JapaneseHardwareSales
Latest
Japanese hardware sales, March 3 - March 9: Torch passing edition
Many of you may be startled to see your beloved Japanese hardware sales chart with both a schedule and author irregular. As you may have pieced together from the title, everyone's favorite Chocolate Log-loving South African blogger has tasked this lowly weekend editor with maintaining the sacred stream of statistics in order to scare up some free time to finish writing the ol' novel. Little does he know how easily I become intoxicated when trusted with meager amounts of power.You may have your precious numbers and accompanying arrows this week, but the steady font of sales figures will only continue should I, with my immeasurable prudence, deem you worthy. As swiftly as I breathed new life into this once-great feature, I can just as easily lower my grim claw from the armrest of my obsidian throne, and relentlessly crush its fragile windpipe.Keeping this solemn promise in mind, let's get our chart on.- Wii: 57,068 7,467 (11.57%)- PSP: 53,924 19,782 (26.84%)- DS Lite: 48,658 3,264 (6.29%) - PS3: 21,008 7,488 (55.38%) - PS2: 10,429 557 (5.07%) - Xbox 360: 2,891 609 (26.69%) [Source: Media Create]See: The "Ludwig era" archives
Japanese hardware sales, Jan. 28 - Feb. 3: The unremarkable return
After a long sabbatical, the Japanese hardware sales have returned! Well, people in Japan have continued purchasing game systems week after week, it's just that we've now stopped ignoring them. It would be more accurate to say then, that our weekly sales chart has finally come bursting through the office door, eliciting admiration both for its fine holiday tan and renewed work drive. It returns to a strange new world, one where the PSP has managed to best the DS Lite (again) and, perhaps more disturbingly, where glorified spread sheets become personified and go on vacation. We used to be able to make sense of all this. Perhaps you could be kind enough to leave some suggestions in the comments? Tell us how you'd like us to improve this weekly feature, be it through moar statz or fewer words. - Wii: 94,473 19,929 (26.73%)- PSP: 72,528 5,405 (6.94%)- DS Lite: 67,472 11,898 (14.99%) - PS3: 41,796 7,433 (21.63%) - PS2: 12,115 751 (6.61%) - Xbox 360: 6,060 1,764 (41.06%) [Source: Media Create] See: The shockingly incomplete archives
Japanese hardware sales, Dec. 17 - Dec. 23: Incoming new year edition
Well, here you are again, about to turn over the last page of the calendar, all too cognizant of the fact that an ugly cardboard backing awaits you. Perhaps it'll even bear a yellowed price sticker highlighting how much you overpaid for the Official Best of Midway calendar. Really, you ought to know better than buying one that starts at December!Though there's still one purely metaphorical and thus environmentally promiscuous page left for 2007 sales in Japan (these are last week's sales, remember), it'll be 2008 by the time you get to read about them. Now, we don't want you walking into the spectacular annual finale without a bit of preparation, so we've poured over the entire year's sales charts to establish and highlight 2007's most prominent trends. You'll find a detailed and nuanced report after the break. - DS Lite: 279,551 57,419 (25.85%) - Wii: 232,907 62,349 (36.56%) - PSP: 171,804 12,806 (6.94%) - PS3: 58,167 5,553 (8.71%) - PS2: 20,391 2,366 (13.13%) - Xbox 360: 7,908 653 (7.63%) - GBA SP: 54 49 (47.57%) - Game Boy Micro: 42 14 (50.00%) - Gamecube: 31 1 (3.13%) - DS Phat: 12 -- 0 (0.00%)- GBA: 4 5 (55.56%) [Source: Media Create] See: The heavily analyzed archives
Japanese hardware sales, Dec. 10 - Dec. 16: Red with envy edition
Oh, it's one of those weeks. You know, where we have to abandon the three pages of irrelevant drivel (remember the noir trilogy?) we had lined up and instead provide some explanation regarding the more curious bits of the Japanese hardware sales chart. It's certainly a dramatic change from tradition, one that's nearly matched by the revelation that the color red, as sported by our dramatic downward arrows, occasionally points to good news.As you may have already noticed (since you usually skip the aforementioned irrelevant drivel), the PSP enjoyed a stellar week, surging past the Wii with 184,610 units sold. Our friends at PSP Fanboy thought it somewhat mysterious, but we suspect the sales catalyst was the newly released "Deep Red" PSP and 1Seg TV tuner bundle. The sales increases enjoyed by other platforms can be tied to actual software -- the DS Lite, the Wii and the PlayStation 3 got helping hands from Mario Party DS, Wii Fit and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue respectively.There. How was that? - DS Lite: 222,132 53,877 (32.02%) - PSP: 184,610 93,129 (101.80%) - Wii: 170,558 55,501 (48.24%) - PS3: 63,720 25,597 (67.14%) - PS2: 18,025 6,038 (50.37%) - Xbox 360: 8,561 315 (3.55%) - GBA SP: 103 9 (9.57%) - Gamecube: 32 14 (30.43%) - Game Boy Micro: 28 8 (40.00%) - DS Phat: 12 -- 0 (0.00%)- GBA: 9 9 (N/A) [Source: Media Create] See: The straight-faced archives
Japanese hardware sales, Dec. 3 - Dec. 9: Saturday morning shame edition
If the Japanese hardware sales chart is the first thing to pop into your mind (and search engine) on a beautiful Saturday morning, you may feel compelled to question the priorities in your life. You may even wrestle with the word "life" itself, perhaps bumping it down a notch to "existence" and appending adjectives like "sad" and/or "meaningless." We're here to eliminate those impulses though, reminding you that there's no shame in being completely obsessed with the video game purchases of a foreign culture.After all, there's some loser who woke up on Saturday morning (thanks, Flying Alarm Clock!) just to pull that rubbish out of a custom spreadsheet and post it on a website. - DS Lite: 168,255 43,664 (35.05%) - Wii: 115,057 40,293 (53.89%) - PSP: 91,481 16,855 (22.59%) - PS3: 38,123 1,031 (2.78%) - PS2: 11,987 1,716 (12.52%) - Xbox 360: 8,876 2,244 (33.84%) - GBA SP: 94 85 (944.44%) - Gamecube: 46 14 (43.75%) - Game Boy Micro: 20 -- 0 (0.00%) - DS Phat: 12 24 (66.67%)- GBA: 0 4 (100.00%) [Source: Media Create] See: The embarrassingly extensive archives
Japanese hardware sales, Nov. 26 - Dec. 2: If the Wii fits edition
As you may or may not have noticed, depending on your reading ability and tolerance for vaguely irrelevant yet alluringly foreign sales charts, the Nintendo Wii enjoyed a surge in Japanese retail popularity last week. If you're looking to blame something, be sure to point your gnarled index finger at Wii Fit. That's the balancercise board, mind you, not the phenomenon perceived by someone watching you play Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.We can't comment on the quality of the product yet, but the illustrations on the box make it seem like the perfect toy for the posers among us.- DS Lite: 124,591 7,897 (6.77%) - Wii: 74,764 20,402 (37.53%) - PSP: 74,626 401 (0.53%) - PS3: 37,092 13,472 (26.64%) - PS2: 13,703 1,172 (7.88%) - Xbox 360: 6,632 485 (6.81%) - DS Phat: 36 36 (N/A) - Gamecube: 32 12 (27.27%) - Game Boy Micro: 20 22 (52.38%) - GBA SP: 9 22 (70.97%)- GBA: 4 5 (55.56%) [Source: Media Create] See: The energetic archives
Japanese hardware sales, Nov. 19 - Nov. 25: Informative puppeteer edition
We understand that the cluttered presentation of the weekly Japanese hardware sales chart, what with its intimidating numbers and indecisive, colored pointy things, can occasionally be somewhat of a chore to decipher (and consequently appreciate). You may be able to discern the statistical shenanigans, but what of the reasons for platforms rocketing into the sky or plummeting to the ground like a lead yoyo without a string? Or... a rock, we guess. Far be it from us to withhold the answers from you! Well, we do withhold them ever so slightly... you'll have to highlight the answers in this easily accessible Q & A format! A sudden surge in DS Lite sales? Where did that come from? The offices that spawned a Dragon Quest IV remake, of course. By law, Japanese citizens must at the very least feign interest in this venerable RPG franchise. The PSP seems to be doing quite well. Did something happen? The PSP's been on a roll ever since the slim models came out -- and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII didn't hurt either. What's up with the Xbox 360 going from dismal sales to slightly less dismal but still works as a punchline levels? The answer is simple... but it's not here. Remember how the PS3 outsold the Wii the previous two weeks? Yes, we questioned the very fabric of reality. Why am I so easy to manipulate? WE WILLED YOU TO HIGHLIGHT THIS TEXT. - DS Lite: 116,694 40,625 (53.41%) - PSP: 75,027 9,418 (14.35%) - Wii: 54,362 18,132 (50.05%) - PS3: 50,564 11,386 (29.06%) - PS2: 14,875 6,020 (67.98%) - Xbox 360: 7,117 592 (9.07%) - Gamecube: 44 6 (15.79%) - Game Boy Micro: 42 67 (61.47%) - GBA SP: 31 122 (79.74%)- GBA: 9 9 (N/A) - DS Phat: 0 15 (100.00%) [Source: Media Create] See: The compelling archives
Japanese hardware sales, Nov. 12 - Nov. 18: And now for a haiku edition
Sales charts rule our livessend out the defense forcescheese accordions Please, please tell us you can do better in the comments. We'll post the best ones in next week's sales chart post! (That's right, folks! We've gotten so unbelievably lazy that we'd rather have you write our posts for us!) - DS Lite: 76,069 2,785 (3.53%) - PSP: 65,609 6,645 (11.27%) - PS3: 39,178 16,746 (29.94%) - Wii: 36,230 1,684 (4.87%) - PS2: 8,855 188 (2.08%) - Xbox 360: 6,525 708 (12.17%) - GBA SP: 153 58 (27.49%)C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER! - Game Boy Micro: 109 599 (84.6%) - Gamecube: 38 31 (44.93%) - DS Phat: 15 15 (50.00%)- GBA: 0 4 (100.00%) [Source: Media Create] See: The magnificent archives
Japanese hardware sales, Nov. 5 - Nov. 11: Twice in a lifecycle edition
Admittedly, we were being facetious last week when we suggested the PlayStation 3 would trump the Wii next in a series of apocalyptic (but... interesting!) sales chart reversals. The fact that our front door opened into outer space this morning should have been a clear signal that our duration of stay in The Zone of Rather Implausible Things had been extended. The homeless guy with a mirror for a face also makes a lot more sense now (THAT COULD HAVE BEEN US).Since our sarcastic quips now manifest in reality, perhaps we should ask "What's next?" just one more time. The Wii besting the DS Lite? The GBA making up its mind about staying on or off the charts? A million dollars mysteriously falling into our laps?- DS Lite: 78,854 302 (0.38%) - PSP: 58,964 750 (1.26%) - PS3: 55,924 38,490 (220.78%) - Wii: 34,546 3,071 (8.16%) - PS2: 9,043 1,166 (11.42%) - Xbox 360: 5,817 11,856 (67.09%) - Game Boy Micro: 708 595 (526.55%) - GBA SP: 211 5 (2.43%) - Gamecube: 69 86 (55.48%) - DS Phat: 30 15 (33.33%)- GBA: 4 4 (N/A) [Source: Media Create] See: The fascinating archives
PS3 outsold Wii in Japan last week
Quick, grab your loved ones and head to that bomb shelter you built in the backyard just for such an occasion. (Apartment dwellers, find a local church or Wal-Mart and get nestled in.) Sony's PlayStation 3, after seeing its ego deflated a few weeks back when the Xbox 360 trumped it, has leapfrogged into third place for last week's hardware sales in Japan, dropping Wii to a meager fourth place by a margin of approximately 21,000 units (55,924 vs. 34,546).In its acceptance speech, Sony thanked the newly-released 40GB model and assured the attending audience that upon arrival the Four Horseman will no doubt hail the PS3 as their console of choice.But wait! Perhaps we spoke to hastily about this being a sign of imminent apocalypse. The Xbox 360 has moved back to its normal slot, between the PS2 and Game Boy Micro. "Phew," you say as you wipe the sweat from your brow, "that was a close one." Those with an ever-vigilant and watchful eye should look out for the following scenario: PlayStation 3 beating Wii Xbox 360 beating PS3 (and therefore, by chain rule transitive property, the Wii as well) Nintendo DS in any position other than first We have averted crisis thrice before today's scare, although the occurrences have happened more frequently as of late. We'll have more information later today.[Image credit: roland]
Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 29 - Nov. 4: Once in a life cycle edition
We've grown accustomed to compiling these charts with a frightening degree of soulless autonomy, each week's numbers rolling across our brains like tumbleweeds in a deserted... desert town. In fact, the time afforded to us by the near-identical and mindless updates allowed us to discover the actual meaning of the word "autonomy," which we mistakenly believed to mean some sort of badge with your name on it (pronounced auto-know-me). You learn something new every day -- and this day is no different.With the Xbox 360 bizarrely (and barely) surpassing the PlayStation 3 this week, we've learned to never let our guards down again. Who knows what remarkable event may rattle the fanboy cages next? Perhaps the Xbox 360 will surge ahead of the DS Lite next week? The PlayStation 3 might overtake the Wii! Predictability is truly dead, and we've no time to mourn as we rush headlong into exciting times! Next week will be amazing, we're sure of it!- DS Lite: 78,552 2,309 (3.03%) - PSP: 59,714 78 (0.13%) - Wii: 37,617 10,115 (36.78%) - Xbox 360: 17,673 13,955 (375.34%) - PS3: 17,434 1,351 (7.19%) - PS2: 10,209 1,489 (12.73%) - GBA SP: 206 165 (402.44%) - Gamecube: 155 97 (167.24%) - Game Boy Micro: 113 49 (76.56%) - DS Phat: 45 15 (50.00%) [Source: Media Create] See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 22 - Oct. 28: Meager eager edition
Another week, another scintillating edition of the Japanese hardware sales chart! Being so eager to see it, you kick off the duvet and leap out of bed as soon as consciousness returns and you realize glorious numbers await you on the internet. Of course, you tend to waste several minutes extricating your airborne sheets from the oddly low ceiling fan, but the spirited exercise and deep slashes across your forearms are well worth it. Or are they?Much like a tack carefully obscured within a bowl of popcorn, that small dash of doubt might just shock you into seeing how desperate you are to grasp and consume something with no nutritious value. Are these numbers from a foreign land helping you grow as a person? Are the aesthetically pleasing arrows strong enough to direct your level of happiness? Are they worth enduring terrible metaphors, incessant blathering and consequent fanboy screeching? Only you have the answers...- DS Lite: 76,243 5,635 (7.98%)- PSP: 59,792 1,123 (1.91%) - Wii: 27,502 2,570 (10.31%) - PS3: 18,785 1,655 (9.66%) - PS2: 11,698 1,417 (13.78%) - Xbox 360: 3,718 707 (23.48%) - Game Boy Micro: 64 54 (45.76%) - Gamecube: 58 10 (20.83%) - GBA SP: 41 89 (68.46%) - DS Phat: 30 - GBA: ??? [Source: Media Create]See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts... but if you made it this far, it was probably "yes" for all of them.
Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 15 - Oct. 21: Surprisingly boring edition
"They'll never expect that!" I exclaimed to myself as I highlighted and deleted the 897 brilliant words that comprised an earlier version of this post. It seemed like a good idea at the time, with my desire to continually surprise readers leading me down the path more traveled. Indeed, this week's Japanese sales chart post (the 62nd!) would shock and baffle long-term readers by offering absolutely nothing of value outside of statistics and pleasingly colored arrows. This post would become the surprise birthday party for the 72-year old man! The agitated mountain lion hidden in the refrigerator! The hydrochloric acid in the bowling ball's finger holes!So, here goes.- DS Lite: 70,608 8,138 (10.33%)- PSP: 58,669 915 (1.54%) - Wii: 24,932 4,357 (21.18%) - PS3: 17,130 4,765 (38.54%) - PS2: 10,281 100 (0.98%) - Xbox 360: 3,011 3,150 (51.13%) - GBA SP: 130 3 (2.36%) - Game Boy Micro: 118 58 (96.67%) - Gamecube: 48 31 (39.24%) - GBA: 22 22 (N/A) - DS Phat: ??? [Source: Media Create]See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: Ludwig already did it
"Wake up, Ross, this is the online manifestation of your conscience.""Hey Ludwig, what's up?""I couldn't help but notice the headline to your wrapup this week, the Interview Edition.""Yeah, I thought it'd be cute.""It was cute ... when I did it in February.""Curses! Okay, how about this ... "The conversation continues after the break. In the meantime, here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics. Be sure to vote for your favorite! The future is EA Thoughts on cake Communication breakdown Portal pinching Mutant power Inter-ad-tive entertainment Discretion advised (guest strip) And now you know ... This week's obsession Old friends Congratulations are in order
Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 8 - Oct. 14: [title] edition
Introductory paragraphInsert something completely unrelated, irrelevant and painfully unfunny. Possible similes this week: "As quiet as a graveyard of mimes." "More awkward than a handshake between Samus and Mega Man." "As quiet as a graveyard of mimes... in space." MiddleFiller text.Filler text.Analysis -- mention DS Phat and GBA being dropped from chart by Media Create. Xbox 360 sales increase due to Project Gotham Racing 4 release (at #25 in software chart)?ConclusionFiller text.Oh God, is this really the 61st sales post? How did life go so horribly wrong that I spend my Friday evenings calculating and commenting on inane statistics from a foreign country? And people keep expecting these to be "entertaining." Can't take the pressure anymore. Will kill Self tomorrow. Then, will kill self.Reminder: Replace all filler text before auto-publish time and stop procrasReminder: Finish previous sentence.Reminder: Feed Self.- DS Lite: 78,746 8,699 (9.95%)- PSP: 59,584 27,311 (31.43%) - Wii: 20,575 129 (0.62%) - PS3: 12,365 1,543 (14.26%) - PS2: 10,181 265 (2.54%) - Xbox 360: 6,161 4,614 (298.25%) - GBA SP: 127 68 (34.87%) - Gamecube: 79 30 (27.52%) - Game Boy Micro: 60 13 (27.66%) - DS Phat: ??? - GBA: ??? [Source: Media Create]See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 1 - Oct. 7: Best served cold edition
Well, it was interesting while it lasted.Unwilling to let the PSP reign supreme a fourth week, the DS Lite just barely clambers its way back onto the Japanese sales chart throne, still warm from the months of prior supremacy. If role-playing games have taught us anything, defeating the final boss is but a prelude to his second and much more powerful form. And if there's any knowledge to be gained from movies, it's that a foiled villain is rarely foiled so much as he is inconvenienced. "From hell's heart, I stab at PSP!"- DS Lite: 87,445 14,550 (19.96%)- PSP: 86,895 15,914 (15.48%) - Wii: 20,704 3,439 (14.24%) - PS3: 10,822 2,283 (17.42%) - PS2: 10,446 2,534 (19.52%) - Xbox 360: 1,547 3,668 (70.34%) - GBA SP: 195 146 (297.96%) - Gamecube: 109 36 (49.32%) - DS Phat: 90 60 (200.00%) - Game Boy Micro: 47 182 (79.48%) - GBA: 0 41 (100.00%) [Source: Media Create]See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Japanese hardware sales, Sept. 24 - Sept. 30: unethical addition
What a terrible thing it is to hold sin in your hands, gently pressing its buttons and marveling at the pleasing electronic beeps and boops it emits. Its digital delights entertain for hours on end, but they merely distract from the gnawing guilt and anguish inside. Only when it is turned off is the perpetrator revealed, reflected in a glossy LCD screen. You've come to depend on us for providing you with the Japanese hardware sales chart -- the objective and unaltered numerical truth of all consoles and handhelds. Full disclosure must triumph! Towards the end of our trip to Tokyo, on September 24th, we altered the course of sales events. We passed our greedy hands over the chart's fate and altered it ourselves, adding one Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII edition PSP to the outcome. The price was heavy, but the price of our meddling was far heavier. Also, we just had to buy 3,528 Xbox 360s in anticipation of Halo 3.- PSP: 102,808 + 1 174,985 (62.99%) - DS Lite: 72,895 2,372 (3.36%) - Wii: 24,143 849 (3.40%) - PS3: 13,105 2,373 (22.11%) - PS2: 12,980 1,607 (14.13%) - Xbox 360: 5,215 3,528 (209.13%) - Game Boy Micro: 229 14 (5.76%) - Gamecube: 73 5 (7.35%) - GBA SP: 49 57 (53.77%) - GBA: 41 8 (24.24%) - DS Phat: 30 15 (100.00%) [Source: Media Create]See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Japanese hardware sales, Sept. 17 - Sept. 23: Crisis edition
It is with trembling hands and an overwhelming sense of insecurity (more so than usual) that we bring you this week's Japanese sales charts. It's as if someone flipped our world upside down, yanked the carpet off our heads and welcomed us to a zone where doors float in space and wild fantasies become startling truth. What hath Square Enix and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII wrought? - PSP: 277,794 182,307 (190.92%) - DS Lite: 70,523 9,451 (11.82%) - Wii: 24,992 1,189 (4.54%) - PS2: 11,373 1,755 (13.37%) - PS3: 10,732 2,369 (18.08%) - Xbox 360: 1,687 444 (35.72%) - Game Boy Micro: 243 471 (65.97%) - GBA SP: 106 16 (13.11%) - Gamecube: 68 29 (29.90%) - GBA: 33 33 (N/A) - DS Phat: 15 -- 0 (0.00%) [Source: Media Create] See: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Japanese hardware sales, Sept. 3 - Sept. 9: pre-TGS edition
The fact that "TGS" doesn't stand for "Terrific Gourmet Sandwich" is likely just as disappointing for you as it is for us. In our preparations for next week's Tokyo Game Show, we simply haven't found the time to waste on trivial matters such as eating, bathing or maintaining the fine balance between being witty and being obnoxious. We're already packing our bags, charging our numerous portable gaming systems and figuring out how best to phrase the question, "Why isn't your game Ninja Gaiden 2?"Oh, and we also plan to do something about all these soul-crushingly grim red arrows. We'll show them.- DS Lite: 77,488 16,851 (17.86%) - Wii: 29,088 10,283 (26.12%) - PSP: 15,564 6,632 (29.88%) - PS2: 13,360 920 (6.44%) - PS3: 13,248 4,820 (26.68%) - Xbox 360: 1,286 349 (21.35%) - Game Boy Micro: 428 165 (62.74%) - GBA SP: 122 73 (37.44%) - Gamecube: 82 9 (12.33%) - GBA: 0 16 (100.00%) - DS Phat: 0 -- 0 (N/A)[Source: Media Create]See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Japanese hardware sales, Aug. 27 - Sept. 2: job interview edition (part 2!)
By complying with my request to cast your mind back to the month of February, you'll accomplish two very important things. Firstly, you'll conjure up the always hilarious image of a brain splattering across a slightly yellowed calendar page, preferably one of those featuring a woman you only dream of seeing on the romantic kind of date. And secondly, you'll recall the disappointing results of my last job interview, which saw the position of Finnish Sales Chart Tracker elude me entirely. Not being one to thhro in teh towle therow in the towl whatever, I decided I'd venture into the terrifying, neon-lit world of public relations. Hey, that Karakker guy just quit -- maybe I could take a karak at his job? Failing that, I'll become a comedian! Find the conveniently transcribed job interview after the break. - DS Lite: 94,339 6,091 (6.06%) - Wii: 39,371 6,912 (14.93%) - PSP: 22,196 3,893 (14.92%) - PS3: 18,068 1,675 (10.22%) - PS2: 14,280 859 (5.67%) - Xbox 360: 1,635 409 (20.01%) - Game Boy Micro: 263 160 (37.83%) - GBA SP: 195 32 (19.63%) - Gamecube: 73 43 (37.07%) - GBA: 16 49 (75.38%) - DS Phat: 0 30 (100.00%)[Source: Media Create]See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
