1 September, 2006

Dear Diary,

Today Joystiq posted the Japanese hardware sales charts and, oh em gee, it was so crazy. My Nintendo was at the very top and the only other thing that had a green arrow was that big Xbox. Totally weird. I can't wait to show my friend Allan the numbers. He has one, but he only got it because of that game where the girls punch each other in bikinis. He's such a pervert, but I'm glad he's been hanging out with me every day since last week. We've been listening to Ayumi Hamasaki non-stop, I'm surprised he hasn't complained.

I have to feed the hamster.

Oh, and here's the ranking, according to number of units that have totally been sold:

- DS Lite: 163,274 88,779 (119.17%)
- PSP: 29,945 11,590 (27.90%)
- PS2: 21,829 5,004 (18.65%)
- GBA SP: 2,719 1,104 (28.88%)
- Game Boy Micro: 1,819 447 (19.73%)
- Xbox 360: 1,197 296 (19.83%)
- Gamecube: 837 85 (9.22%)
- DS Phat: 410 302 (42.42%)
- GBA: 14 6 (30.00%)
- Xbox: 12 5 (71.43%)

[Source: Media Create]

Previous diary entries follow in the second part of the post.

It seems Japanese gamers are still maliciously toying with the original DS, kicking it to the bottom of the charts one week and hoisting it back up again the next. Shortages and a shifting focus to the Lite are likely to blame, but we can't help but picture a somewhat nervous and haggard DS Phat staring into a cracked mirror, contemplating whether people want him ... or just want him dead. The ranking, according to number of units sold:

- DS Lite: 140,858 8,596 (5.75%)
- PSP: 35,283 3,324 (10.40%)
- PS2: 23,927 595 (2.55%)
- DS Phat: 11,821 10,812 (1071.56%)
- GBA SP: 2,619 199 (7.06%)
- Game Boy Micro: 1,581 202 (14.65%)
- Xbox 360: 1,105 505 (31.37%)
- Gamecube: 928 6 (0.64%)
- GBA: 28 8 (40.00%)
- Xbox: 10 3 (23.08%)

The PSP continues to do well this week (despite boasting only half as many screens as its main competitor) while the Xbox 360 takes a bit of a tumble. The latter system's fortunes continue to look glum in Japan, a situation that could easily be reversed by one ingenious move -- releasing the console in pink. What else have they got to lose?

[Source: Media Create]

There are times when reading the Japanese sales charts can be a decidedly odd and disturbing experience, as if your mind suddenly becomes aware that all is not right in the universe. Like a homicidal clown lurking in a dark corner, this week's situation is certainly amusing, but it's not something you want to come into contact with on a regular basis. It's just wrong. The ranking, according to number of units sold:


- DS Lite: 149,454 4,112 (2.68%)
- PSP: 31,959 6,024 (23.23%)
- PS2: 23,332 199 (0.86%)
- GBA SP: 2,818 101 (3.46%)
- Xbox 360: 1,610 287 (15.13%)
- Game Boy Micro: 1,379 64 (4.44%)
- DS Phat: 1,009 2,495 (71.20%)
- Gamecube: 934 68 (6.79%)
- GBA: 20 3 (17.65%)
- Xbox: 13 5 (62.50%)

Looking at the opposite ends of the list is like glancing into the cackling face of madness (it bears a vague resemblance to Groucho Marx). The DS Lite endures a minor slip, its older sibling takes a complete fall down a set of stairs and the original Xbox experiences the biggest improvement percentage-wise out of the whole lot. Did we enter into some sort of zone where normal things don't happen very often?

[Source: Media Create]

... the harder they fall. The Japanese population's brief rekindling of their romance with the DS Phat, showing a massive 1559% increase in sales last week, seems to have died out for now. Our obese friend takes the sharpest fall this week, with slimmer, trimmer machines like the Game Boy Micro and DS Lite faring better. The ranking, according to number of units sold:

- DS Lite: 157,022 15,535 (10.98%)
- PS2: 25,467 4,730 (22.81%)
- PSP: 24,737 84 (0.34%)
- DS Phat: 10,132 12,616 (55.46%)
- GBA SP: 3,784 858 (18.48%)
- Game Boy Micro: 1,502 208 (16.07%)
- Gamecube: 1,197 195 (19.46%)
- Xbox 360: 1,169 238 (16.92%)
- GBA: 25 5 (25.00%)
- Xbox: 10 5 (33.33%)

The rest of the chart seems intentionally unremarkable, with the Lite reigning on top and the spinless Xbox sweeping the ground floor. Very soon, it will be expected to clean up the explosion of confetti and glitter accompanying the launch of the Noble Pink DS Lite.

[Source: Media Create]

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]

Last week we saw the .hack franchise dominating the Japanese charts, but it's all change this week as newcomer New Super Mario Bros. flattens all competition. Just shy of 900,000 sales, it's exceeded the sales of the rest of the top ten combined -- and probably the rest of the top forty.

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. Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable [PSP]
5. Tetris DS [DS]
6. KimiKiss [PS2]
7. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [PS2]
8. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Eigo Duke [DS]
9. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
10. Jikkyou Powerful Major League [PS2]

This week a new release has sped straight to the top of the chart -- .hack//GU Vol 1: Saitan (Rebirth in the west) dominates the charts with over 90,000 sales. There are two forthcoming sequels in this branch of the popular .hack franchise, though we have to wonder if Bandai will release a corresponding tie-in MMO.

1. .hack//GU Vol 1: Saitan [PS2]
2. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]
3. Tetris DS [DS]
4. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]
5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10 [PS2]
6. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]
7. Jikkyou Powerful Major League [PS2]
8. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Eigo Duke [DS]
9. Pokémon Ranger [DS]
10. Mario Kart DS [DS]