Japan Falls In Love With The Naughty Akiba's Strip

A game about stripping the clothes off of vampires in otaku haven Akihabara is Japan's best-selling game right now, the curious and cleverly titled Akiba's Strip for PSP. That game easily beat the new Dead or Alive and Valve's Portal 2 overseas.

Dead or Alive: Dimensions settled for second this week, a debut not so bad when considering the PSP's install base and that of the much younger Nintendo 3DS. Japanese console gamers didn't shine to first-person puzzler Portal 2, which only managed to sell about 13,000 copies in its first week on the market. Lesson learned: Portal 2 needed more clothes ripping action.

The first place showing of Akiba's Trip managed to unseat former Media Create sales chart champ Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional for the Nintendo DS, which was bumped to third.

Here are the best-selling games in Japan for the week of May 16 to 22.

01. Akiba's Trip (PSP) - 58,150 / NEW 02. Dead or Alive: Dimensions (3DS) - 23,078 / NEW 03. Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional (DS) - 19,290 / 494,793 04. Gungnir: Mayari no Gunshin to Eiyuu Sensou (PSP) - 16,355 / NEW 05. Patapon 3 (PSP) - 11,458 / 95,341 06. Portal 2 (PS3) - 8942 / NEW 07. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2011 (PSP) - 8032 / 160,066 08. Wii Party (Wii) - 5043 / 1,891,324 09. Pokemon Black / White (DS) - 4767 / 5,181,982 10. Steel Diver (3DS) - 4583 / 21,991

11. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2011 (PS3) 12. Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Taisen Z Hakai-hen (PSP) 13. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (PSP) 14. Haruhi Suzumiya no Tsuisou (PSP) 15. Elminage Original: Majo to Megami to Kamigami no Yubiwa (PSP) 16. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) 17. Haruhi Suzumiya no Tsuisou (PS3) 18. Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari (PSP) 19. Portal 2 (Xbox 360) 20. nintendogs + cats (3DS)

In the console war, Japan is still firmly PSP country, with Sony's six-and-a-half-year-old handheld doing just fine overseas. The hardware list stays pretty static, with the only notable change in the form of the PSP go's dip into double-digit sales territory. Overall, it was a slower week for hardware sales, with every platform seeing a week-to-week dip.