14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that the fate of the Square Enix role playing title Dragon Quest IX and that of the Nintendo-made DSi handheld is linked, at least for the time being. Sales of the device have surged by about 17,000, as the RPG again topped the hardware chart in Japan.
The Nintendo DSi sold 87,936 units in the week that ended on August 16, managing to almost double the numbers posted by the closest competitor, another Nintendo-made device, the Wii.
The home console shipped 47,732 units in the same time frame, well ahead of the PlayStation Portable, which posted close to 40,000 units moved to gamers. Nintendo must be happy to see that the Wii has managed to overtake the Sony handheld.
Meanwhile, the Microsoft-made Xbox 360 sold 9,162 units, probably powered by the good sales that Gears of War 2 is seeing in Japan, which is more than the older DS Lite managed to move. The PlayStation 3 only sold 5,944, a little more than the PlayStation 2, as most gamers are probably waiting to snap up one of the new PS3 Slim consoles featuring a bigger hard drive.
With Dragon Quest IX selling 127,000 copies in one week, the software chart was pretty much a battle for second place. Tomodachi Connection from Nintendo, also coming for the DS, took second spot, with sales of 126,000 units moved in the same period, while Wii Sports Resort, for the Wii, managed to take third spot with 105,000 copies sold.
Monster Hunter Tri, from Capcom, sold another 93,000 units after topping the chart two weeks ago, and DS Gundam G Generation Wars from Namco Bandai for the PlayStation 2 fell to fifth spot after ruling the chart last week.