Japanese sales charts, May 29-June 4: Mario on top again
by Jennie Lees 
{ Jun 9th 2006 at 6:00AM }
New Super Mario Bros is still going strong at the top of the Japanese sales charts this week. With over 330,000 sales -- well over a million, cumulatively -- the title's dominance has well and truly whipped the rest of the charts into submission, with only a small amount of reshuffling since last week:1. New Super Mario Bros. [DS]
2. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
3. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
4. Metroid Prime Hunters [DS]
5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [PS2]
6. Tetris DS [DS]
7. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
8. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Eigo Duke [DS]
9. Jikkyou Powerful Major League [PS2]
10. Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable [PSP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ianc02 @ Jun 9th 2006 6:20AM
No suprise that NSMB is at the top but what is a little suprising for me is the consistent high sales of the brain age and animal crossing franchises. Usually a game sells huge for a couple of weeks then disappears(kingdom hearts 2) but these little beauties just hang on, selling i think 40/50,000 weekly. Amazing.
clee @ Jun 9th 2006 6:36AM
I like the how the number one game is on top of the red dot on the japan flag. I think it's better if the game is covers the top though, like you did with when .hack was number one.
Jay @ Jun 9th 2006 7:00AM
Now there's a surprise - the DS is dominating Japan.
Z @ Jun 9th 2006 7:27AM
It impresses me to see that a game can sell this good based on hype, even in Japan.
NSMB is exellently made, but it's terrible short and easy.
I only took 2 days to beat the game and 2 more to play through every level.
I wish I could unlearn everything I know about Super Mario World on the SNES to see how long it would take me to finish that now.
Matt @ Jun 9th 2006 8:10AM
It's not that surprising to see this really...if you think America is brand-loyal, Japan is like that times 10. That's why the DS and NSMB are selling rediculously well....well, that and the fact that it's really fun to play.
http://www.obscuregaming.com
student @ Jun 9th 2006 8:13AM
here are the U.S. Sales charts for the same week:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6152360.html?q=us%20sales
The only similarities are mario and brain age. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised by that because I didn't expect many people to get into brain age. More power to them.
Jay @ Jun 9th 2006 8:41AM
Any country that has GTA:LCS in it's top 10 list doesn't deserve to be counted. I'm a big GTA fan but LCS was terrible. Stupid Rockstar Leeds.
Clarity @ Jun 9th 2006 9:18AM
Watch out #5, those are the BestBuy.com sales charts.
I'm willing to believe that Best Buy might be a representative sample of the US game market, but I have a feeling that online sales aren't representative of total sales.
J B Cougar @ Jun 9th 2006 9:25AM
Especially since Best Buy gets so many perks from the vendors for buying in bulk (cell phone deals come to mind...).
oz @ Jun 9th 2006 9:42AM
I bought a brand new DS the other day just to play New Super Mario. What a great game it is! It's a solid 10 gamers; do not miss this one! Nice!
zed @ Jun 9th 2006 10:36AM
Wait a minute...
Metroid Prime Hunters is number four?
Cottonball @ Jun 9th 2006 11:12AM
The New Super Mario Bros. was a big letdown for me. And I love platformers.
Bored @ Jun 9th 2006 11:17AM
How does Nintendo keep the Mario Bros. franchise fresh enough that it would hit number one? I grew tired of Mario Bros. a long time.
noizbot @ Jun 9th 2006 11:32AM
@12
How do Western developers keep first-person shooters and sports games fresh enough that they hit number one? Answer is.. they really don't. It's the same old crap year after year after year...
It's mostly a matter of taste. Western markets generally have pretty poor taste, primarily due to cultural differences.
Cabbage @ Jun 9th 2006 11:41AM
It is pretty amazing that Metroid Prime: Hunters entered the Japanese market at #4, considering that Metroid isn't as popular in Japan and FPS are definitely not very popular in Japan. According to Gamasutra, Hunters had a better start than either of the GameCube Metroid games, of course the pure Reality Distortion Field surrounding the DS in Japan could have a lot to do with that.
noizbot @ Jun 9th 2006 11:49AM
I feel the need to amend my post above (#13) before anyone interprets my remark as "Western developers can't make good games." They can and do make tons of amazing games. Western consumers just don't buy them very often. "Sportsgame 20XX" and "Cross-Promotional Slapped-Together Movie License Game" just show up way more than they should on our top 10 lists, which is to say, at all.
nootau @ Jun 9th 2006 11:51AM
I am shocked that even with all the third party support for the DS, the top DS games are all nintendo published games.....is that just a typo? tetris isnt owned by nintendo...or do all games that come out for the nintendo DS have to be published by nintendo?
Bored @ Jun 9th 2006 11:51AM
#13
How is it looking down your nose at the rest of the world?
3 out of the top 10 are either a sports game or shooter. So much for that high brow elite cultured gaming.
Player1 @ Jun 9th 2006 11:54AM
It's a good thing Joystiq publishes these charts so that Nintendo fanboys know what they should consider good and can be one step closer to one day becoming Japanese.
Cabbage @ Jun 9th 2006 12:04PM
Noiz-bot:
I hate to break it to you, but in general there are plenty of sports games (football, baseball) in Japan and if you switch the word "movie" with "anime" you would find that Japan also buys a lot of that stuff, too. While I don't personally like FPS or Madden much I think that someone who thinks they are better than others because their tastes are different is rather a bigot.
You should probably go back to posting at GameSpot where you'll find people who agree with you.
noizbot @ Jun 9th 2006 12:24PM
@19: A bigot? Seriously? Because my tastes are different? And when exactly did I say I was (in some concrete measurable reality) better than others? I wouldn't bother responding and cluttering up this forum if you just stated that you had a different opinion.. cuz that's cool. But calling me a bigot is sort of forcing me to reply.
I was replying to #12, who asked "Why does Mario still sell, it's not fresh". I replied that it's a cultural difference. Sports games and shooters are just as stale in Western markets, yet people still buy them like crazy here.
I do apologize for sharing my opinions beyond that point. I have strong opinions, but I suppose this isn't the place to share them.
Cabbage @ Jun 9th 2006 12:38PM
Noizbot- I guess the "bigot" part is the part where you say that Western markets have poor taste and that sports games and movie related games shouldn't be on US top-ten lists. Obviously the majority of US gamers disagrees with you since they are the ones buying the games (or their parents are in some cases).
The definition of a bigot is "one who is strongly partial to one's own group... and is intolerant of those who differ" according to dictionary.com. This definition includes all extreme fanboys, whether they be fanboys of a particular company or a particular genre.
So while I realize that the term "bigot" is generally used for religious, racial, or sexual reasons, it definitely applies to some fanboys, too. Would you prefer the term "troll?"
Derbeste @ Jun 9th 2006 12:45PM
Said by Noizbot
"And when exactly did I say I was (in some concrete measurable reality) better than others?"
Answer: You said it here:
"It's mostly a matter of taste. Western markets generally have pretty poor taste, primarily due to cultural differences."
Here you imply that culture differences can cause one's tastes to be poor. That's is the definition of bigotry.
Furthermore, you backpeddle SERIOUSLY here:
"A bigot? Seriously? Because my tastes are different?"
By your own posts, we have the right to call your tastes and opinions "poor" because they are different. So we advise you to go to another site where people's culture and taste is similar to your own as your opinions are now considered "different/poor" here.
noizbot @ Jun 9th 2006 1:32PM
I maintain that being called a bigot is utterly uncalled for. Even the dictionary definition of a bigot, rather than the culturally defined one. I painted broad strokes over Western gaming habits; perhaps my strokes were too broad.
I did this not out of bigotry. I've been playing games for a very long time, and I've formed tastes and opinions that are strong. My tastes have generally aligned with various cultures. Over decades. I like indie Japanese abstract shmups but can't stand Japanese slasher-gore films. I love big dumb American action movies but can't stand American pop music. I love British comedy and German noise/ebm music. I don't see these things as bigotry, I just see them as a matter of personal taste manifesting itself.
I supplied an opinion in my response (that popular western games are just as stale as popular japanese games, it's just a matter of culture! how is that being a bigot!) and perhaps that came across here as a bit of a trojan horse attack or troll. It wasn't inteded as such. I was just talking conversationally -- I will moderate myself here in the future.
That said, I've been lurking here for a long time because I like the articles and comments.. and to be honest, I think I'm being treated incredibly unfairly. I've seen people express their personal opinions here countless times without this sort of witchburning reaction. It's cool though... just bizarre.
crono141 @ Jun 9th 2006 1:46PM
god, its about video games. Don't get so friggin pissed at each other.
And don't use the term "bigot", its being slandered all across the media almost as bad as the "obeisidy epidimic",
"Bigot" has strong connotation behind it that absolutely NO place in a discussion like this, regardless of the classical dictionary.com definition.
Cabbage @ Jun 9th 2006 1:50PM
noiz- the reason for all the negative reactions is not your personal taste so much as it is the specific wording. Saying "I don't understand the US obsession with annual sports game releases and poorly contrived movie cash-ins" would not have elicited the same reaction as saying "western markets generally have pretty poor taste." They both state your opinion, but one also implies that your opinion is better than that of the general unwashed masses of US gaming.
I apologize if I offended you. I imagine that you don't really fit all of the connotations associated with the term "bigot," and a more appropriate word should have been used. I do urge you to be more considerate when posting here at Joystiq, as there is no way to edit posts should they come out in a way you did not intend.
E @ Jun 9th 2006 2:01PM
Wow, I pretty much never post comments here, just read them, but I feel the need to defend noizbot here. Like he said, given the ridiculous opinions and comments people make around here all the time without being attacked and ganged up on this badly, I don't understand it. He was simply pointing out accurate cultural differences in taste, and then stating his own preference. Nowhere in his posts did he claim to be better than anyone, just that he thought, in general, that western markets have poor taste, in his opinion, compared to his own taste.
If I said I think Americans generally have poor taste in music given what is popular compared to what I like, am I a bigot? I mean, that is the most ridiculous stretch I have ever heard. Maybe if I said all Americans are stupid and ignorant because they like crappy music, you could make that leap, but not simply based on me stating that I think Americans generally have poor tastes in music in my opinion.
Noizbot even put up a post defending western developers immediately after, so he obviously did not have the harmful intents of a bigot. Please, if you are going to disagree with him and state your opinions as he did, fine, but be a little more responsible with the terms you throw around. That is all.
noizbot @ Jun 9th 2006 2:04PM
[PREFACE: Gah, too many Joystiq confirmation emails]
Thanks, Cabbage. It really wasn't my intention to cause a problem here. I will continue to express my opinion where I feel it's appropriate, but I will do so in a more diplomatic fashion. Let's all listen to crono141 and get back to talking about games.
David @ Jun 9th 2006 6:20PM
Nope Jay, it's not a surprise that DS is dominating in Japan. It has been like that since last year. Week in week out, DS softwares cover at least 50-60% of top 10 spot!! On some crazy weeks, they take up to 8 spots! It has been best selling hardware in Japan since somewhere last year, and the only time any console outsold it (PSP), it's because DS has shortage.
clee @ Jun 9th 2006 8:09PM
Yeah, i agree with you noizbot. All true gamers who look at the US charts die a little every time. Consumers should promote and endorse quality, but mostly all the games which sell are overhyped (but sometimes good).
I'm not trying to sound racist but the Japanese gaming consumers are a lot smarter about their purchases. All of those games in the top 10 have had excellent reviews. If the consumers are stupid and buy games because the title is '50 cents', play it and don't like it and then conclude they are not going to buy another game again because 'games are boring'.
Bored @ Jun 10th 2006 3:53PM
I am still trying to rationalize why anyone would care who is playing what and where. Do reviews really make the game good or bad? Or is it more important that you enjoy playing what you like? If you are going to classify North American gamers as tasteless idiots because they don't care what Gamespot, IGN, EGM, 1up,Japanese sales charts or any other online review site/ mag writer thinks, then count me in as one of those "tasteless idiot" North Americans that could care less if Igata Iwojima or John Gamespot thinks.