Big in Japan Nov. 16-22: DSi XL
Nintendo's supersize handheld sells 100,000 in two days; Left 4 Dead, Taiko Drum Master best-selling new games on a mostly familiar top 10 list.
Nintendo's extra-large handheld racked up extra-large sales during its first days of release, according to Media Create's weekly Japanese sales figures. The DSi XL (known as the DSi LL in Japan) sold 100,553 systems for the week of November 16-22. The oversized handheld launched in Japanese stores November 21 and is expected to arrive in the West early next year.
Perhaps as impressive, the launch of the XL didn't entirely undercut sales of the existing DSi. Nintendo's next newest handheld sold 32,070, down slightly from the previous week's 33,749. That was good enough to finish fourth on the hardware list, within spitting distance of the PSP (32,752 sold), Wii (32,844 sold), and PlayStation 3 (34,752 sold). Nintendo's original revision to the DS line, the DS Lite, was the fifth-best-selling system of the week, finding new homes for 5,051 units and besting the struggling PSP Go (4,574 sold) and Xbox 360 (4,085 sold).
While the DSi XL held sway in the hardware charts, Nintendo's lineup of portable games topped the software best-sellers. After three straight weeks looking up at soccer games and Bayonetta, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver combined to reclaim the top spot on the charts, selling 55,361 copies. It was followed by a trio of exceedingly familiar faces, with Nintendo's DS Tomodachi Collection selling 49,308 games, Wii Fit Plus moving 42,832 copies, and the DS pair of Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha - Fire and Blizzard taking fourth with 28,734 sold.
Namco Bandai breathed a little new life into the charts with the debuting Taiko no Tatsujin Wii 2 in fifth place, racking up sales of 28,282. Following close behind was another new release, the Xbox 360 shooter Left 4 Dead 2, with 27,507. The last new game on the charts was Nintendo's DS edition of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, which landed in ninth place with 23,420 sold.
JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF NOVEMBER 16-22, 2009
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1) Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver / Nintendo / DS / 55,361
2) Tomodachi Collection / Nintendo / DS / 49,308
3) Wii Fit Plus / Nintendo / Wii / 42,832
4) Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha - Fire and Blizzard / Level 5 / DS / 28,734
5) Taiko no Tatsujin Wii 2 / Namco Bandai / Wii / 28,282
6) Left 4 Dead 2 / Electronic Arts / 360 / 27,507
7) Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 / Konami / PS3 / 24,425
8) J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J / Sega / PSP / 23,842
9) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games / Nintendo / DS / 23,420
10) Dragon Ball: Raging Blast / Namco Bandai / PS3 - 16,862
Hardware:
DSi XL - 100,553
PS3 - 34,752
Wii - 32,844
PSP - 32,752
DSi - 32,070
DS Lite - 5,051
PSP Go - 4,574
Xbox 360 - 4,085
PS2 - 2,024
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