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Big in Japan Mar. 30-Apr. 5: PS3 continues strong sales run

Sony's system again bests market-leading Wii, despite no new software titles for any system enticing Japanese gamers.

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Earlier this week, Japanese media tracker and Famitsu publisher Enterbrain reported that, for the first time since the two consoles launched in late 2006, one-month sales for Sony's PlayStation 3 had trumped those for Nintendo's Wii. For the five-week period ended March 29, the PS3 sold 146,948 units, according to Enterbrain, compared to the Wii's 99,335 units. Heading into April, the wind appears to still be at Sony's back.

No Caption Provided

For the week of March 30-April 5, Media Create reports that the PS3 sold 20,400 units in Japan, nearly 5,000 more than the Wii's 15,500 total. Both systems built on their lead over Microsoft's Xbox 360, which turned in 7,800 units for the week. Handhelds once again perched atop Media Create's monthly accounting, with the DSi and DS Lite combining to sell 62,400 units and the PSP logging sales of 48,100.

Software turned in a lackluster performance during the week, due to no new releases tempting Japanese gamers. Reprising its performance at the top of the charts, Namco Bandai's Kidou Senshi Gundam: Senjou no Kizuna Portable for the PSP led software with 34,000 units. That figure just outpaced Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!!, which sold an additional 33,000 units on the DS. Also for Nintendo's portable, Konami's Pro Yakyuu Famista DS 2009 debuted at number three with 27,000 units sold.

Titles for Sony's systems took the next four slots, with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on the PSP selling 24,000 units, followed by Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2009 for the PlayStation 2 shifting 16,000 copies. Musou Orochi Z on the PS3 and Disgaea 2 for the PSP both sold 15,000 units during the week. Rounding out the week's chart, Super Robot Taisen K for the DS and Winning Post World both sold 13,000 units, while Wii Fit returned to the top 10, selling 12,000 copies.

Week of March 30-April 5, 2009
Software:
1) Kidou Senshi Gundam: Senjou no Kizuna Portable (PSP) - 34,000
2) Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!! (DS) - 33,000
3) Pro Yakyuu Famista DS 2009 (DS) - 27,000
4) Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP) - 24,000
5) Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2009 (PS2) - 16,000
6) Musou Orochi Z (PS3) - 15,000
7) Disgaea 2 (PSP) - 15,000
8) Super Robot Taisen K (DS) - 13,000
9) Winning Post World (PS3) - 13,000
10) Wii Fit (Wii) - 12,000

Hardware:
DSi - 53,700
PSP - 48,100
PS3 - 20,400
Wii - 15,500
DS Lite - 8,700
Xbox 360 - 7,800
PS2 - 5,400

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Avatar image for Malco_Vincenzo
Malco_Vincenzo

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@ brendanhunt1 "gta iv has sold roughtly the same amount on ps3 and xbox360 but xbox has sold more units and has two exclusives. how come" 360 was out a YEAR before man that's why.

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gudni

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Nintendo doesnt really need to worry with the Wii since it has the most "big in Japan" licences coming later this year. Monster Hunter 3(every MH game reaches top 5 in Japan) Final Fantasy:Crystal Chronicles Crystal bearers Dragon Quest X(second most popular RPG series after FF coming hopefully late this year or early next year) And we can all assume that Wii sports resort will sell like a billion copies when that comes. Plus the fact that they are hinting on something big announced at E3.

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brendanhunt1

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gta iv has sold roughtly the same amount on ps3 and xbox360 but xbox has sold more units and has two exclusives. how come

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XanderZane

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brendanhunt1 FFXIII will sell more on ps3, it will be on more than one disk on xbox 360 ************************************************************* Well, yeah, that's a given. The main reason it will sell more is because of Japan. FF XIII is being released on the Xbox 360 in Japan and even if it was, it wouldn't sell anywhere near as many copies as the PS3 version. That's like saying CoD will sell more copies on the XBox 360. LOL!! We already know that's going to happen. Where as the PS3 is starting to sell better in Japan and still being killed in the U.S. and U.K. The PS3 definitely needs a price drop, but even if it does get a $50 drop, Microsoft and Nintendo may also do a price drop before the holidays and if that happens Sony will fall even further behind. By the time Sony finally catches up the new NEXT-GEN will be starting and the last-gen race will be over.

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ausgamer529

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GO NINTENDOOO!!!!! KICK SONYS @$$

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boba_fett22

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Go Sony!! this is such great news for gaming!

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Kermyt

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Playstation - great machine, great games, great applications, just superb basically, now give us the motion controller so it can truly start kicking ass!

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CVM_123

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japan really knows what a console is

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surppo

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if think 360 will sell more by the end of this gen, u havent taken into consideration the fact that sony backs there products longer and once there price becomes competitive with the 360 microsoft will drop another system. it doesnt bother anybody that a system twice the price is within a few million sales with a system that dropped a year earlier

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Blink3r

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LOL GIMME A BREAK WII FIT LOL seriously... are there so many fat nerds out there?

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gameking5000

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Keep fighting Nintendo, don't give up

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brendanhunt1

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imagine if ps2 sells more than xbox 360 in japan

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youngsexynerd

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yeeeeahh sony doing its thing, i just dont like microsoft cuz my 360 broke only after about 2 months of having it, screw them an there cheap made crap!!!!!

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dentedhalo

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@ malco vincenzo well, the reasons for the difference are debateable but the point I was making was that Square likley made the FFXIII decision based on the fact that it will allow them to make a bigger impact outside of Japan.... instead of a market of around 30 million PS3 owners (thats not an acurate estimate or anything btw... just speculation for the purposes of illustration :) ) they have a market base nearer 70/80 million........ again, id love to think that the 360 had something to do with that decsion but thats highly unlikely - nothing more than a mathematical choice i suspect..... still..... SCE must be furious...... im no lover of playstation but id have bought a PS3 for FFXII and i doubt im alone in that..... now i can save my money and buy 1 much much later if a game comes along im desperate for

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Bigcol1611

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fps-d0minat0r, im from britian, is my IQ better than yours??

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GhostfaceL94

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It's funny that Pro-Ps3 comments have at least 1 thumb down.

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fps_d0minat0r

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lol the 360 is bottom......oh hang on....it just about beat a 9 year old system. i think the wii hype is dying out and everyone is realising its nothing special and how quick it gets boring. last time i said something which gamespot found offensive..... let my try and re-phrase it.... ok go and found out which population has a higher iq, japan or the US......i know which population i would believe to be making the right decision =)

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Malco_Vincenzo

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@ dentedhalo i have to respectfully say that the reason why there are more 360s sold worldwide than PS3s is because the 360 came out a year before the PS3. they've been selling pretty evenly taking that into consideration. In 08 for example both systems sold around 10 million even with all of the Microsoft millions being spent on DLC and exclusivity.

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thekey

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nappan thank you.

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Max1363

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@dentedhalo You said all i was trying to say... me2 as a 360 fan 100% agree with u bro

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brendanhunt1

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FFXIII will sell more on ps3, it will be on more than one disk on xbox 360

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rgsniper1

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wow.. the biggest thing to jump out of the article to me is that the 360 sold 7,800. That's awesome for them in Japan.

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zgreenwell

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All of the fanboys here are forgetting that Japan is a very different region than the US. The prices for the 360 and PS3 are different than the US and the games that are out are different than the US. Its great for Sony that they're doing very well in Japan right now, but that really doesn't mean a whole lot for other territories. A game like Yukaza 3 might never see release outside of Japan and even if it does it wont be the system seller it is at home.

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dentedhalo

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@ malco vincenzo Even as an xbox fan and a sony "hater" i winced when i read blu-fan's comments...... a clear case of someone thinking their own opinion is fact without checking it out.... also slightly strange username for someone who dont like sony??? Microsoft has done well outside of Japan because they have spent a lot of time (money) on it and, as a result, have a much larger user base that Sony..... Square has been talking for a very long time about their market share outside of Japan and, as much as id love to think the the xbox itself had anything to do with their FFXIII decsion it seems more likely its a strategic decision to help their own market position...... FFXIII will likely sell about even on X360 and PS3 overall thats not something that would be replicated in Japan where, as malco has said, the 360 has only a very tiny user base. I love my 360 but I really dont need people like blu-fan making all 360 owners look bad :S

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dentedhalo

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@monochromatic Thats what people said about 2008.......I wouldnt read too much into sales in Japan.... its a vastly different market that the US or EU.... Microsoft never really had any chance of making a big impact there regardless of what they do and, as a lot of people have been commenting, theres only so many people there to buy Wii's... sales as high as they have managed cant go on forever in a limited market where most probably have them already.... I dont see the dominance of the Wii being taken on in any realy way this year...... this is console that will only really be challenged when it hits the mid point of its lifecycle and it has to rely on software to push it...... i think were still a way of that yet..... especially as its maintaining astronomical sales without any price drops at all

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Rect_Pola

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No killer apps = no killer sales

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funky_facon

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but then again my last comment left me wondering of what my purpose is, here in this page

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funky_facon

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who gives a crap about sales... I sure don't

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Monochromatic-7

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i think 2009 is the year of PS3. at least in games.(uncharted 2,GOWIII,heavy rain,etc.)

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khai411

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Word-of-mouth hype can only do so much for a console. Next comes the Wiis downfall in other regions

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GhostfaceL94

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@Malco_Vicenzo Well said brother.

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Malco_Vincenzo

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@ Blu-Fan-Boy oh boy. let's make a list of what you said and fact. What You Said: "this is just a sales review over all the Xbox 360 has sold most in Japan as well as being in the lead" Fact: The Wii is in the lead, and as it stand 360 is in last place in Japan with only 1.01 million sales compared to PS3's 3.06 mil and the Wii's 7.97 mil. What You Said:" it would make more sense for Japanese people to buy the Xbox 360 considering there being more stratagy and RPG titles on the 360 than the PS3 and it has more software support for it" Fact: Every JRPG and strategy game on the 360 has been ported to the PS3 with more features. Also what software support? Proof Please. What You Said:"on top of that FFXIII will also be avalible on the 360 meaning that DLC exculsisvaty would be in the works for the 360 since microsoft want people to be buying the 360 version more" Fact: FF13 will only be on the 360 in the U.S. and the U.K. also why would they give 360 owners DLC and not give their home country DLC? thirdly who makes DLC for a JRPG? Forthly, no one bought a 360 for JRPGs, they bought it for Halo and Gears. so the 360 version of FF13 won;t sell as well as the PS3 version. What You Said:" Sony i pity you hahahaha" Fact: Misinformed fanboy I pity you hahahahaha Check you info before you put it up or prepared to get ripped apart bt intelligent people. Blu-Fan-Boy

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star77241

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This is only in Japan. The Wii is still outselling elsewhere. Japan buys the hottest and/or latest tech quicker so now they're buying the PS3 and 360.

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maverick_76

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Oh I know that the PS3 will outsell the original XBOX, I just meant it in terms of how the original XBOX vs. the PS2 was perceived. The XBOX had its core group of followers helped along by great exclusives just as the PS3 has been helped by it's incredible exclusives, and the XBOX was a better technical system than the PS2, with a HDD and better graphics, kinda like the PS3 with the Cell and Blu-Ray. And as I said before, fine by me.

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marcosa73

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PS3 will far surpass original Xbox, it probably already has by now, also I am quite sure PS3 has sold more than the 360 in the UK, with a 10 year life span slow and steady isn't such a bad way to start. Selling more systems than Nintendo for a month might be just the beginning.

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marcosa73

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[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

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bigmouthkid

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Wow Sony is really stepping the game up. I think they're selling well in japan is because they're exclusives from late 2008 to now are really good games based off the high reviews from other game sites besides this one. But dang it I want God of War 3 to be on the shelves now. I'm really dying to get this game.

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maverick_76

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I think it is safe to say that Sony's console will take the position that the original XBOX took in the last console race, which is fine with me. As long as Sony has a strong presence, even if it is not a dominating one, publishers will make games for the system. I don't count the Wii as a next gen system, too gimmicky and not enough good titles will hurt this system in the long run. And I think if M$ did not have the RROD era of machines at the start, this might have been a blowout for the 360. Sony should be counting their lucky stars that many XBOTS came over to the PS3 once their 2nd, 3rd or 4th 360 bricked. If the systems were made well at the start, with Live and all the exclusives that the 360 had at the start, we could have maybe seen the death of the PlayStation brand. I'm so glad that did not happen though.

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invictuslemming

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Like many people have said already, everyone in Japan probably owns a Wii by now, 360 isn't popular in japan to begin with, its time for the PS3 there.

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GhostfaceL94

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And it begins.

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GhostfaceL94

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And its begins.

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Max1363

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I think it's safe to say Xbox never get PS3 in Japan and PS3 never get Xbox in US and UK which means PS3 will never get XBOX in biggest markets(My opinion no fanboyism)

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ColdfireTrilogy

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seems accurate to me...

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akiwak

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I think it's cause almost everyone in Japan now has a Wii now they are looking for a second system to own.

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ellez

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I hope people start making more jrpgs now since ps3 is sellin well in japan.

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BtmnHatesRbn

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Something isn't jiving, as Japan is in a near-depression economically, so I doubt an expensive PS3 is selling. Re-write the story with more than one, biased source that doesn't collect accurate data, and I'll have something else to post. So, who else is drinking the Kool-Aid here?

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mariokart64fan

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85072 .,agreed but it also could be nintendos year lol , already starting strong , ending strong to , punchout , unnamed game plus what ever they do at e3 im pretty sure they wanna rebound plus re remakes and silent hill klonoa, many awsome games coming deblob 2 , its a 2 horse race

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kweeni

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when FFXIII is out, ps3 will EAT japan sales

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DoUFolksLikCofe

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wow i guess this story wasnt good enough to do some research on, no new software? Hello Advent Children Complete with a demo of FF 13 included coming out in a week?!! Japan Goes ape crap over that stuff, and they know they need one with FF13, the full game, coming out in japan this year, might as well get one now for Advent Children. Its perty obvious why its doing so well over there right now.

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