DS maintains success through market slump

The Nintendo DS was the best-selling console in Japan once again last week, with Nintendo's own DS Training For Adults: Work Your Brain title topping the software charts - but the market overall continued to experience low sales.

Software sales dropped below 350,000 for the full week, well below half of the annual weekly average and significantly lower than the 617,000 units recorded in the same week last year, with the low sales being largely caused by a lack of major new releases.

Indeed, only two new titles made it into the top ten, with Bandai's PSP RPG title Hero Legend Gagharv Trilogy: Akai Shizuku becoming the first PSP title to dent the charts for several weeks, in at number four, while Sega's Pachinko Slot! Fist of the North Star on the Nintendo DS came in at number ten.

Four DS titles made it into the top ten ranking, in fact - aside from Pachinko Slot at number ten, DS Training For Adults climbed into the top spot, Bandai's anime licensed SD Gundam G Generation DS was at number five and Nintendogs: Shiba and Friends was at number seven.

Also still selling relatively strongly were Enterbrain's RPG title Berwick Saga (PS2) at number two, and crossover RPG Namco X Capcom, published by Namco and in this week at number three.

In hardware terms, the DS continued to grow its lead over the PSP, taking over 34 per cent market share this week - compared with just under 23 per cent for the PSP, and slightly over 30 per cent for the PlayStation 2.

Looks like Nintendo's Strategy of something different and selling Non games seems to be working, you never know Revolution might actually be a huge success.