The Japan Preview: 3/7 Edition (Pokemon Ranger, DS > 30m)
by Jacob Mazel, posted on 07 March 2010 / 2,984 Views
Summary and a Look Ahead:
The latest Pokemon: Ranger was the top performer this week, with sales over a quarter million. Otherwise it was a fairly quiet week with a lot of smaller hits sharing the Yen Japanese gamers had to spend. Quite a few re-releases of older titles performed well this week. The re-release of Dragon Quest IX for a lesser price is an especially interesting case – the game topped 40,000 at its lower price point.
Sony released a special PSP bundle this week, aimed at women, but it doesn’t look software for women targeted to women increased substantially.
Yakuza 4 should be the next major release in Japan, with preorders standing at 170,000 units.
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 March 7, 2010.
Software by Platform:
Wii Software – New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the top performing Wii game once again. New Super Mario Bros. sold another 42,000 units and should become the best selling Wii game in Japan within three months. The two skus of Wii Fit Plus sold 29,000 units for the week, in second place. One Piece, part of the Minna Collection, sold 5,000 units this week. Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports Resort, and Mario & Sonic should also be over 5,000 units in the final data. Expect Wii hardware sales to remain in the 30,000 to 35,000 unit range this week.
| Preliminary Top Twenty Wii Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | 42,000 | 38,000 | 46,000 |
| Wii Fit Plus (Game only) | 19,000 | 17,000 | 21,000 |
| Wii Fit Plus (Game Balance Board) | 10,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 |
| One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1 - Nami ni Yureru Hihou (Minna) | 5,000 | 3,000 | 7,000 |
PS3 Software – Three PS3 games charted in the preliminary data. Nobunga’s Ambition was the top performer – selling 27,000 units. Resident Evil 5 fell to 22,000 while Demon’s Souls fell to 14,000 units. Star Ocean 4 may also be over 5,000 units in the final data. Expect PS3 hardware sales to remain in the 24,000 to 29,000 unit range for the week.
| Preliminary Top Twenty PS3 Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| Nobunaga no Yabou Tendou | 27,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 |
| Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition | 22,000 | 20,000 | 24,000 |
| Demon's Souls The Best | 14,000 | 12,000 | 16,000 |
X360 & PS2 Software – No games charted in the preliminary data for these platforms. Expect both platforms to remain in the 1,500 to 2,500 unit range for the week.
PSP Software – Six PSP games, across seven skus charted for the PSP. The new .hack title sold over 80,000 in its debut across two skus. God Eater and Kenka Banchou 4 fell to 32,000 and 30,000 units respectively. The newest Armored Core debuted to sales of 20,000 units. Minna no Tennis and Monster Hunter fell to 14,000 and 10,000 units respectively. Blazblue, Kiniro, and a few other PSP games should be over 5,000 units for the week as well. Expect PSP hardware sales to rise into the 38,000 to 44,000 unit range on the new PSP hardware bundle for the week.
| Preliminary Top Twenty PSP Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| .hack // Link | 46,000 | 41,000 | 51,000 |
| .hack // Link (Siege Pack) | 36,000 | 32,000 | 40,000 |
| God Eater | 32,000 | 29,000 | 35,000 |
| Kenka Banchou 4: Ichinen Sensou | 30,000 | 27,000 | 33,000 |
| Armored Core: Last Raven Portable | 20,000 | 18,000 | 22,000 |
| Minna no Tennis Portable | 14,000 | 12,000 | 14,000 |
| Monster Hunter Portable 2G (New Best Edition) | 10,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 |
DS Software – Six DS games charted this week. The new Pokemon Ranger sold 251,000 units as the top performing game of the week. Dragon Quest IX, re-released at a lower price – sold 41,000 units this week. Kenoro RPG debuted at 34,000 units, while Tamodachi Collection fell to 29,000 units. Shiren 4 and Dragon Quest VI fell to 13,000 units each. An additional 5-10 DS games will be over 5,000 units for the week as well in the final data. Expect DS hardware sales to remain in the 44,000 to 48,000 unit range for the week as DS clears 30m in Japan.
| Preliminary Top Twenty DS Software | Sales | Low End | High End |
| Pokemon Ranger: Miracle of Light | 251,000 | 226,000 | 276,000 |
| Dragon Quest IX (Ultimate Hits) | 41,000 | 37,000 | 45,000 |
| Keroro RPG: Kishi to Musha to Densetsu no Kaizoku | 34,000 | 31,000 | 37,000 |
| Tamodachi Collection | 29,000 | 26,000 | 32,000 |
| Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 4 Kami no Hitomi to Akuma no Heso | 13,000 | 11,000 | 15,000 |
| Dragon Quest VI | 13,000 | 11,000 | 15,000 |
Contact Vgchartz at jmazel@vgchartz.com
