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PlayStation Hardware Continues Pie Dominance In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:20:00 +0000

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, Favours PlayStation Games

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:40:00 +0000

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 three 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 22:40:00 +0000

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 – 13992
Nintendo DS Lite – 5515
Xbox 360 – 4679
PlayStation 2 – 2066

Konami Kicks Bayonetta Off Top Of Japan’s Game Charts

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:40:00 +0000

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 8th 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 seem 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 19:30:00 +0000

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 – 6902
Xbox 360 – 6047
PlayStation 2 – 1966

Numbers courtesy of Media Create.

Bayonetta Brushes Back Pokemon, Tops Japan’s Game Charts

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:40:19 +0000

PlatinumGames and Sega’s Bayonetta kicked its way to the top of the Japanese game charts, moving nearly 200,000 copies during week one and making it the country’s bestselling game.

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 10 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 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:40:00 +0000

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 colour 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 23:20:06 +0000

Forza Motorsport 3 gives the Xbox 360 a rare top 10 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 10 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)

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

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:30:01 +0000

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 – 3662
Nintendo DS Lite – 2590
PlayStation 2 – 2109

Nathan Drake Charts Among Japan’s Bestselling Games

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:40:41 +0000

Nathan Drake makes double the appearance on this week’s list of the top 30 games 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 10 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)