Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 5/12-5/18
The new kid on the Japanese Wii software block last week was Battalion Wars 2, which faired well enough in its debut to hit the top ten. Will it stay there? Our guess is no, sadly. Still, it's nice to see the game get some recognition in Japan.Once again, the only non-Nintendo title for the Wii that made the top thirty was Deca Sports, which dropped thirteen spots from the week before. Ouch. We're not sure what made Japan fall so out of love with Deca Sports in one week, but the game seems to have lost some of its legs. Smash Bros. Brawl also took a spill, falling from tenth place to nineteenth.
The other noticeable drop was Mario Kart Wii, which only fell one spot, but an important spot -- from first to second -- and finally succumbed to the frightening power of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. Hardware was also a PSP victory, as the handheld beat all other systems by a convincing margin.
Now that you've seen the hardware numbers, check past the break for the software sales.
Software:
01.(02) [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G --- 53,248 (2,045,000)
02.(01) [Wii] Mario Kart Wii --- 41,739 (1,269,000)
03.(__) [NDS] Luminous Arc 2: Will --- 40,753 (New)
04.(__) [PSP] Bleach: Heat the Soul 5 --- 39,403 (New)
05.(03) [Wii] Wii Fit --- 34,847 (2,074,000)
06.(__) [Wii] Battalion Wars 2 --- 24,213 (New)
07.(13) [NDS] DS Beautiful Letter Training --- 15,477 (218,000)
08.(04) [Wii] Link's Crossbow Training --- 14,442 (156,000)
09.(05) [NDS] Taiko Drum Master DS: Seven Island Adventure --- 14,182 (147,000)
10.(08) [Wii] Wii Sports --- 10,206 (2,989,000)
11.(06) [NDS] Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage
12.(__) [PS2] The Color Blue
13.(16) [PS2] Musou Orochi: The Evil King Returns
14.(15) [PS3] Valkyria Chronicles
15.(12) [NDS] Mario Kart DS
16.(09) [NDS] We're Fossil Diggers
17.(11) [Wii] Wii Play
18.(14) [NDS] Tottado! Yowiko's Deserted Island Life
19.(10) [Wii] Super Smash Bros. Brawl
20.(07) [Wii] Deca Sports
21.(27) [NDS] Sim City DS 2: From the Past to the Future
22.(25) [NDS] Kanji Brain Test 2.5M
23.(__) [360] The Darkness
24.(19) [NDS] New Super Mario Bros.
25.(17) [NDS] Home Teacher Hitman Reborn! DS: Fate of Heat
26.(23) [PS2] Pro Baseball Spirits 5
27.(31) [NDS] Phoenix Wright: Gyakuten Revival
28.(22) [NDS] Emblem of Gundam
29.(__) [NDS] Professor Layton and the Curious Village
30.(24) [NDS] Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Cinema Land
[Via NeoGAF]
If any of you analyst wannabes out there want to check out the hardware and software numbers for previous weeks in Japan, just click on this blue text. 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
johnnyg0 @ May 23rd 2008 11:23AM
Deca Sports is really really really bad.. yes, it sucks that much. And the only reason I bought it in the first place was because you guys kept talking about it for a whole year. I should've waited for the review, but I returned it to the store so I'm good :)
Candace Savino @ May 23rd 2008 11:51AM
I haven't had a chance to try it out for myself yet, but it sure looks fun. But yeah, we can only go by how a game looks before it comes out. Waiting for reviews to see if the game actually follows through is always a good idea ;)
johnnyg0 @ May 23rd 2008 12:14PM
To give you an idea how bad it is, in badminton, when you swing it takes over 1 second before you on-screen character actually swings...
I really thought these guys wanted this game to be considered as a "wii sports 2" kinda thing, but they messed it up badly.
TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 23rd 2008 11:46AM
Now that 2,045,000 people in Japan have MHP2G, can it drop a few spots? :P
At least we know Wii will get those kind of numbers with the next Monster Hunter.
Candace Savino @ May 23rd 2008 11:56AM
Ah, not necessarily, though. I'm sure it will do well, but I don't think it will get 2nd G kind of numbers, just because Japan is crazy for their portables.
Also, it remains to be seen how well Capcom manages to pull of the online aspect on the Wii (we know that's not the system's strongest point). The whole friend code thing might turn some people off, too.
In any case, it will sell well -- it is a Monster Hunter game in Japan, after all :P
Mr.ESC @ May 23rd 2008 1:53PM
Well Japan finally got "The Darkness" I hope they enjoy it.Is a total badass game and I can't wait for the sequel.
MH Um that game is awesome but the PSP hardware limitations makes it impossible to play.Maybe I'll get the Wii version :D