Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/17-3/23

by Candace Savino on Mar 28th 2008 4:00PM

Last week was the week of new releases! Anticipating high holiday sales, many publishers made sure to release their games last week, with a total of fifteen ending up in the top thirty (seven of those being DS titles). With this slew of new releases, though, a lot of games were bumped off the chart to make room. Etrian Odyssey II and Soma Bringer, for example, did not survive the onslaught. Yet, somehow Mario Kart DS managed to move up a spot -- that game never ceases to amaze us.

The top of the heap was none other than Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage, which completely crushed the competition in its debut week. Sim City 2 DS did well also, ending up in the number four spot. In fact, this is the best an EA game has ever done in its first week in Japan, with the exception of the FIFA titles. Time Hollow and Super Dodgeball are some other notable new releases, ending up in spots ten and seventeen, respectively.

All these new games managed to put the DS back on top again in terms of hardware. Nintendo better enjoy it, though -- the release of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G will push the PSP into first on next week's chart, without a doubt. We also want to mention that we're disappointed in the sales of a few games -- Bangai-O Spirits and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, to be specific. Despite rave reviews and its franchise name, Ninja Gaiden sales were abysmal, ending up in 36th place on its debut week and selling only 6,100 copies (according to Famitsu). Bangai-O didn't fare too well, either, not even placing in the top fifty and selling 3,200 copies (again, per Famitsu).

If these tidbits haven't devastated you so much that you're crying in a corner right now, check out the numbers and placings listed below.

Hardware:

Nintendo DS: 65,055
Wii: 62,404
PSP: 59,833
PlayStation 3: 12,874
PlayStation 2: 9,990
Xbox 360: 1,407

Software:

01. (__) Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage [DS] --- 241,663 (New)
02. (__) Deca Sports [Wii] --- 65,359 (New)
03. (__) Armored Core for Answer [PS3] --- 54,022 (New)
04. (__) Sim City DS 2: From the Past to the Future [DS] --- 49,018 (New)
05. (03) Wii Fit [Wii] --- 48,459 (1,752,000)
06. (__) Tales of Rebirth [PSP] --- 46,719 (New)
07. (04) Super Smash Bros. Brawl [Wii] --- 41,070 (1,490,000)
08. (__) Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Cinema Land [DS] --- 34,936 (New)
09. (01) DS Beautiful Letter Training [DS] --- 34,859 (101,000)
10. (__) Time Hollow: Seeking the Lost Past [DS] --- 34,268 (New)

11. (__) Dramatic Dungeon: Sakura Wars [DS]
12. (__) Echochrome [PSP]
13. (__) Armored Core for Answer [Xbox 360]
14. (02) Yakuza 3: Kenzan! [PS3]
15. (08) Wii Sports [Wii]
16. (05) Gundam Musou Special [PS2]
17. (__) Super Dodgeball [DS]
18. (10) Wii Play [Wii]
19. (__) The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return [Wii]
20. (__) Army of Two [Xbox 360]
21. (22) Mario Kart DS [DS]
22. (__) Army of Two [PS3]
23. (09) Harvest Moon: Shining Sun and Friends [DS]
24. (20) Mario Party DS [DS]
25. (__) Kekkaishi: Kubourou Shuurai [DS]
26. (21) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games [DS]
27. (14) Everyone's General Knowledge Training TV [Wii]
28. (12) Musou Orochi [PSP]
29. (06) Shugo Chara! Three Eggs and the Joker in Love [DS]
30. (24) Taiko Drum Master DS [DS]

[Via NeoGAF]

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Reader Comments (2)

Army of Two on the xbox 360 outsold the PS3 version, despite there being more PS3s in Japan. I guess it says alot about the owners of the 360 in Japan, and probably why they own a 360 in the first place

Wow, there was actually a few PSP games on the radar this week. DS back on top, yet, PSP still doing well and not behind by much in sales, Wii continuing to print money, all is well.