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.

• PSP – 30,463
• Nintendo 3DS – 17,240
• PlayStation 3 – 12,935
• Wii – 6269
• Nintendo DSi LL – 5176
• Nintendo DSi – 4938
• Xbox 360 – 2186
• PlayStation 2 – 1129
• Nintendo DS Lite – 158
• PSP go – 65