In Japan

Sep 7, 2009 09:23 GMT  ·  By

For the second week in a row, sales of the PlayStation 3 have fallen sharply on the Japanese market, as supply is dwindling and buyers are keeping their money in their pockets, getting ready to buy the PlayStation 3 Slim, with its sleek profile and its lower price, once it is widely available on sale.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo DSi continues to be the best sold hardware gaming device, with games for it dominating the software top ten.

The DSi has managed to sell 59,881 units, which is more than double the 26,081 managed by its closest rival, the Sony made PlayStation Portable. Part of the drop on the Sony side might be due to the fact that the launch date for the PSP Go!, the new device which lacks a UMD slot and will be getting most of its content via the PlayStation Network, is getting nearer.

Third spot in the hardware chart goes to the Nintendo Wii home console, which sold about 25,000 units and is well ahead of both the Xbox 360, which moved 7,254 units to gamers and the PlayStation 3, which is the last of the bunch with just 1,040 console moved to gamers. The PlayStation 2 did better, at 3,179 and the older DS Lite handheld still sold 7,304 devices.

When it comes to videogames, Tomodachi Collection continues to be the best sold, with 80,000 copies sold in one week, followed by Dragon Quest IX from Square Enix, which used to top the charts and is continuing to sell well with 71,000 in one week.

Wii Sports Resort for the Nintendo Wii is a distant third, with 46,000 units moved in one week but its position is being threatened by Dream Club from D3 Publisher for the Xbox 360 gaming console and by Monster Hunter 3 from Capcom, which sits in fifth place.