Media Create Sales for 10/26 to 11/01 - A Good Week For Sony

[Chris_D]

Here are the software and hardware numbers from Japan, straight from Media Create, for the week 10/26 to 11/01.

The release of the PSP Go helped boost sales of the PSP platform past the DS last week. Also, with the PSP-3000 outselling the new PSP Go, it seems that Japanese consumers are some way from completely embracing a platform that only supports digital distribution. The PS3 also sold strongly, increasing its weekly sales lead over the Wii.

Sega's well reviewed Bayonetta captured the number 1 spot with the PS3 version, which sold 135,242 copies. The 360 version of Bayonetta also sold a credible 64,325 copies, high for a game that is neither a JRPG, nor a platform exclusive. Persona 3 Portable opened at number 4, selling 94,287 copies, although its digital sales are an unknown quantity.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata continued to be pressured about poor Wii sales in Japan during a recent financial results briefing. From Edge-Online:

"As you probably know, the current situation of Wii cannot be defined as healthy," the Nintendo president said during a recent financial results briefing, adding that the console’s recent price cut "seems to have the least impact here than other parts of the world".
...
"A notable dip can be seen in sales of Wii this year, which is approximately half the size of last year," Iwata is reported to have said. "On the other hand, Sony's PlayStation 3 showed a good transition and they increased unit sales by around 50 per cent".

This year EA's FIFA 10 has been tightening the screws on rival Pro Evolution Soccer, known as Winning Eleven in Japan. In fact, FIFA 10 currently has a metacritic score of 91, compared to Pro Evolution Soccer's 77. FIFA 10 opened at number 7 in Japan on release resulting in some happy comments from EA Sports boss Peter Moore:

...Peter Moore has expressed his delight with FIFA 10’s critical and commercial reception in Japan, at the same time noting that foreign titles "have an extremely difficult time breaking through" in the country and that EA still has work to do to understand the market.
...
"… It is clear we still have work to do in Japan to more fully understand what drives that gamers attraction to sports titles. Let me be clear on this. I recognise that there are many factors that contribute to a gamer's decision to purchase (or not) a particular game, I'd just hate for the gamers in Japan to not get as much enjoyment as the rest of the world out of the best sports game of this console generation. Also, we'll continue to do our part to try to better understand the Japanese consumer - with market research, focus groups with gamers of all ages, and feedback sessions with journalists - and continue to improve on the best soccer game in the world."

In other news, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers reviewed poorly, by Final Fantasy standards, in the latest Famitsu, receiving scores of 7, 8, 7 and 8. Also, many CoGs will be happy to know that the latest Shin Megami Tensei game, A Strange Journey, has been confirmed for North America.

Hardware
DSi - 37,517 (-11%)
PS3 - 36,061 (+20%)
PSP - 34,911 (+6%)
PSP Go - 29,109 (NEW)
Wii - 28,888 (+11%)
DS Lite - 6,902 (+5%)
Xbox 360 - 6,047 (+35%)
PS2 - 1,966 (+1%)

Software
01. [PS3] Bayonetta (Sega) 135,242 / NEW
02. [DS] Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden (Square Enix) 114,714 / NEW
03. [PS3] Tekken 6 (Bandai Namco Games) 103,105 / NEW
04. [PSP] Persona 3 Portable (Atlus) 94,287 / NEW
05. [DS] Pokemon Star Heart Gold / Soul Siver (Nintendo) 87,594/ ~2,844k
06. [Wii] Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo) 81,427 / ~779k
07. [360] Bayonetta (Sega) 64,325 / NEW
08. [DS] Tomodachi Collection (Nintendo) 53,159 / ~1,522k
09. [DS] Inazuma Eleven 2: Kyoui no Shinryokusha (Level 5) 41,437 / ~527k
10. [Wii] Super Robot Taisen NEO (Bandai Namco Games) 26,559 / NEW

Source - Media Create, Edge-Online, 1UP.

See the sales from the previous week.

Note: Software cumulative sales estimates are provided by Media Create and VGChartz.

[Kelegacy]

Yup, a good week indeed.

Sony could be in first place this generation had they not squandered the time with a high price tag. I still think they could wind up winning but only because Microsoft gives up and jumps to the next generation and Sony keeps selling PS3s like they do PS2s.

[Cyndair]

That's a whole mess of PSPs if you add the Go and 3000 numbers together. It's interesting.... It seems like the launch hype and the media blitz around the Go caused a spike in 3000 sales. I am one of those people. When the Go was announced I was pretty sure I was going to get one and then I did some reading and settled on a 3000 instead. Funny how that worked out. Not so much the 3000 vs Go feature comparison but the fact that Go hype caused me to pick up a different model PSP.

[JayVe]

"As you probably know, the current situation of Wii cannot be defined as healthy,"

I fully respect when a company president can stand up and tell the truth without trying to spin a yarn of excuses.

[Chris_D]

I wanted to mention somewhere that the data only includes a single day of PSP Go sales compared to a full 7 days of PSP-3000 sales, but I was trying to keep the wall of text down in size. Still, it's impressive that the PSP-3000 numbers were up 6% over the previous week despite the release of a new PSP platform.

I'm a bit concerned that if the PSP Go sells in appreciable numbers it will be more difficult to monitor the success of PSP releases. Unlike the PS3, you know that PSP Go owners will be buying 100% of their games on PSN (until someone cracks it for piracy at least, and Japanese PSP owners aren't that big on piracy).

[Gorvi]

I'm seriously surprised that OJG hasn't posted congratulating Sony on week over week growth with PS3 sales since he's been so quick to point out every week how the sales of the PS3 have dropped ever so slightly since the release of the Slim. It must be a small oversight, I'm sure.