This week’s Media Create software chart is one of the most exciting we’ve seen this year, with no fewer than eight new titles in the top ten.

What’s particularly interesting is the wide range of genres and consoles represented by these best-selling games. The Xbox 360 gets some much needed attention from the Japanese audience with the release of Gears of War 3 - Microsoft’s heavy-hitter sold 56 113 copies during its opening week, slotting in at number four on the chart.

Meanwhile, a couple of highly artistic and philosophical products occupy the top two spots - Dark Souls and the ICO / Shadow of the Colossus Collection. The former sold 279 567 copies during its opening week, which is more than Demon’s Souls lifetime sales in Japan! Team Ico’s revolutionary duo also fared very well, selling 91 902 copies during the latest accounting period.

It’s worth mentioning that neither of these games have had a huge presence on the Japanese PlayStation Store of late, with just a few promotional videos (PVs) available for each one.

There’re plenty of ‘anime babes’ nesting in this week’s chart. Well, at least that’s what I found when researching what kind of games Senran Kagura: Shoujotachi no Shinei (3DS), Busou Shinki: Battle Masters Mk. 2 (PSP) and To Heart 2 DX Plus (PS3) were. The 3DS ninja side-scroller Senran Kagura seems particularly titillating, proving that Nintendo’s handheld is just as popular among Japanese adults as it is with children.

In terms of hardware representation, PS3 leads the pack with four titles in the top ten, PSP comes in second with two games, and Xbox 360, 3DS and Wii share one title apiece.

Feel free to have a peek at this week’s hardware chart where the 3DS once again dominated the rest of the field.

Software Chart

• [NEW] Dark Souls (From Software) - PS3 - 279 567
• [NEW] ICO / Shadow of the Colossus Limited Box (SCE) - PS3 - 91 902
• [NEW] Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tag Force 6 (Konami) - PSP - 64 350
• [NEW] Gears of War 3 (Microsoft Game Studios) - Xbox 360 - 56 113
• Dragon Quest 25th Anniversary: Famicom & Super Famicom Dragon Quest I-II-III (Square Enix) - Wii - 54 775
• [NEW] Senran Kagura: Shoujotachi no Shinei (Marvelous Entertainment) - 3DS - 52 206
• [NEW] Busou Shinki: Battle Masters Mk. 2 (Konami) - PSP - 32 318
• [NEW] To Heart 2 DX Plus (Aqua Plus) - PS3 - 24 429
• Tales of Xillia (Bandai Namco) - PS3 - 22 484
• [NEW] Champion Jockey: Gallop Racer & G1 Jockey (Koei Tecmo) - Wii - 18 281

Source: Media Create