Everyone’s eyes have been glued on this week’s chart results because of the long awaited release of Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 in Japan. The PS3 version clearly dominated with an impressive 319 000 copies placing it squarely at number 1 on the Japanese software chart. The Xbox 360 version also performed well, debuting at number 3 with 79 000 copies. That’s a total of 398 000 copies of Resident Evil 5 sold in Japan in the opening week!

The latest figures from Media Create also show that Sega’s Seventh Dragon for the DS debuts in second place this week with 80 000 copies, bringing the total number of new entries this week to six. Koei’s Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid for the PSP tumbles to fourth place with 63 000 copies after entering the charts at number 2 last week.

Sega’s Yakuza 3 for the PS3 slips from first to fifth place this week, selling just 53 000 copies in comparison to last week’s massive opening of 372 000. Nintendo’s Mario & Luigi RPG for the DS moves down three spots to number 6 with 44 000 copies while Tecmo’s Aibou DS is new at number 7 with 43 000 copies.

Namco Bandai’s Super Robot Taisen Z Special Disc for the PS2 debuts in eighth with 28 000 copies while Capcom’s Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Best) for the PSP proves it still has what it takes at number 9 with 17 000 copies. Konami’s Tennis no Oji-Sama: Doubles no Oji-Sama – Girls, Be Gracious for the DS is the last of this week’s new entries, new at number 10 with 14 000 copies.

The titles that tumble out of the Top 10 this week include four titles that debuted in the top last week. One Piece Episode 2 at number 12, Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou 2 at number 15, Shounen Sunday x Shounen Magazine Nettou! Dream Nine at number 17 and King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match which drops out of the top 30 completely.

Wii Fit drops one place to number 11 while last week’s number 9, Taiko no Tatsujin Wii, moves down to number 12 and Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope, topples to number 24.

Last week hardware sales of the PS3 were boosted by the release of Yakuza 3, which topped the software chart with 372 000 copies. The PS3 outsold the DSi, PSP and Wii with 36 513 units. The impressive PS3 sales of Resident Evil 5, combined with the solid performance of Yakuza 3, seems to indicate that we may see a repeat of last week with the PS3 taking the crown as the best selling console in Japan for a second week in a row. Tune back in tomorrow for the official hardware results.

Top 10 Software Chart

• Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) - PS3 – 319 000 (New)
• Seventh Dragon (SEGA) – NDS – 80 000 (New)
• Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) – Xbox 360 – 79 000 (New)
• Shin Sangoku Musou MULTI RAID (KOEI) – PSP – 63 000
• Yakuza 3 (SEGA) – PS3 – 53 000
• Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (Nintendo) – NDS – 44 000
• Aibou DS (Tecmo) – NDS – 43 000 (New)
• Super Robot Taisen Z Special Disc (Namco Bandai) – PS2 – 28 000
• Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (Capcom) – PSP – 17 000
• Tennis no Oji-Sama: Doubles no Oji-Sama - Girls, Be Gracious! (Konami) – NDS – 14 000 (New)

Source: Media Create