Sometimes one set of hands just isn't enough to bring games stateside. At least, that's the thinking over at niche game publisher XSEED, which just signed a co-publishing deal with Harvest Moon virtuoso Marvelous Entertainment. The pair note that the agreement will help let Marvelous set up shop here in the US, while XSEED will help localize "key" titles from the Japanese studio.

While the news makes us think that we'll soon be up to our eyeballs in farming sims, XSEED has only thus far confirmed that it will help localize Valhalla Knights II, though the companies note that additional game announcements will follow shortly. The sequel to last year's PSP action RPG Valhalla Knights is expected to ship this fall, with XSEED marketing guru Ken Berry stating belief that the game "will help to set the quality standard high for all future games coming out of this deal." That's certainly a lofty expectation for a sequel to a game that was largely panned by critics last year.

Let's welcome in Media Create's record of the past week's game sales in Japan. This is where you'll get big numbers and not-so-big numbers, mixed in with the crucial numbers one through ten -- a mathematician's wet dream. Firstly, here's this week's chart, with combined total sales of titles inside those pouting parentheses:

1. Virtua Fighter 5 - 48,346 units sold last week (new entry / Sega, PS3)
   
2. Wii Sports - 45,897 (1,004,555 units sold to date / Nintendo, Wii)
   
3. Wii Play - 36,090 (879,432 / Nintendo, Wii)
   
4. More Brain Training - 32,800 (3,963,712 / Nintendo, DS)
   
5. New Super Mario Bros. - 29,026 (4,118,078 / Nintendo DS)
   
6. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - 27,519 (304,113 / Capcom, PS2)
   
7. Wario: Master of Disguise - 26,815 (185,695 / Nintendo, DS)
   
8. Harvest Moon: The Island I Grew Up On - 26,804 (106,212 / Marvelous, DS)
   
9. Luminous Arc - 25,676 (new entry / Marvelous, DS)
   
10. J-League Pro Soccer 5 - 24,468 (131,541 / Sega, PS2)

And here are some lessons we can learn from the big figures:

• Virtua Fighter 5 is the WINNER
• Sega is Sony's most valuable ally in Japan right now
  
• Capcom's San Andreas marketing has paid off
• DS-like "slow sellers" are also possible on Wii
• There's still a place in the Japanese market for little players, which is just Marvelous

On August 24, Final Fantasy III and Rune Factory: Shin Bokujou Monogatari (Harvest Moon spinoff) will be released in Japan fo DS. While FFIII certainly has the brand edge, both titles look to boost the DS's credibility as a viable RPG platform. Famitsu recently published its reviews for the two games, suggesting that FFIII is slightly superior:

• Final Fantasy III (Square Enix): 9/8/9/8 - 34/40*
• Rune Factory (Marvelous Interactive): 8/9/7/9 - 33/40

Keep in mind that, back in March, Children of Mana scored even higher than FFIII, earning a 36/40, and will be released in the US on October 30. FFIII will land stateside in November (hopefully). Rune Factory: Shin Bokujou Monogatari has not been confirmed for release outside of Japan, but Harvest Moon DS is scheduled for September 12.

*C3 News notes that Famitsu's score for the original FFIII (NES) was 35/40.

Rare's next project is apparently an original IP concerning living piñata animals that will be featured in a Saturday morning TV/3-D/CG show and then in an Xbox 360 game debuting this holiday season worldwide.