Japan Warms To 3DS Following Monster Hunter Announcement

Preliminary hype for upcoming titles including Capcom's Monster Hunter 4 appears to have caused a surge in sales for Nintendo's 3DS in Japan. According to tracking firm Media Create, Nintendo's newest portable system was the number one selling console in the country for the week ending September 18, selling 58,837 units (an increase from the 49,076 sold the previous week). Typically sales surges like this are caused by the release of a popular new title, though the 3DS had no major debuts in the period. Instead, a slew of announcements at Nintendo's Tokyo press conference last week -- along with a significant advertising campaign for Capcom's upcoming Monster Hunter 4 -- seems to have inspired some newfound confidence among Japanese game consumers. The top-selling hardware chart for the week follows: 1. Nintendo 3DS - 58,837 2. PlayStation 3 - 36,061 3. Sony PSP - 25,129 4. Nintendo Wii - 15,406 5. Nintendo DS - 5,181 6. PlayStation 2 - 1,317 7. Xbox 360 - 1,295 In terms of software, the top-selling title for the week was Square Enix's Dragon Quest 25th Anniversary collection, a compilation that includes the first three titles in its mammothly successful Dragon Quest series onto one disc (in both their original Famicom incarnations and their later, Japan-only Super Famicom remakes). The title debuted with 263,398 copies sold. The full software chart, as translated via the NeoGAF forums, follows (new releases bolded): 1. Dragon Quest 25th Anniversary (Square Enix, Wii) 263,398 2. Tales of Xillia (Bandai Namco, PS3) - 47,297 3. Resident Evil: Revival Selection (Capcom, PS3) - 17,614 4. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo, Wii) - 15,109 5. Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo, Wii) - 14,647 6. Monster Hunter Freedom 3 HD Ver. (Capcom, PS3) - 13,230 7. Kirby Mass Attack (Nintendo, DS) - 10,888 8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Nintendo, 3DS) - 10,504 9. Grand Knights History (Marvelous Entertainment, PSP) - 10,078 10. Monster Hunter Diary: Pokapoka Felyne G (Capcom, PSP) - 9,378 11. Hot Shots Golf 5 (PlayStation 3 the Best Reprint) (Sony, PS3) - 8,454 12. Pokemon Rumble Blast (Pokemon Co., 3DS) - 7,698 13. Gekka Ryouran Romance (Idea Factory, PSP) - 6,948 14. Dunamis 15 (5pb., PS3) - 5,970 15. Super Sentai Battle: Ranger Cross (Bandai Namco, Wii) - 5,739 16. Uta no Prince-Sama: Repeat (Broccoli, PSP) - 5,659 17. Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co., DS) - 5,202 18. Resistance 3 (Sony, PS3) - 5,136 19. Call of Duty: Black Ops - Dubbed Edition (Reprint) (Square Enix, PS3) - 5,077 20. Winnie the Pooh: 100 Acre no Mori no Cooking Book (Disney Interactive, DS) - 5,064