Japanese Charts: PS3 Sales Soar On 'Slim' Release, As Gundam Leads Software

PlayStation 3 received a much-needed kickstart in Japan, as sales soared to 151,783 for the week ended September 6, driven by the release of the cheaper, slimmed down PS3 hardware, Media Create reported Friday. The new hardware launched on September 3 in Japan for ¥29,980, down from ¥39,980, meaning the hardware achieved those sales in just three days. Weekly PS3 sales sank to around 1,000 units just prior to the new hardware's launch. The console had been selling around 6,000-9,000 per week just before the August announcement of the new fit and trim version. Famitsu publisher Enterbrain reported similarly high PS3 figures shortly before Media Create, calling PS3's most recent weekly sales Sony's biggest sales week ever in Japan. Reports out of the UK indicated that PS3 hardware sales increased elevenfold week-on-week. In the U.S., Sony Computer Entertainment America said it received reports from "top retailers" that the new console lifted unit sales by 300 percent. Below are the rest of the Japanese hardware charts for the week ended September 6: PS3: 151,783 DSi: 60,419 PSP: 22,184 Wii: 21,557 DS Lite: 8,309: Xbox 360: 6,827 PS2: 3,001 Leading the weekly software charts for the same period was Namco Bandai's new Kidou Senshi Gundam Senki: Lost War Chronicles for PS3, which easily captured the top spot, selling 178,000 units. Opening sales of Namco Bandai's latest Gundam game were similar to the publisher's early August release, SD Gundam G Generation Wars for PS2, which sold 175,000 units in its opening week. Square Enix's hit DS RPG Dragon Quest IX stayed near the top of the charts at number three with 50,000 units sold. The game has sold over 3.84 million units since its July release in Japan. Games that dropped off the top 10 charts from last week included D3 publisher's Xbox 360 game Dream Club, Namco Bandai's Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny for PSP, Namco Bandai's Super Robot Gakuen for DS, and Idea Factory's Hakuouki: Zuisouroku for PS2. Below are the Japanese software sales charts for the week ended September 6: