Japanese Charts: GTA IV Beats LittleBigPlanet

Despite the sell-out launch of the new Nintendo DSi, it is a Western developed PlayStation 3 title which tops the Japanese sales charts this week, with Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV (published in Japan by Capcom) debuting at number one with 133,000 units sold. The Xbox 360 version comes in at number eight with 34,000 units sold. The game’s success should not come as a surprise, given that the last two Grand Theft Auto titles also debuted at number one in Japan, with San Andreas on the PlayStation 2 selling 227,261 units in its first week – more than both versions of the new game combined. Hardware numbers for the DSi should be available tomorrow, but its launch did coincide with a large number of new releases on all formats. The highest ranked DS title was a new entry in the Valkyrie Profile action role-playing franchise at number two, with 80,000 units sold. New at number three is Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet on PS3, which has been included with a new console bundle, and is also available packaged with a DualShock 3 controller. Despite this, combined sales of both bundled and standalone games stood at only a modest 52,000 units. The new Gran Turismo 5: Prologue Spec III at number seven also featured in a new PlayStation 3 console bundle, with combined sales amounting to 35,000 units. New at number eight, with 26,000 unit sales, is what will be known in the U.S. as Personal Trainer: Walking for the DS. The new Touch! Generations title comes bundled with a wireless pedometer, and is the first DS title to feature support for Miis. Also new at number nine is Square Enix’s Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon, another entry in Chunsoft’s crossover franchise Mystery Dungeon. The DS title sold 26,000 units on its debut. A large number of other new entries appear in the rest of the top 30, with those most recognizable to Western consumers including new Harvest Moon Wii title Bokujou Monogatari: Waku Waku Animal March at number 16, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation for PS3 at number 19, and Thunder Force VI from Sega at number 22.

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