Game sales continue to slump in Japan

The Japanese games market finally has a new number one, although sales for both software and hardware remain in the doldrums.

Acquire's self-published Akiba's Trip involves defeating vampire-like creatures by ripping off their clothes and exposing their body parts to sunlight. Set in Akihabara's busy shopping district the PSP game seems unlikely to enjoy a Western release and sold only 58,150 units to get to number one.

Tecmo's Dead or Alive Dimensions is the highest-charting 3DS game since the system's launch, but it sold only a meagre 23,078 units at number two.

Strategy game Gungnir at number four sold just 16,355 units and while Valve's Portal 2 on PlayStation 3 is a surprise entry at number six it registered only 8,942 unit sales.

The lowest ranked title in the top 10, 3DS title Steel Diver, sold only 4,583 units to ensure its appearance in the chart.

Hardware sales, obtained by website Andriasang, were similarly unimpressive, although the now familiar hierarchy was undisturbed as most formats saw sales decrease by a similar proportion.

The PSP led with 30,463 unit sales, followed by the 3DS on 17,240. The PlayStation 3 was down to 12,935, while the Wii was almost unchanged at 6,269.

Last Week This Week Title Format
New Entry 1 Akiba's Trip PSP
New Entry 2 Dead or Alive Dimensions 3DS
1 3 Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional DS
New Entry 4 Gungnir PSP
5 5 Patapon 3 PSP
New Entry 6 Portal 2 PS3
6 7 Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 PSP
11 8 Wii Party Wii
14 9 Pokémon Black/White DS
3 10 Steel Diver 3DS
Platform This Week Last Week
PSP 30,463 34,655
3DS 17,240 18,324
PlayStation 3 12,935 13,789
Wii 6,269 6,336
Nintendo DSi XL 5,176 5,358
Nintendo DSi 4,938 5,292
Xbox 360 2,186 2,763
PlayStation 2 1,129 1,319
Nintendo DS Lite 158 208
PSPgo 65 171

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...slump-in-japan