Weekly Japan Hardware Sales Slow As DSi Leads Again

Video game hardware sales out of Japan show a week-on-week slowdown for the week ended May 17 as sales of every platform decline, according to tracking firm Media Create. The feature-laden Nintendo DSi handheld sold 34,152 during the week, leading all other platforms for the second consecutive week. But weekly sales for the platform were down 20,000 units from the prior week. Sony’s PSP followed in the second slot this week with 28,683, down from 43,000 the week before. Wii edged out PlayStation 3 for the second week in a row, selling 15,116 and 11,605, respectively, following a March and April that saw PS3 outsell Nintendo’s motion-controlled moneymaker. PlayStation 3 sales had received a strong boost over past weeks from releases such as Yakuza 3 and Resident Evil 5 in Japan, as well as the Blu-ray release of the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, which included a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII. Nintendo’s DS Lite (whose sales are not included with DSi), Sony’s PS2 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 rounded out the depressed hardware charts. (Week of May 11-17) DSi: 34,152 PSP: 28,683 Wii: 15,116 PS3: 11,605 DS Lite: 4,888 PS2: 4,020 Xbox 360: 3,233