Blue Dragon busts into Japanese sales charts
The first thing you should do when this sort of thing happens is somehow confirm that you're still in the same dimension you were in moments before. Examine newspapers, have a look in the mirror and make doubly sure that nobody is sporting an angry orangutan for a head. With that out of the way, you can return to the matter at hand -- there's an Xbox 360 game sitting in the fourth position of the weekly Japanese software sales chart. With a healthy 80,348 copies sold, it would appear that Microsoft's Blue Dragon is at least making some strides in the publisher's continuing battle against apathy in Japan.
Examining the other bits of the chart on GamesAreFun, it's easy to imagine some of the cheaper headlines that could have been used for this post. "Blue Dragon crushes Zelda in Japanese sales!" While Blue Dragon enters the chart in fourth place, TheLegend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has since slid down to 17th in its second week. Post-launch Wii shortages could be to blame, as Wario Ware: Smooth Moves also fails to make it past the 23rd spot. The fact that Tales of Destiny and Final Fantasy VI Advance wind up below Blue Dragon, however, could be seen as more reassuring.
Ah, but what about "Blue Dragon defeated by Pokemon?" In its tenth week, Pokemon Diamond occupies the third slot, with second and first place going to Sega's Yakuza 2 and Gundam SEED: Federation vs ZAFT II respectively. The install bases of the PS2 and DS make those games particularly tough opponents, so to snag fourth spot seems like a solid accomplishment. Keep an eye out for the infamous Japanese hardware sales later today to see how effective Blue Dragon is at shifting consoles.
