Japan Charts: Osu! Bancho Pachinko Simulator debuts at number one

DS software sales continue to dominate the higher end of the Japanese charts

Daito Giken's Official Pachinko Slot Simulator: Osu! Bancho stormed into the top spot this week, selling 96,000 copies and reinforcing the continued popularity of Japan's most prevalent form of legal gambling.

The fifteen new releases this week accounted for approximately forty per cent of overall sales, snatching the first three positions in the all format charts and pushing last week's number one seller, Shadow of the Colossus, down three places to number four.

Capcom's Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance entered at number three, proving an unexpected success which has been attributed both to Capcom's market strength in the East and the general view that the title bears similarities to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series.

Half of the top ten was taken up by DS titles, including a climb of three places from eight to five for Training for Adults: Work Your Brain and continued sales success for Gentle Brain Exercises. Nintendo plans to launch two versions of its DS Brain Training series (one for young adults and another for a more mature audience) in Europe next spring.

SEGA has also offered a variation on the theme, with PSP title Brain Trainer Portable making its chart debut at number eight. In terms of the hardware sales however, the PSP is still seriously lagging behind Nintendo's DS, taking a 24 per cent share of the market, compared to the 40 per cent claimed by the DS.

Elsewhere in the charts, Pokémon Torouze has plummeted from second to ninth place, while Bandai's Dragon Ball Z: Sparking holds its place at the bottom of the top ten for a second week.