Japanese Sales Charts, Week Ending October 23

After a couple of weeks with few major releases, the Japanese video game sales chart has begun to recover, albeit via a series of titles that will seem particularly peculiar in the West. Hisshou Pachinko Kouryoku Series Vol. 1: CR Shinseiki Evangelion has managed the feat of becoming the fastest-ever selling pachinko game for the PS2. It sold 71,759 units in a week, and with 80 percent of stock sold out many stores were unable to keep up with demand. The use of the Evangelion anime license recalls the considerable success that Sammy enjoyed with Jissen Pachi-Slot Hisshouhou: Fist of the North Star last year, which suggests that D3 Publisher’s title may remain in the top ten for some time to come. Another peculiarly Japanese title was Nou Ryoku Trainer Portable, essentially a Sega-published PSP variant of the DS Brain Training games, which managed a healthy 42,674 unit sales. If Gentle Brain Exercises hadn’t exited the chart (albeit only as far as number eleven) after a stay of four months, it would have meant a total of three brain training games within the top ten. More traditional titles were not unsuccessful this week though, with Nintendo DS puzzle game Pokémon Torouze garnering 66,248 sales and Super Princess Peach 37,870. The PlayStation 2 version of Burnout Revenge even managed to make it into the top ten, a fairly impressive feat for a Western title, with sales of 21,608 units. On the hardware front, and despite the success of Nou Ryoku Trainer Portable, PSP sales this week actually fell, with the Nintendo DS still the best selling hardware in Japan, with 44,283 units sold for a 37.21 percent market share. A notable drop in Game Boy Micro sales still put the PSP in second place with 28,067 sales and a 23.58 percent market share. The Game Boy Advance was third with a 19.60 percent share (Game Boy Micro: 15,540, Game Boy Advance SP: 7,389, Game Boy Advance: 396) and the PlayStation 2 was in fourth place with 18.23 percent and 21,699 sales. The GameCube had a 1.28 percent share of the market, followed by the Xbox at 0.11 percent.

Media Create Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The Copying or Reproduction of this Document is Strictly Forbidden.