Now that Japan's game release schedule is back on, well, schedule, what are Japanese video game fans spending their hard-earned yen on? Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional for one thing. Haruhi Suzumiya games for two more.
Square Enix's Dragon Quest spin-off continues to dominate Japanese sales charts, but a pair of Haruhi Suzumiya adventure titles for the PlayStation 3 and PSP managed to sell a good number of units combined. Wedged in-between those Haruhi games is the latest Nintendo 3DS game, Steel Diver, which debuts at third.
Two other Nintendo 3DS games continue to hold onto the top 20, with nintendogs + cats and Pilotwings Resort showing signs of evergreen sales overseas.
For the top 20 bestselling games in Japan for the week of May 9 to 15, courtesy of Media Create, read on. New releases are listed in bold.
01. Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional (DS) - 20,722 / 475,503
02. Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsuisou (PS3) - 18,831 / NEW
03. Steel Diver (3DS) - 17,408 / NEW
04. Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsuisou (PSP) - 14,953 / NEW
05. Patapon 3 (PSP) - 12,959 / 83,883
06. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2011 (PSP) - 10,166 / 152,034
07. Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume (Charity Edition) (PSP) - 9,222 / NEW
08. Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari (PSP) - 6,915 / 85,536
09. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2011 (PS3) - 6,586 / 147,064
10. Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Taisen Z Hakai-hen (PSP) - 6,290 / 398,964
11. Wii Party (Wii)
12. Monster Hunter 3rd Portable (PSP)
13. DokuSui: DokiDoki Suikoden (PSP)
14. Pokemon Black / White (DS)
15. Earth Defense Force 2 Portable (PSP)
16. nintendogs + cats (3DS)
17. Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection (PSP)
18. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
19. Pilotwings Resort (3DS)
20. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
In hardware, the PlayStation Portable continues its reign in Japan outselling its closest competitor, the Nintendo 3DS, by a wide margin. It's a relatively slow and predictable week, with Sony continuing to win the console and handheld battle on a week-to-week basis.
- PSP - 34,655
- Nintendo 3DS - 18,324
- PlayStation 3 - 13,789
- Wii - 6,336
- Nintendo DSi LL - 5,358
- Nintendo DSi - 5,292
- Xbox 360 - 2,763
- PlayStation 2 - 1,319
- Nintendo DS Lite - 208
- PSP go - 171