Pokemon beats GTA to number one in Japan

X and Y sells 1.8 million, handily beating Rockstar’s opus with less than 400,000 units.

Pokemon X and Y comfortably beat Grand Theft Auto 5 to the number one spot in Japan last week, selling more than 1.8 million units in the process.

Japan will be one of the few major markets where Rockstar’s record-breaking hit won’t trounce the competition, and it sold fewer than 400,000 units in its first week on sale across all platforms – the lion’s share on PlayStation 3.

The somewhat inevitable success of Pokemon X and Y also boosted sales of the 3DS, with both models roughly doubling the previous week’s total – the original model sold 72,000 units, while the dominant 3DS XL sold 141,000.

However, the real success story on the hardware chart was the PlayStation Vita, which received a proportionally astounding boost thanks to the release of a new model. Sony’s resurgent handheld more than 60,000 units, an impressive 1600 per cent increase over the prior week’s 3,500 units.

The software top ten is below, with lifetime sales in parentheses:

• 1. [3DS] Pokemon X and Y (Nintendo, 10/12/13) – 1,866,570 (New)
• 2. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 10/10/13) – 360,115 (New)
• 3. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 (Capcom, 09/14/13) – 110,208 (2,652,824)
• 4. [PS3] Tales of Symphonia Chronicles (Namco Bandai, 10/10/13) – 77,228(New)
• 5. [PSV] DanganRonpa 1&2 Reload (Spike Chunsoft, 10/10/13) – 76,162 (New)
• 6. [PS3] Sakatsuku Pro Soccer Club wo Tsukurou (Sega, 10/10/13) – 73,696(New)
• 7. [PS3] Fairy Fencer F (Compile Heart, 10/10/13) – 40,666 (New)
• 8. [PSV] Sakatsuku Pro Soccer Club wo Tsukurou (Sega, 10/10/13) – 33,898(New)
• 9. [360] Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 10/10/13) – 26,612 (New)
• 10. [PS3] Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate (Tecmo Koei, 09/26/13) – 11,044 (116,054)

The hardware chart is below, with the prior week’s sales in parentheses:

• 1. 3DS LL – 141,245 (85,885)
• 2. 3DS – 72,325 (37,102)
• 3. PlayStation Vita – 60,166 (3,538)
• 4. PlayStation 3 – 12,395 (10,232)
• 5. PSP – 3,467 (4,093)
• 6. Wii U – 3,276 (4,001)
• 7. Wii – 703 (914)
• 8. Xbox 360 – 575 (354)

[source]

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment Announced

Japanese Sales Charts: PlayStation Games Dominate the Top 10, Wind Waker HD Disappoints

Ignoring the fact that Monster Hunter 4 on the 3DS finished in first yet again, it was a pretty good week for PlayStation games with 7 titles in the top 10, including two for the PlayStation Vita. On the hardware side of things, the PS3 and PS Vita were up a bit at 11,382 and 6,031, respectively, while the PlayStation Portable dropped to 4,805.

Outside of PlayStation, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD disappointed with a debut of just over 30,000 and Armored Core: Verdict Day gave the Xbox 360 a rare game in the charts as it sold 5,088 copies.

Here’s the top 20 selling games in Japan between September 23rd – 29th, according to Media Create:

1. Monster Hunter 4 (3DS) – 213,278
2. The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki (PSV) – 81,622
3. Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate (PS3) – 80,398
4. The Legends of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki (PS3) – 67,718
5. Armored Core: Verdict Day (PS3) – 59,184
6. My Little Sister Can’t be This Cute: Happy End (PS3) – 31,054
7. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD (Wii U) – 30,264
8. Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate (PSV) – 25,483
9. Friend Collection: New Life (3DS) – 9,269
10. Arcadias no Ikusahime (PS3) – 9,252
11. Youkai Watch (3DS) – 8,578
12. Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life (3DS) – 7,575
13. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) – 7,431
14. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS) – 7,361
15. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PS3) – 6,866
16. Starry Sky: After Winter Portable (PSP) – 6,074
17. Meiji Toukyou Renka (PSP) – 5,963
18. Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (3DS0 – 5,569
19. Armored Core: Verdict Day (Xbox 360) – 5,088
20. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS) – 5,007

 

[Source 1, 2]

Donkey Kong delay hurts Wii U holiday lineup

Tropical Freeze pushed to February as Nintendo leans on Super Mario 3D World, Mario & Sonic Olympics, Wii Party U to bear the load.

The Wii U’s holiday lineup is looking a little lighter as Nintendo today delayed the launch of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Previously set for a December debut, Tropical Freeze has been pushed to February in North America, as confirmed by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata during a Nintendo Direct presentation.

“In order to deliver the optimum gaming experience, we need a little more time for development of this title,” Iwata explained, adding, “We would like to apologize for this delay and hope you understand.”

The Wii U’s holiday lineup still has a handful of big exclusives yet to launch, including Super Mario 3D World on November 22. The same month will also see the launch of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, as well as the digital debut of Wii Fit U. Meanwhile, October’s release slate is headed up by Wii Party U, Sonic Lost World, and this week’s retail launch of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.

Analysts including IHS’ Piers Harding-Rolls and Baird’s Colin Sebastian have pointed to this holiday season as a key stretch for the Wii U. Sebastian said “the fate of the platform” rests on its holiday software lineup, while Harding-Rolls said this season’s sales performance will dictate his firms long-term outlook on the system.

Pokémon X & Y street date broken in Canada and Italy. Potential Spoilers Abound

Whilst the world eagerly awaits the arrival of Pokémon X & Y in just over a week’s time, retailers in Canada and Italy have reportedly broken the street date of the Nintendo 3DS exclusives.

One lucky purchaser is steadily documenting their playthrough by sharing snaps of their progression, although not wishing to promote the leaks we understandably won’t be pointing you in the right direction. Having provided no comment as to how they were able to source a retail copy so early, it’s run the risk of ruining a rather energetic run of news up until launch.

Such a situation is distressing to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, who have been rigid in their attempts to thwart leaks.

[source]