PSP Sales Double In Japanese Hardware Sales Jump

Market research firm Media Create has revealed data for weekly hardware sales in Japan for the week ending December 16th, following details of the software top thirty. With software sales continuing a seasonal surge in Japan, hardware sales have followed suit with almost all formats registering a significant increase. The Nintendo DS continues to lead the pack with a rise in sales of nearly 54,000 units to a total of 222,144. The second best selling console of the week is the PSP, which sales more than doubling to 184,610 due to the release of a new red colored version of the console. However, software sales continue to be abnormally low compared to the popularity of the hardware, with only three games in the top fifty this week. The highest ranked PSP game is the recently released Hot Shots Golf Portable 2 at number nineteen, with Monster Hunter Freedom 2 at number thirty-nine and Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida at number forty-five. Wii sales rose by over 55,000 units in third place, placing the console’s weekly total at 170,558. The PlayStation 3 saw sales increase by over 25,000 units to 63,720, while the PlayStation 2 experienced a 6,000 unit jump to 18,025. The Xbox 360 was the only major console to experience a drop in sales, down by 315 units to 8,561.