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)

Enterbrain puts Final Fantasy XIII sales at over 1.5 million over the course of the game's first four days on Japanese store shelves, selling through a major portion of the reported 1.8 million copies shipped. About 1.1 million of those are apparently from day one sales.

The boon to the PlayStation 3? Some 240,000 plus consoles sold in one week, including that fancy Lightning Edition PS3 released alongside the exclusive-in-Japan role-playing game. That's a considerable spike, as the previous week's figures, according to sales tracker Media Create, shows some 75,000 PlayStation 3s sold in Japan the week before FF13 hit.

ファイナルファンタジー13、発売初週で実売150万本　PS3本体も週間24万台販売＝PS3歴代1位 [Yahoo! JP]

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]

GameSpot reports that the majority of those sales were to Wii gamers, with 67,000 copies of Tony Hawk Ride and the accompanying skateboard sold to the peripheral comfortable Nintendo fan base. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gamers snapped up the rest, with the 360 version outselling the PS3 version almost two-to-one.

That's behind Activision's other recent controller-dependent, high ticket game, DJ Hero, which debuted with 123,000 units sold in the U.S. in October.

That's potentially disappointing for Activision, which went back to the drawing board after the previous entry in the series Tony Hawk's Proving Ground saw middling reviews—some of the lowest in the series—and hefty competition from EA's Skate. Metacritic scores aside, Proving Ground at least went on to sell more than a million units in the U.S. across the five platforms it was released on.

Tony Hawk may be "proud" of Ride, but it appears that U.S. video game consumers (and critics) may have a harder time getting on board.

Under 114,000 ride Tony Hawk in November [GameSpot]

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]

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]

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)

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)

The month was packed with new software, including Forza Motorsport 3, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and NBA 2K10 which put big numbers on the board. And while the PS3 and Wii secured software spots one and two, respectively, the Xbox 360's showing as a platform resulted in six of the top ten games sold in the U.S. this October. That's a lot of royalty payments going Microsoft's way.

And speaking of Microsoft's fortunes, last month's U.S. software champ Halo 3 ODST managed to round up another 271,000 sales.

The top ten games for the month of October according to NPD are...

01. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) - 537,000
02. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) - 441,000
03. Borderlands (Xbox 360) - 418,000
04. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 314,000
05. NBA 2K10 (Xbox 360) - 311,000
06. Halo 3 ODST (Xbox 360) - 271,000
07. NBA 2K10 (PS3) - 213,000
08. Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360) - 175,000
09. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS) - 169,000
10. FIFA Soccer 10 (Xbox 360) - 156,000

That's just a portion of the $572.73 million that U.S. consumers spent on video game software last month, down 18% from the same period last year.

NPD's Anita Frazier notes that about half of Wii Fit Plus' sales for the month were of the bundled variety, meaning that plenty of Wii owners are investing in Wii Balance Boards for the first time.

"The top game for the month across all platforms was NBA 2K10, at 575K units," Frazier says of 2K Sports' latest. "It was a great launch for the game, outselling last year's NBA 2K9 by 60% in its launch month. Sales on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms improved substantially over last year."

Now for the bad news.

"The music/dance genre saw big declines this month compared to last year," Frazier notes. "The genre generated $53 million in sales as compared to $137 million last year. Both Rock Band: Beatles, and Guitar Hero 5 have the potential to be good gifting items for the holidays, so we should expect to see an uptick in sales over the next two months."

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]

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)

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)

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)

According to NPD data released today, the Warner Bros. Interactive-published DS game sold nearly 194,000 copies in its first month on the market. That puts it behind Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days as the third bestselling DS game for the month.

Scribblenauts was one of only two third party games to make it into the top ten bestselling games for Nintendo's portable platform, a list dominated by Nintendo-published fare. While 5th Cell may already be hard at work on a new Xbox Live Arcade game, surely they won't leaving money on the table by not producing a sequel, right? Right!

That makes Halo 3: ODST the bestselling game in the United States by a wide margin, outselling its nearest competitor, Wii Sports Resort, by more than a million copies. It's not quite as impressive as the launch of Halo 3, which turned in 3.3 million copies when it launched, but clearly enough for the win.

ODST had some stiff competition in September, with new top ten software appearances from games like Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the only portable game to chart, Madden NFL 10 and The Beatles: Rock Band. Superhero games also scored big, with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum moving more than 200,000 copies each on the Xbox 360 and PS3 respectively.

Here's how September's game sales worked out, by the numbers.

01. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360) - 1,520,000
02. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 442,900
03. Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360) - 298,600
04. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS) - 258,100
05. The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360) - 254,000
06. Madden NFL 10 (PS3) - 246,500
07. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (Xbox 360) - 236,000
08. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3) - 212,500
09. Guitar Hero 5 (Xbox 360) - 210,800
10. The Beatles: Rock Band (Wii) - 208,600

Game purchases for the month amounted to $649.32 million, a five percent increase over the previous September. We're sure the video game industry has already sent a thank you card to Bungie for the uncommon boost.

Here's NPD analyst Anita Frazier's take on the whole thing.

"Halo 3 certainly impacted the industry two years ago (Sep'07) when it was launched, and this year, Halo 3: ODST realized impressive sales making it the 6th best-selling SKU launch of all time," she says.

"We know all eyes are going to be on the Rock Band and Guitar Hero sales since the music/dance genre has been so closely followed by many this year. Both titles captured a spot in the top 10 for the month and at the item level, across all platforms, The Beatles: Rock Band came in third behind Halo 3: ODST and Madden NFL 10 while Guitar Hero 5 came in fourth. The Beatles: Rock Band achieved this level of success with an average retail price premium of 130% to the average retail price for software overall. The sales of Rock Band and Guitar Hero led the music/dance genre to a 72% dollar sales increase over September 2008."

"Madden NFL 10 made up some ground this month," Frazier points out, finding the silver lining in Madden's weaker 2009 sales. "Although when launched in August the game sold 19% fewer units than its predecessor a year prior, with a second month of sales in, that deficit has been reduced to 13%, which bodes very well for the title through the holiday season."

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)

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]

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]

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)

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]