2005 FY Japanese Sales Show DS, Animal Crossing Triumph

Sales data for the fiscal year ending March 26th in the Japanese games industry has come out, courtesy of game magazine Weekly Famitsu; its report ranks the top hardware platforms and software publishers, as well as the total hardware sales in Japan up. The Nintendo DS has come out on top in terms of hardware, totaling 4.32 million units sold, with Sony's PSP ranking as the closest competitor with 2.07 million units. The PlayStation 2 again proved its longevity by selling 1.77 million units during the last year. As expected, the Xbox 360 brought up the rear in sales, having sold only 120,000 units since launch. The Nintendo DS' games also topped the software sales chart, and titles for the handheld accounted for four of the five top selling games over the last year in Japan. Animal Crossing: Wild World took top honors, selling 2.34 million units, with second place going to Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII for the PlayStation 2, achieving 2.05 million units sold. Nintendo's and the Japanese public's newfound passion for brain training for the DS proved successful over the last year with both Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training and Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training taking third and fourth with 1.85 million units and 1.70 units sold respectively. Fan favorite Mario Kart DS took the fifth spot with 1.21 million units.