High-definition, big headed baseball is currently the hottest thing in Japanese video games. Konami’s latest cartoonish baseball sim, Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2011, is the country’s number one game.
Japan’s hottest game right now is not made in Japan, which doesn’t happen often. Maybe more surprising is that four of the top 10 games on the country’s bestseller list weren’t made in Japan either.
Remakes! Japanese gamers love ‘em, with further evidence to prove that theory in the form of Namco Bandai’s Tales of the Abyss. That Nintendo 3DS remake of the PlayStation 2 title is currently Japan’s best-selling game.
What’s selling well in Japan these days? The likes of Meruru no Atelier: Arland no Renkinjutsushi 3, Steins;Gate and a new Gundam game for the PlayStation Portable. I know. Exciting, right?
Japan’s best-selling video game right now may be a PlayStation Portable title – Level 5′s Cardboard Senki – but The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D wasn’t far behind, helping to put the Nintendo 3DS back into first place this week.
It was a better week for games for Nintendo hardware in Japan, as two new releases, One Piece Unlimited Cruise SP for Nintendo 3DS and Pandora’s Tower for Wii, charted high in the land where those platforms are now doing so-so sales.
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.
With Japan celebrating Golden Week, there wasn’t much activity in the country in terms of new releases. In fact, in the list of top twenty bestselling games in Japan, there was nothing new represented. But we soldier on!
Yes, yes, it was a Nintendo DS game that managed to outsell everything else in Japan this week – Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional – but it was the continued strength of PSP hardware in Japan that seemed most impressive.