party retread Mario Party 8. A rare two-week appearance in the top ten for a PLAYSTATION 3 game rounds out the top three with Minna no Golf 5, Hot Shots Golf over here, pushing another 64,000 copies.

Here are the Media Create sales figures for the week of July 30th through August 5th.

01. J. League Winning Eleven 2007: Club Championship (PS2) - 150,000 / NEW
02. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 135,000 / 400,000
03. Hot Shots Golf 5 (PS3) - 64,000 / 216,000
04. It's A Wonderful World (DS) - 33,000 / 110,000
05. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - 29,000 / 697,000
06. Wii Sports (Wii) - 28,000 / 1,971,000
07. Wii Play (Wii) - 27,000 / 1,579,000
08. Face Training DS (DS) - 22,000 / NEW
09. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 21,000 / 4,677,000
10. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS) - 21,000 / 476,000

Costco Offers Wii Bundles

Costco is currently selling Wii bundles that include the Wii, an extra Wii remote and a copy of Mario Party 8 for $329. If you're still looking to get a Wii and you have a Costco membership, this might be the perfect opportunity for you although you'll probably be wanting to pick up an extra nunchuk as well. The savings is minuscule at only $10, but it's better than nothing I suppose. Look at it this way, you'll finally have your long sought after Wii and while you're there you can use that extra ten bucks to buy a giant tub of Gummi Worms and a case of Mountain Dew. Let the good times roll!

Coscto Wii/Mario Party 8 bundles [GoNintendo]

Simple 2000: The Japanese Software Chart

June Software Sales Rich With Mini-Games, Pokémon

The NPD Group's software sales estimates for June show that American gamers haven't yet tired of mini-games, Pokemon or Guitar Hero. Nintendo revealed earlier this month that over a half-million gamers had snapped up Mario Party 8, with the lion's share of sales happening in June. Wii Play saw similar hardcore gamer heart-stoppingly stellar sales. You know what that means? More mini-games!

Here are the top 8 games sold in the US for the month of June, with the rest of the top 20 following.

1. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 426,600
2. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) - 293,200
3. Pokémon Diamond (DS) - 288,400
4. Pokémon Pearl (DS) - 214,700
5. Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360) - 197,400
6. Guitar Hero II w/ Guitar (PS2) - 197,350
7. Guitar Hero II w/Guitar (Xbox 360) - 177,600
8. Pokémon Battle Revolution (Wii) - 157,900

Mario Party 8 Is Great Success!

Mario Party 8 (Wii)

Clip: Mario Party 8 Commercial

Week in Games: Mario Party 8 Edition

Gallery: Mario Party 8