Capcom’s Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G for the PSP topped the Japanese software chart for the week ending the 30th of March. It stormed the Japanese gaming scene, selling a whopping 880 000 copies in its opening week. This figure is comparable to Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s first week of sales which totaled 820 000 copies and then went on to sell 1 million copies in the first 11 days of its release in Japan.

Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G is the latest installment in the hugely popular Monster Hunter series. It was released in Japan on the 27th of March along with a hardware bundle. Capcom has confirmed that this expansion to Monster Hunter Portable 2 is the fastest in the series to become a million seller when it shipped over 1 million units in six days in Japan. Capcom also confirmed that the Monster Hunter series has sold 6.3 million units to date since the first title was released in 2004 for the PS2.

Milestones

Now in its second week on the chart, last week’s number 1 Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage for the Nintendo DS drops one place to number 2 with 106 000 copies. Namco Bandai’s Mobile Suit Gundam 00 for the Nintendo DS enters the chart at number 3 with 49 000 copies.

Nintendo’s Wii Fit is still keeping up the pace and moves up one spot to number 4 with 42 000 copies. It is interesting to note that Wii Fit has almost reached the 2 million sales mark, its life-to-date sales currently stand at 1.794 million. Namco Bandai’s Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion: Lost Colors for the PSP debuts at number 5 with 34 000 copies while the PS2 version enters the chart at number 7 with 30 000 copies.

Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl continues to be popular, moving up one place to sixth with 34 000 copies. Super Smash Bros. Brawl has now passed Super Smash Bros. Melee in Japan. Brawl was released on the 31st of January 2008 and its life-to-date sales stand at 1.524 million as at the 30th of March while Japan-Game Charts confirm that Melee (released on the 21st of November 2001) has chalked up life-to-date sales of 1.349 million as at the 31st of December 2006.

Hudson’s Deca Sporta for the Wii tumbles six places to number 8 with 29 000 copies and EA’s SimCity DS 2: From the Past to the Future drops five positions to number 9 with 25 000 copies. Banpresto’s Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Cinema Land for the Nintendo DS drops two places to number 10 with 19 000 copies.

New entries and tumblers

There were four new entries into the top ten this week which means four titles took a tumble. Nintendo’s DS Beautiful Letter Training for the Nintendo DS dropped from last week’s number 9 to number 13 while last week’s number 10 Konami’s Time Hollow: Seeking the Lost Past, also for the Nintendo DS, finished in fourteenth place this week. The PS3 version of From Software’s Armored Core for Answer plummeted from last week’s number 3 to number 17 and Namco Bandai’s Tales of Rebirth for the PSP suffered a similar fate by falling 22 places to number 28.

There were five new entries into the top thirty this week. D3 Publisher’s Vitamin X Evolution for the Nintendo DS entered at number 11, Marvelous Entertainment’s Lux Pain for the Nintendo DS at number 15 and ArcSystemWorks’ Guilty Gear Accent Core Plus for the PSP at number 16. Takara-Tomy’s Home Teacher Hitman Reborn! DS: Vongole Battle Dice is new at number 19 and Minato Station’s Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de: Otsukae Nikki for the PS2 enters the chart at number 21.

Predictions

Looking ahead to next week, Mario Kart Wii will go in sale in Japan on the 10th of April. There is no doubt that the next iteration in the Mario Kart series will cause a spike in both software and hardware sales. Mario Kart DS was first released in Japan on the 8th of December 2005 and according to Japan-Game Charts it sold 224 411 copies in its first week with its life-to-date sales standing at a massive 2.88 million. The game’s continued popularity is demonstrated by the title still making a regular appearance in the top thirty of the software chart, last week it was number 21 and this week it weighs in at number 22.

Turning now to consider hardware sales, last week the Nintendo DS beat the PSP. However, if we take a look at the Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G software sales and take into account that the game was bundled with a PSP, it is inevitable that the PSP will beat the Nintendo DS this week in the hardware race. Apart from MHP2G, the PSP had one other top ten title and three top thirty titles.

The Nintendo DS is likely to beat the Wii to second place this week, its sales driven by the latest Pokémon game which is now in its second week as well as another three titles in the top ten and eleven titles featuring in numbers 11 through thirty. Expect strong sales from the Wii with Wii Fit, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Deca Sporta still selling well in the top ten while Wii Sports and Wii Play are still featuring in the top thirty at numbers 12 and 18 respectively.

With only two PS3 titles in the top thirty, the PS3 is likely to drop in sales. From Software’s Armored Core for Answer is down from number 3 to 17 and Sega’s Yakuza 3 is down from number 14 to 23. The PS2, however, will all in probability experience a slight bump in its sales this week thanks to one title in the top ten and another two titles in the top thirty. The Xbox 360 had no titles in the top thirty so its sales will continue their downward trend.

Software Chart

Source: Media Create