Japanese sales charts, April 9-16: Brains, brains, brains

by Jennie Lees { Apr 21st 2006 at 10:28AM }

The sales figures are in for Japan, ranking games of all formats for the week ending April 16. It's a very different picture to charts elsewhere, with brain-training games dominating the top spots (as they have done for weeks), two baseball games at 9 and 10, and the PS2 and DS running rampant. In fact, for anyone out there hoping, there are no Xbox or Xbox 360 titles in the top 50 at all.

The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 16:

1. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
2. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
3. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
4. Legend of Starfy 4 [DS]
5. Guilty Gear XX Slash [PS2]
6. DS English Training [DS]
7. Pokémon Ranger [DS]
8. Final Fantasy XII [PS2]
9. Pro Yakyu Netsu Star 2006 [PS2]
10. Pro Yakyu Spirit 3 [PS2]

Tags: brain training, BrainTraining, charts, japan, japanese, sales, sales charts, SalesCharts, statistics

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

striderhayasa @ Apr 21st 2006 10:44AM

jeez, didn't the original brain age come out last summer? It's still in the top ten after all of this time. If that's not an indication that original ideas are needed in the industry I don't know what is. FFXII is 8 on the list and it sold over 2 million copies. Maybe I'll get Brain Age today....

Jeff @ Apr 21st 2006 10:54AM

Yeah, I'm picking up Brain Age today most likely as well.

btw, a minor issue but when did we start translating Japanese titles with their American names? "Brain Age" is not the title of this game in Japan. It's not just Joystiq, it's most sites I see now. I sort of understand why it's done (so Americans can match up games they know with games on the list), but it still seems arbitrary. Especially when the "Training" series is an actual brand in Japan, i.e. "English Training" is part of the same series as "Brain Training".

Deustchland @ Apr 21st 2006 10:54AM

Nintendo rules man!!!!

YEAH!

darryl @ Apr 21st 2006 11:04AM

"Nintendo rules man!!!!"

Really? Where are the GC titles then? Oh, that's right, none made the list. Nintendo rules 60% of the game software (if brian age is even considered a game?) market in Japan (this week). Old people and kids rule!!! (note, only three exclamation points)

striderhayasa @ Apr 21st 2006 11:13AM

Not true, true there are no GC games on that list but Nintendo has been dominating the sales charts in Japan for months. This isn't some fluke of the week we're looking at. DS and DS Lite are beating the hell out of PS2 and PSP. It's not just the "Training" Series either FFXII may have sold 2 million copies but the original "Training" game did too. Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Pokemon (minus just released versus) and every Brain Game that's been released has sold over a million copies. 200,000 to 300,000 copies sold is considered a success these days when 500,000 was the number a few years ago. The last time we've had multiple million plus sellers on a sales chart for this long was back in the 64/Ps1 era.

funkonaut @ Apr 21st 2006 11:17AM

Japanese Hardware Sales for April 10-16th:

DS Lite: 140,969 (827,737)
DS: 37,204 (767,773)
PS2: 27,549 (504,215)
PSP: 26,340 (609,399)
GBASP: 6,372 (100,814)
GBA Micro: 3676 (62,678)
Xbox 360: 1,926 (37,287)
Gamecube: 1,080 (43,649)
GBA: 46 (2,397)
Xbox: 30 (1,355)

jennie @ Apr 21st 2006 11:25AM

Jeff, thanks for your comment on names. Some of the names above were translated so that those who only casually follow the Japanese market would have some idea what the various titles actually are -- we're trying to strike a balance here. Which do you prefer, full Japanese titles, the English equivalents, or rough translations with full original titles in brackets? :)

benjamin @ Apr 21st 2006 11:28AM

As far as the hardware sales, the 360 sold more that the 'cube- is that a first or has that been happening for a while? Anybody remember?

KevinM @ Apr 21st 2006 11:51AM

Looks like 360's relaunch isn't mustering up the sales they thoguht they would. You would think that one 360 game would make the list.

Impressive to see the DS games in 6 freaking slots, but I would like to see more out of the 360 in japan.

fawazr @ Apr 21st 2006 12:15PM

Nintendo's adapt-or-die strategy has really paid off. I could be cynical too and say they're just pandering to old people and kids, but with sales like these, it's more likely that Nintendo's games are appealing to everyone. And, in my book, targetting everyone is a better bet than going after the same handful of bored 18-24 year olds, but time will tell.

Drmario1978 @ Apr 21st 2006 12:26PM

Hey darry, you are so full of it it is comming out your mouth. What are you talking about old people and kids??! Should we talk about sony's main demographic for the PSP i. e. ghetto guys who want a piece of bling and snobs who want to show off they can overpay for a portable movie player?? I cant wait for PS# to come out so it can become a freaking jaguar and go down in flames.

Sense @ Apr 21st 2006 12:28PM

You might see a 360 game on there soon, since Fifa just came out:

http://www.gamebrink.com/373-Famitsu-Scores-for-the-Week-of-04202006.html

Then again, it wasn't reviewed as highly as Winning Eleven for PS2. And the 360 has outsold the Cube before. A couple weeks ago (when Rumble Roses came out) it actually sold like 3,000 units.

Brain Age is pretty cool though. I love it.

Jau_Peacecraft @ Apr 21st 2006 12:34PM

just wanna say that pic looks awfully like a condom package.

Marlor @ Apr 21st 2006 12:41PM

benjamin: The 360 has been outselling the Cube for the past two or three weeks. I can't say whether Cube sales are dropping off or 360 sales are picking up, but either way, neither console is doing too well, although you would have to expect that with the Cube since it hasn't really had any major releases since Paper Mario.

benjamin @ Apr 21st 2006 1:02PM

Thank you, Marlor.

(Don't forget RE4, though.)

On the subject of the 360 software, the new head of MS's Japanese division stated that MS plans to triple the number of titles for the 360 available in Japan by the end of 2006. So maybe we will see a 360 title in the top 50 yet! (Hopefully in the top 10...)

Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2006/04/06/ap2651702.html?partner=alerts

Jon @ Apr 21st 2006 1:54PM

"English Training"?

Can we have "Japanese Training", please? :)

Shiro @ Apr 21st 2006 2:32PM

Of course, in the case of Gamecube to Xbox 360 sales, there's a big difference in the comparison of other consoles, and that is: Everyone in Japan already HAS a Gamecube. It's a current/last gen system. The Xbox 360 is new. And as it stands... Almost nobody has it.

graf1k @ Apr 21st 2006 2:49PM

#4. I'm sure Nintendo doesn't care if its cash flow comes from DS sales or NGC sales. Besides, unlike MS and Sony, Nintendo made money on the Gamecube console from the beginning. Don't be so quick to crap on Nintendo's business plan.

That said, the DS is selling like crazy still (since when is there a Brain Age 2? Shouldn't one be enough?) Anyway, my DS Lite is on the way. Can't wait. I guess one of those 140K+ DS Lites sold last week was mine.

Pal @ Apr 21st 2006 3:40PM

I don't know why you all say that Brain Age is for the young and old. It's for the young TO old, it helps any age. Remember, it's not to make you smarter, it's to make your thinking reflexes sharper. Stop being so pretentious! God forbid, a helpful game.

I'm not surprised at all that the 360 is failing. Any enjoyment out of that system you'll get on the PS3/Revolution soon with much better support from the Japanese developers. It's worth the wait. I can't say I'm interested in the 360 either since I don't really need a dedicated FPS/racing console.

Japan rules!

striegs @ Apr 21st 2006 4:19PM

Dammit Nintendo, WHERE'S MY LEGEND OF STAFY? You kept Fire Emblem tucked away in Japan for a decade, and it's gone on to become one of the most-acclaimed titles among the GBA's all-star library!

COUGH UP THE STAFY, IWATA. WE DON'T FUCK AROUND WHEN IT COMES TO ADORABLE PLATFORMING STAR-SHAPED THINGS.

trooper11 @ Apr 21st 2006 5:30PM

#17

actually if your going to be patient, surely you have heard about the many exclusive rpgs coming out of japan and the recent announcement by ubisoft for an exclusive Naruto game. Dont count the 360 out just yet. I have a feeling your going to see developers pick up the pace in japan as far as releases go.

There certainly isnt any reason for them to avoid the 360, its just a matter of time.

But another point, I find it interesting that there arent any PSP titles on that list, and that the DS and DS lite sales figures more then double the sales figures of the PSP.

courtney @ Apr 21st 2006 5:56PM

yeah I think the PSP was a bad idea for SONY, they need to take care of the PS3 from the way it looks. We don't need a second handheld.

I mean when the time comes and battery life is ready Nintendo will make a handheld with great graphics.

sorry I just hate how Sony makes you buy their shit and doesn't play nice with others. (memory cards, UMD, betmax, minidisk, PSX,) ahh

idioteraser @ Apr 21st 2006 6:00PM

Reason why Xbox 360 spiked up was the release of Rumble Roses.

Still most people get their 360s used in Japan. Last time I heard the trade in on a used 360 was about 110 dollars while a DS got in 140.

Lots of shops still are overflowing with xbox 360s. The region coding was a huge mistake. They could easily have shipped those units out to America and Europe instead of having the price drop to 200 bucks in quite a number of stores for the premimum package.

Hell in America you pay 60 bucks for a 360 game. In japan it's usually 20 and those are brand new 360 games.

If they didn't drop the price down so much they would only sell a few hundred a week.

Yeah two weeks it has beaten the game cube big whoop.

As for Naruato drawning people guess what there are a ton of Naruato games for the gamecube.

Sorry but it won't draw people to the 360.

And yes gamecube titles are in the top 50 in Japan.

The DS sales just keep getting higher and higher. Btw there haven't been 100 million sold PS2s. That is shipped. Units returned to manufactor, units lost in shipment, units replaced are all counted as shipped.

Sorry but until Sony provides the internal documents that show their sold to customer numbers no one should count them number one console seller.

mike @ Apr 21st 2006 6:17PM

Nintendo's adapt-or-die strategy

--

they're not adapting, they're veering off on a tangent by themselves.. the "successful" companies are making boring rehashes with better graphics.. thank god Nin didn't follow the 'market leaders'

trooper11 @ Apr 22nd 2006 10:36AM

idioteraser,

Id agree with most of that except for the Naruto part. This is a new game being developed for the 360, not a port of something alredy out. Maybe you dont realize just how popular Naruto is in Japan.

But for the 360 in general, I think as more games are released, sales will steadily rise.

darryl @ Apr 22nd 2006 2:56PM

"yeah I think the PSP was a bad idea for SONY, they need to take care of the PS3 from the way it looks. We don't need a second handheld."

Sure glad they didn't listen to your advice. We certainly do need a second handheld... even a third, or fourth to choose from. Competition is awesome for consumers (gamers).

"I mean when the time comes and battery life is ready Nintendo will make a handheld with great graphics."

That time has arrived, the PSP is a great example of what is possible. The future handhelds will only get better. Some critics of the PSP say that battery life is too short... for me personally, there is no issue here. One charge a day (while I dream of electric sheep) works for me.

"sorry I just hate how Sony makes you buy their shit and doesn't play nice with others. (memory cards, UMD, betmax, minidisk, PSX,) ahh"

Well you must hate CD and DVDs too, because Sony have their hands all over those formats too. I love how people bitch at companies for creating a new format because it's "proprietary". Then, if that same format becomes popular, they love it, and deem it as "open". If companies didn't create new formats, what would we have now? Innovation is good.

I do agree that it's nice to see Sony supporting other formats on the Playstation 3 however... I have many CF cards, so it'll be nice to be able to look at pictures I've taken via the PS3.

trooper11 @ Apr 22nd 2006 4:35PM

darryl,

I dont mind Sony releasing a new format either, but I wish they would at least support the 'older' formats as well. Forcing consumer to buy something that basically does the same thing as what they have is awfully annoying. If the psp supported more then memory stick, it would be very nice.

I mean, I wouldnt buy an hd-dvd or blu-ray player that didnt also play dvds and cds.

"Sure glad they didn't listen to your advice. We certainly do need a second handheld... even a third, or fourth to choose from. Competition is awesome for consumers (gamers)."

I think thats all well and good, but I doubt the market could sustain 4 handhelds, even 3 is pushing it.

"That time has arrived, the PSP is a great example of what is possible. The future handhelds will only get better. "

I dont know if I like it if this is the sign of things to come. where a handheld is no longer a game player first, but instead a multimedia hub. If I owned a psp, I would hardly use it for anything other then gaming. I dont watch video on screens that size and I already have an mp3 player. I dont want to pay for features I wont use, thats why $250 was way to much for me.

And I also dont think the future is better graphics as you are painting it. Look at the sale numbers of the DS versus the PSP. What the DS brings is a much different experience then in the past. The psp is the same experience as the past with pretty graphics and a focus on multimedia. It seems to me that the majority of consumers prefer the new experience to gaming. Ive found alot more use for the $150 DS Lite then buying a PSP at the moment.

But sure, there is a market for convergence devices like the psp, I just dont think its the best handheld for gaming, even with ps1 graphics.

KwadDamyj @ Apr 22nd 2006 4:40PM

I'm honestly kinda skeptical about Brain Age mostly because I'm stingy with my money these days. I haven't bought a new DS game since I bought SM64x4 along with my DS. I was really considering getting Prime Hunters, but with college seriously occupying a gigantic chunk of my life, I wasn't so sure of it. If you have an opinion on this, could you please comment at my LiveJournal to leave an idea of what to expect? That way I can read it later without sorting through 20 pages here on Joystiq. Don't worry, LJ allows anonymous commenting. Any input would be appreciated!