Japanese Sales Charts, Week Ending July 10thJapanese Sales Charts, Week Ending July 10th

Software sales have remained steady in Japan this week, combining with last week’s increase to create a positive start to the Japanese summer season, after a difficult few months for the market. Sega’s latest in the long-running simulation-adventure series Sakura Wars topped the charts with 111,771 unit sales – an impressive figure, but somewhat down on the 160,000 or so sold in the first week of the last game in series, released in 2003. Nintendo's second-placed Gentle Brain Exercises stayed steady at number two, actually managing to increase its number of units sold to 75,156. Remaining in the top ten for more than one or two weeks is often a feat beyond even the highest profile Japanese releases, but to increase in sales in this manner is largely unheard of. Sister title DS Training For Adults: Work Your Brain also managed the same achievement, again illustrating the very different sales and demographics for many Nintendo DS titles. Namco’s sequel to Katamari Damacy also performed well at number three, with 61,455 units sold. This should ensure it is much more successful than the original game, suggesting that Namco have a significant new franchise on their hands. In hardware sales, the Nintendo DS increased its lead significantly, despite this being one of the quietest weeks for new DS releases in several months. The Nintendo DS sold 41,503 units for a 39.71 percent market share, eclipsing the PlayStation 2 with 28,711 sales and a 27.47 percent market share. The PSP came next, with 20,390 units sold and a 19.51 percent market share, followed by the Game Boy Advance at 10.97 percent, the GameCube at 2.17 percent and the Xbox at 0.17 percent.

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