Nintendo Holds Off Gran Turismo In Japanese Charts

After a few months of lowered sales, Nintendo has fully regained control of the Japanese sales charts with all but one of the top ten titles being for either the Wii or Nintendo DS, six of which are published by Nintendo themselves. Returning to the top spot weeks after its initial release, Mario Party DS continues its strong run of success, with the franchise in general proving a perennial winter favorite in Japan. The DS version sold 180,000 units this week for a lifetime total in Japan alone of over 800,000. Falling only one space to number two the much anticipated Wii Fit sold another 124,000 units, with its own lifetime total now well over the half million mark despite only three weeks on sale. As such it was able to hold off Sony’s Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which entered the charts at number three with 116,000 units sold. The rest of the chart is composed of other recent family favorites, with the Japanese retail cycle always lagging around three weeks behind the West. With the busiest sales weeks still yet to come, Professor Layton, Super Mario Galaxy, Dragon Quest IV and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games are all beginning to show impressive longevity. The re-entry of Wii Sports and Wii Play into the top ten also point towards especially high Wii hardware sales this week, with exact sales figures due tomorrow. In one of its best ever showings, the Wii has six titles in the top ten this week, including the new entry of what will be known in the West as Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: The Labyrinth of Lost Time at number ten.

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