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Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 6/16-6/22
The DS found itself back in cozy old third place in this week's chart, as the hype from Metal Gear Solid 4 died down a bit in Japan: PSP: 59,531 (5,325) Wii: 41,037 (4,527) NDS: 36,599 (2,602) PS3: 20,336 (54,975) PS2: 6,346 (951) Xbox 360: 2,555 (392) Meanwhile, Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team's steady climb back into the top ten makes us wonder if supply just wasn't meeting demand a few weeks earlier, when the game fell out of the top thirty. Yet overall, the DS had a relatively boring week in terms of software, with no exciting new releases to congratulate or poke fun at (unless you consider the budget-priced re-release of Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary "exciting" and "new").If you want to see what Japanese gamers were buying last week, though, just click on past the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 6/2-6/8
We're crying for Namco Bandai's Tears of 99 right now, as the game debuted in the twenty-third spot this week. We guess Japanese gamers just didn't feel like being bummed out, and therefore avoided buying this original title. Sad, indeed.The rest of DS software didn't do so hot, either. Detective game Misa Yamamura Suspense premiered in fifth, and Beautiful Letter Training continues to sell incredibly well for a nongame about calligraphy, but otherwise sales were a disappointment. Front Mission 2089 and Endless Frontier: Super Robot Wars OG Saga are already showing a lack of legs, since both of the games dropped considerably from the previous week. Glory of Herakles and Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team! have even fallen out of the top thirty completely. Hardware is the same old story: PSP: 62,016 (9,970) Wii: 44,639 (6,212) Nintendo DS: 35,020 (3,335) PlayStation 3: 10,856 (1,687) PlayStation 2: 6,279 (924) Xbox 360: 2,280 (321) Check out all the software numbers and rankings for yourself, should you feel so inclined. They're listed after the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 5/19-5/25
After a somewhat stalwart week, DS software recovered nicely and once again dominated the charts. Even though the same amount of games appeared in the top thirty (fifteen in total), they ranked higher on average than they did in the previous week. Good software sales also gave DS hardware a little boost: PSP: 64,449 (6,087) Wii: 49,047 (7,475) Nintendo DS: 37,404 (2,499) PlayStation 3: 9.071 (1,370) PlayStation 2: 7,189 (167) Xbox 360: 1,947 (473) Four new games debuted in the top thirty, including Sega's Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team!, which nabbed the first place spot from Monster Hunter. The other three games were Glory of Herakles, Scarlet Fragment, and Tea Dogs Room 3. Herakles (or Hercules, if you prefer) is the title that sparks our interest the most, as it's an interesting RPG published by Nintendo. Even so, it's first week sales were (unfortunately) subpar, yet good enough to land it in the top ten.Check out the sales numbers and rankings for yourself after the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 5/12-5/18
The spotlight this week is on Luminous Arc 2: Will, a game that has yet to be confirmed for English language localization. While we're forced to sit and wait jealously, though, forty thousand Japanese gamers ran out and bought the title. Only falling behind the juggernauts Monster Hunter and Mario Kart Wii (and almost squeezing past Nintendo's racer), Image Epoch's SRPG debuted pretty impressively.In other sales news, the announcement for another Professor Layton game in Japan managed to push the first title in the series back into the top thirty. Aside from that, there weren't any differences in DS software worth mentioning.In terms of hardware, the numbers for the DS weren't so hot. In fact, we don't remember the sales numbers for Nintendo's handheld ever being this low in Japan. With everyone and their mother already owning a DS in the country, does the system still have room for growth? We won't know for sure until the next big software push, but for now it looks like the dual-screened handheld should get comfy in that third place spot. PSP: 70,536 (19,348) Wii: 41,572 (25,736) Nintendo DS: 34,905 (16,323) PlayStation 3: 7,701 (353) PlayStation 2: 7,022 (442) Xbox 360: 1,474 (176) The software numbers are located after the break, so go on and take a look. They won't bite!**DS Fanboy claims no responsibility for those who get bitten by our sales figures.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/28-5/4
We realized today that we don't know Japan as well as we thought we did. With our reasoning, a new Gundam game + the popularity of the DS = cha-ching. While the debuting Emblem of Gundam had decent sales for its first week, though, taking the twelfth spot isn't all that impressive -- especially since there was only one new release cluttering up the top ten. On the other hand, We're Fossil Diggers, Pokemon Ranger, and the Taiko Drum Master DS sequel continued to shine, giving the DS a nice piece of top ten representation. Batonnage managed to reach the half-million mark, while the other two games neared 100,000 copies sold.For hardware, DS numbers went up since last week, but the handheld is still convincingly behind the PSP and Wii in recent sales. If you want to see the numbers, though, just click past the break. You can check out the software listings there, too.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/14-4/20
Something caused a Phoenix Wright sales revival, and we suspect it was the Gyakuten Meets Orchestra concert (which was also a Gyakuten Kenji hype event). Both the first and second Gyakuten Saiban games for the DS ended up in the top thirty this week.Newcomer We're Fossil Diggers (a second-party effort by RED Entertainment that actually sounds really fun, at least to the dinosaur lovers in us) deserves all the glory, though. Debuting at third place, this unique piece of software did rather well for itself in its first week.Besides the same old games that have been showing up in the charts for the past few weeks, the other notable is Square-Enix's dull-sounding bookkeeping game. It seems like a rather niche title to end up in the top thirty, but who knows -- maybe a lot of Japanese folks are getting ready to take the Level 3 Bookkeeping exam. Or, maybe they just can't resist a game by the beloved Squeenix.To see all the placings and numbers for yourselves, just click on past the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 4/7-4/13
In a strange turn of events, there's only one new DS game in Japan's top thirty this week, and that's Oshiri Kajiri Mushi's Rhythm Lesson DS. In case that title doesn't ring a bell, you may know it better as "that butt-biting bug game." If there's one thing we've learned from this bug, it's that biting is serious business. Despite Japan's love for DS software and quirky rhythm games, though, Oshiri Kajiri Mushi only debuted in the eighteenth spot. Perhaps butt biting is even too weird for Japan?In hardware, the DS fell behind the PSP once again. Yet, there's already signs of the Monster Hunter hype beginning to dwindle, as the PSP sold 35,000 less units than the week before. Will the new brown model that comes out next week help the PSP keep a wide lead, or will the gap start to narrow again between the two handhelds? We're looking forward to finding out!To see the Japanese placings and numbers, just check after the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/31-4/6
Sony dominated the first (and last) five in the top thirty software chart, but aside from that, everything else was Nintendo. The DS had fifteen games to represent it, but even if you added up the sales numbers for all those games, the total wouldn't come close to what Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G sold in its second week.Pokemon Ranger: Batonnage was once again the best-selling DS game, but newcomer Tottado! Yowiko's Deserted Island Life (which is about famous Japanese comedians being stranded on an island) did well, also. In hardware, the DS was crushed for the second week in a row by the PSP, which had its sales boosted by Monster Hunter and Star Ocean 2.Hardware: PSP: 120,964 Nintendo DS: 55,190 Wii: 44,618 PlayStation 3: 11,303 PlayStation 2: 10,423 Xbox 360: 1,452 To see the software listings, just check after the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/24-3/30
The PSP might have dominated in Japan, selling as much hardware last week as every other system combined, but that doesn't mean the DS didn't do well for itself. In fact, Nintendo's handheld came in second place, selling around 60,000 units.The story is similar in software, as DS titles came no where near to matching the sales of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, yet there was still a lot of DS representation in the top thirty, as usual. New titles rleased last week that made the cut include Mobile Suit Gundam 00, which debuted in third, Vitamin X Evolution, Lux Pain, and Home Teacher Hitman Reborn!Towards the bottom of the software chart, New Super Mario Bros. reappeared while Taiko Drum Master hung stubbornly onto the thirtieth spot. To see how other games were rearranged, just check after the break for the listings.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/10-3/16
"If you bundle a game with a special brush stylus, they will come," the heavens whispered to Nintendo. While we expected Beautiful Letter Training (also known as Bimoji or Calligraphy Training) to do well, we didn't expect it to sell 66,000 copies in its first week. This first-party effort by Nintendo looks as polished and full of content as a calligraphy nongame could get, but we're still surprised by the high demand for this game in Japan. Nintendo has understood sales markets better than anyone else this generation, though, so we probably should have expected this.Also appearing on the charts are both versions of Hayate the Combat Butler, as we predicted. The mansion edition was slightly more popular, as preference was given to the little girls in little black dresses. At the sixth spot was Shugo Chara!, which, in case you were wondering, is yet another manga/anime-based game about a school girl.Harvest Moon: Shining Sun and Friends, meanwhile, jumped back into the top ten, while Soma Bringer dropped down a few notches. One other notable game on the chart is the infamous Duel Love, which debuted at spot twenty-seven. That's not a great start for the title, but perhaps nipple rubbing is more niche in Japan than we thought.Despite making a killing in software and having fifteen games in the top thirty, the DS remained in third for hardware sales. Still, considering that everyone and their mother already owns a DS in Japan, we're somewhat surprised that it comes so close to the top, week after week.Mosey on after the break to see the numbers in full, folks.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/3-3/9
Japan loves Doraemon, and it shows. Not only did the manga-based robot cat have a successful DS baseball game, but now a game based on the manga itself debuted in the top ten. Soma Bringer was still the top dog for the handheld, though, selling a total of 68,000 copies in two weeks. Are numbers like these high enough to motivate Monolith Soft to bring the game to English speaking markets? Well, we certainly hope so, but that remains to be seen.As for hardware, the DS stayed in third place again last week, but wasn't too far behind the PSP: Wii: 57,068 PSP: 53,924 Nintendo DS: 48,658 PlayStation 3: 21,008 PlayStation 2: 10,429 Xbox 360: 2,891 The numbers and placings for software are listed after the break, so if you're curious, just click away.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/25-3/2
The DS dropped to third in last week's hardware sales, as the PSP inched its way to first. (In case you haven't been keeping track, Wii sales have been above those of the DS for quite some time, but the PSP and DS keep flip-flopping for the week's best selling portable.)Hardware: PSP: 73,706 Wii: 64,535 Nintendo DS: 51,922 PlayStation 3: 13,520 PlayStation 2: 10,986 Xbox 360: 2,282 In the software chart, though, Nintendo's portable dominated once again. There were fourteen DS games to hit the top thirty last week, three of which made the top ten. Most of note is the new release Soma Bringer, a game that many of us outside of Japan have been coveting. It debuted in fourth, and was the top seller for the dual-screened handheld last week.Meanwhile, Professor Layton 2 and Animal Crossing slipped back into the top thirty, while Harvest Moon and Etrian Odyssey II managed to remain in the top ten. Check after the break to see a whole lot of DS games in boldface.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/18-2/24
The DS and PSP seem to be in a tooth-and-nail fight for second place. This week, the PSP took back the second spot, but just barely.Hardware: Wii: 63,504 PSP: 53,373 Nintendo DS: 50,151 PlayStation 3: 14,060 PlayStation 2: 9,634 Xbox 360: 2,001 The DS did better in software, though, with Etrian Odyssey II becoming popular in its first week. The DS dungeon crawler was only 9,000 units away from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in fact. Harvest Moon: Shining Sun and Friends was another DS champ, ending up 5th on this week's chart. There were twelve DS games in the top thirty, which is impressive, especially considering the ton of new releases that came out last week. The new software did manage to bump a bunch of DS games out of the top thirty, though, including big names like Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, Dragon Quest IV, and Final Fantasy IV. To see the software placements, make sure to check after the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/11-2/17
The DS reclaimed second place for hardware, managing to inch past the PSP on this week's chart. A bunch of new releases helped the handheld's sales, as fifteen of the top thirty games last week were DS titles. Hardware: Wii: 78,583 Nintendo DS: 62,362 PSP: 59,645 PlayStation 3: 17,637 PlayStation 2: 11,266 Xbox 360: 2,198 The top contender for the dual-screened portable last week was the Japanese dating sim, Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side 2nd Season, which beat everything except Smash Bros. and Wii Fit. Meanwhile, After-School Boy and Doraemon Baseball were knocked out of the top thirty, but remained in the top fifty (along with Rune Factory 2). Overall, though, it was a great software week for the DS. If you want to see why, check out the numbers after the break.
Another Week In Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/4-2/10
Aside from Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, the best seller for the DS last week was L, the Prologue to Death Note: Rasen no Wana. It's no surprise that this game did well in Japan, as it's based off a popular anime series. It wasn't enough to help the DS overcome the PSP or Wii this week, though, as Brawl and Mobile Suit Gundam kept their respective systems on top easily. Wii: 81,737 PSP: 75,912 Nintendo DS: 60,464 PlayStation 3: 23,985 PlayStation 2: 11,038 Xbox 360: 3,615 The rest is the same story as last week, with After-School Boy managing to stay in the top thirty, and a new Brain Age-like game thrown in. Check after the break to get a look at the software rankings and sales.
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/14-1/20
The DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games premiered last week, immediately shooting to the top of the charts. Only Wii Fit could keep the game from taking the number one spot. Aside from Mario & Sonic and the Professor Layton sequel, though, most DS games found themselves in the bottom half of the top twenty. Rune Factory 2 even threatens to slip off completely after a few promising weeks.As for the hardware numbers, it's the same old story. The DS continues to sell well, and once again takes the #1 spot with Japanese gamers.Hardware: DS: 91,000 Wii: 76,000 PSP: 65,000 PS3: 32,000 PS2: 13,000 Xbox 360: 4,400 The Japanese software numbers for the week of 1/14 are listed after the break.
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 1/7-1/13
The PSP might be inching closer to the DS in hardware sales, but the dual-screened handheld continues to dominate the software charts. Half of the games in the top twenty were DS games, while the Wii, PSP, PS2 and PS3 shared the other half.Many of the top games were old favorites, but relative newcomers like Final Fantasy IV and Rune Factory 2 did well, too. Professor Layton 2 continues to help its predecessor sell more copies, giving the original Layton a chance to reach one million sales. For the most part, though, it was a quiet and predictable week in the Land of the Rising Sun.Hardware: DS: 103,000 PSP: 84,000 Wii: 82,000 PS3: 34,000 PS2: 15,000 Xbox 360: 5,500 The software sales can be seen after the break.
Another week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 12/31-1/6
The big news with last week's sales numbers is not that the DS managed to top 300,000 again, but that the New Super Mario Bros. broke five million in Japan. Not only that, but the game took the sixteenth spot in today's Famistu chart. Also showing legs is Mario Kart DS, which sold 68,000 copies to take the number eight spot. While it's no surprise that Mario Kart does well week after week (after week), we didn't expect it to make the top ten. We're also happy to see some new DS blood enter the ring, with Rune Factory 2 selling 56,000 in its debut. The rise in sales from the previous week was most likely due to the New Years holiday, which is a popular shopping period in Japan. These numbers are almost certainly not sustainable, though, so we should see a big difference next week. Of course, we fully expect that the DS will end up on top, as always, with a smattering of its games in the top ten. Check after the break to see the numbers, with NSMB sales tacked on for good measure.
