14 DAY TRIAL // Media Create, the market research company that provides numbers for the Japanese videogame market, has released the figures for the week ending May 25, and they tell an interesting story regarding the fast approaching summer season and videogames.
The PlayStation Portable is continuing to lose ground in terms of sales, after the incredible success that the handheld has enjoyed since the launch of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, a game that has a very dedicated following in Japan. It managed to move only around 65,000 units, with sales going down by 6,000 units.
Both the Nintendo gaming consoles enjoyed a surge in sales numbers, with the Wii going up by 7,500 to pass 49,000 units in sales. The Nintendo DS also went up by 2,500 units to just over 37,000. There are signs that the Nintendo pair might, in a few weeks, regain the two top spots in the hardware sales chart.
The PlayStation 3 gaming console sold a bit over 9,000 units, reporting an increase of over 1,000 consoles. The PlayStation 2 sold more than 7,100 units, while the Microsoft Xbox 360 sold 1,947 consoles in Japan over the same period.
Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team! from Sega is the best sold videogame in Japan, managing to move more than 59,000 copies for the Nintendo DS. The above mentioned Monster Hunter Portable is still number 2 in sales, with Mario Kart Wii taking third spot over Wii Fit, which is apparently on a downturn after taking the island by storm. A game called Glory of Hercules for the DS is fifth in the videogame sales chart.
It seems that hardware and videogame sales will likely continue on a downward path this summer, while fall will see the release of several major videogame titles for all platforms, which will again take sales up as the holiday season shopping frenzy is fast approaching.