The Japan Preview: 2/28 Edition (Wii > 10m, DS = 30m)
by Jacob Mazel on 28 February 2010, 4634 views
Summary and a Look Ahead:
There were no “break out” figures in Japan this week. Not a single title sold over 100,000 units. Nonetheless, it was a good week for small and midlevel hits. Numerous new titles topped 20,000 for the week, and not the bottom of the preliminary top twenty was significantly higher than it has been in recent weeks. Every version of a game to appear in the preliminary data this week sold 8,000 units or more. That kind of volume for lower-ranking titles is usually reserved for holiday periods in Japan.
Nintendo’s “Minna no Susume Selection” games, specifically chosen for re-release because of their quality ranking on the Nintendo Channel did not chart in the preliminary data. It doesn’t look like the program was a complete flop though – Play Asia shows that some games like 428, One Piece, and Muramasa that were part of the program have sold out. When the final data comes in, don’t be surprised if a few of these games see totals in the mid-four digit range.
Yakuza 4 preorders continue to slowly rise. The game has about 140,000 preorders a couple weeks ahead of its debut in Japan.
Understanding the Japanese Preview:
Rather than saying x game for y platform sold between 20,000 and 28,000 units as in the past, the preliminary data will be broken down into charts by platform. Within these charts, there will two additional categories besides the rounded sales figure under ‘sales’. On the left will be ‘low end’ depicting the lowest amount the title likely sold for the week, while to the right will be ‘high end’ depicting the highest amount the title likely sold for the week. As always, this data is preliminary, and therefore, not final, but it is based on a sample. The varying platform market share the sample represents is why consistent sellers like Wii Fit do not always appear in the preliminary data. Sales for this report are for the week ending February 28, 2010.
Software by Platform:
Wii Software – Only two Wii games charted this week in the preliminary data. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the top seller for the platform again. Sales for the game fell to 39,000 units though. In second place was Daikaijuu Battle: Ultra Coliseum DX Ultra Senshi Daishuuketsu which sold 20,000 units in its first week. Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games should also be above 5,000 units for the week. One or two of the “Minna no Susume Selection” games may top 5,000 as well. Expect Wii hardware sales to fall into the 26,000 to 30,000 unit range for the week, passing 10 million units in Japan.
| Preliminary Top Twenty Wii Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | 39,000 | 35,000 | 43,000 |
| Daikaijuu Battle: Ultra Coliseum DX - Ultra Senshi Daishuuketsu | 20,000 | 18,000 | 22,000 |
PS3 Software – Only two PS3 games charted this week in the preliminary data. Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition fell to 47,000 units for the week. Demon’s Soul was re-released this week, to sales of 16,000. Heavy Rain, and Star Ocean 4: International should be over 5,000 units in the final data as well. Expect PS3 hardware sales to fall into the 23,000 to 28,000 unit range for the week.
| Preliminary Top Twenty PS3 Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition | 47,000 | 42,000 | 52,000 |
| Demon's Soul (The Best) | 16,000 | 14,000 | 18,000 |
X360 & PS2 Software – No games charted for either system. Expect X360 hardware sales to fall into the 1,500 to 2,500 unit range, while PS2 hardware falls into the 1,200 to 2,200 unit range.
PSP Software – The PSP had a strong week for software, even without a dominant title. Kenka Banchou 4 and Blazblue Portable both sold about 50,000 units in their debuts this week. God Eater fell to 41,000 units, taking third place. The game should have no trouble clearing 600,000 in Japan at the very least. Minna no Tennis Portable from Sony debuted to 34,000 units for the week. The latest Hitman sold 14,000 units. Powepro, Monster Hunter Portable 2G and Yoake Yori came in at 12,000 units, 11,000 units, and 8,000 units respectively. Expect PSP hardware sales to stabilize at 30,000 to 36,000 units this week on the new releases.
| Preliminary Top Twenty PSP Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| Kenka Banchou 4: Ichinen Sensou | 50,000 | 45,000 | 55,000 |
| Blazblue Portable | 50,000 | 45,000 | 55,000 |
| God Eater | 41,000 | 37,000 | 45,000 |
| Minna no Tennis Portable | 34,000 | 31,000 | 37,000 |
| Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Kizuna no Tag Battle | 14,000 | 12,000 | 16,000 |
| Powerpro Success Legends | 12,000 | 10,000 | 14,000 |
| Monster Hunter Portable 2G (New Best Edition) | 11,000 | 9,000 | 13,000 |
| Yoake Yori Ruriiro na Portable | 8,000 | 6,000 | 10,000 |
DS Software – DS too had a strong week for software without a dominant title. The newest Super Robot game did top 70,000 units across its two skus though, which made it the best selling game of the week. Dragon Quest VI fell to 32,000 units for the week and should clear 1.3m in Japan. Shiren 4 and Tamodachi Collection sold 28,000 and 26,000 units respectively. The former debuted this week, while Tamodachi came in half a year ago. New debut Higurashi no Naki totaled 28,000 units across its two skus. Estpolis rounded out the DS software, with a 9,000 unit debut for the week. Yu Gi Oh, NSMB DS, Quiz Magic, Inazuma Eleven 2, Zelda, Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver, and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games should all be over 5,000 units as well in the final data. Expect DS hardware sales to stabilize at 42,000 to 47,000 units this week, putting the portable powerhouse at (roughly) 30 million units in Japan.
| Preliminary Top Twenty DS Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Mugen no Frontier EXCEED | 43,000 | 39,000 | 47,000 |
| Dragon Quest VI | 32,000 | 29,000 | 35,000 |
| Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Mugen no Frontier EXCEED (Ltd Edition) | 30,000 | 27,000 | 33,000 |
| Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 4 Kami no Hitomi to Akuma no Heso | 28,000 | 25,000 | 31,000 |
| Tomodachi Collection | 26,000 | 23,000 | 29,000 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kizuna: Dai Yon Kan - Kizuna (Ltd Edition) | 15,000 | 13,000 | 17,000 |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kizuna: Dai Yon Kan - Kizuna (Special Edition) | 13,000 | 11,000 | 15,000 |
| Estpolis: The Lands Cursed by the Gods | 9,000 | 7,000 | 11,000 |
Contact Vgchartz at jmazel@vgchartz.com
None
Further Reading
Hottest Stories
VGC Top Ten: Samus Aran Cosplays01 Sep 2010, 20 comments |
|
The First Gameplay Trailer for Mega Man Universe Is Upon Us02 Sep 2010, 4 comments |
|
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Getting New Characters at TGS02 Sep 2010, 1 comments |
|
Square Enix: Goodbye White Engine, Hello Luminous02 Sep 2010, 0 comments |
|
CoD: Black Ops' "Wager Matches" Make You a Betting Man02 Sep 2010, 5 comments |
|
The Last Guardian Conspicuously Absent from TGS?02 Sep 2010, 11 comments |
|
Super Mario All-Stars Coming to Wii in Japan02 Sep 2010, 9 comments |
|
Kirby's Epic Yarn: New Epic Trailer02 Sep 2010, 2 comments |
Originals
The Team
 |
Brett Walton Founder |
 
|
 |
Chris M. Arnone Managing Editor |
|
 |
Nick Simberg Senior Editor |
|
 |
Evan Elden Eller Senior Editor |
|
 |
Stephen Kelley Features Editor |
|
 |
Gabriel Franco News Editor |
|
 |
Brian Zucker PR Manager |
|
Subscribe to gamrFeed by Email
