Big in Japan Oct. 26-Nov. 1: Bayonetta, Tekken 6

Sega partner PlatinumGames is now two-for-two on its home turf. In June, the upstart developer's DS strategy title Infinite Space topped Media Create's Japanese sales charts. While the game's performance was not overwhelming (its 38,400 copies led a notably slow week), Media Create's latest figures show a much more impressive debut for PlatinumGames' first follow-up.

For the week of October 26 through November 1, Bayonetta on the PlayStation 3 was the best-selling game at Japanese retailers, with Media Create reporting 135,242 copies sold. The Xbox 360 version of the game sold 64,325 copies of its own, good enough for seventh place on the chart. An over-the-top action game starring a gun-toting witch, Bayonetta is the latest effort from Hideki Kamiya, the director of Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe.

PlatinumGames' only other release to date, the hyperviolent Wii action game MadWorld, was commercially underwhelming upon its February US release. Sega opted not to release it in Japan, leaving Spike to publish the game in PlatinumGames' homeland next February.

Bayonetta wasn't the only new release to perform well for the week. Square Enix's latest Final Fantasy spin-off, Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden (Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden) for the DS, came in second with 114,714 games sold. That was good enough to fend off the PlayStation 3 version of Namco Bandai's latest fighter, Tekken 6, which sold 103,105 copies. Exact sales of the Xbox 360 version of Tekken 6 weren't released, but it finished 11th on the charts.

Two more new releases made the top 10 for the week, as Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable for the PSP finished fourth with 94,287 sold, and Super Robot Taisen Neo for the Wii snuck onto the charts in 10th place, selling 26,559 copies. The remaining four spots on the software chart were claimed by familiar faces Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, Wii Fit Plus, Tomodachi Collection, and Izuma Eleven 2.

On the hardware front, system sales showed more parity than in the past, with the first and fifth best selling systems separated by fewer than 9,000 sales. The DSi topped all comers with 37,517 sold, followed by the resurgent PS3 with 36,061. Sony's portable platforms took third and fourth, with the PSP racking up sales of 34,911 and its downloadable-only counterpart, the PSP Go, claiming 34,911 new owners itself. The Wii pulled up the rear of the lead pack with 28,888 systems sold, with the DS Lite, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2 all moving under 7,000 units.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2009
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1) Bayonetta / Sega / PS3 / 135,242
2) Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden / Square Enix / DS / 114,714
3) Tekken 6 / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 103,105
4) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable / Atlus / PSP / 94,287
5) Pokemon HeartGold and Soul Silver / Nintendo / DS / 87,594
6) Wii Fit Plus / Nintendo / Wii / 82,427
7) Bayonetta / Sega / 360 / 64,325
8) Tomodachi Collection / Nintendo / DS / 53,159
9) Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha - Fire and Blizzard / Level 5 / DS / 41,437
10) Super Robot Taisen Neo / Namco Bandai / Wii / 26,559

Hardware:
DSi - 37,517
PS3 - 36,061
PSP - 34,911
PSP Go - 29,109
Wii - 28,888
DS Lite - 6,902
Xbox 360 - 6,047
PS2 - 1,966