14 DAY TRIAL // The Nintendo 3DS handheld has managed to again get the top position in the Japanese hardware sales chart for the week that ended on July 3, according to the data compiled by tracking firm Media Create, mainly because of the launch of the handheld version of Tales of the Abyss, a well-known role-playing game.
The Nintendo 3DS has managed to sell 30,233 units during the week, which is not a huge improvement over the numbers of the previous week but was enough to be better than the 29,871 units that were delivered to gamers by the PlayStation Portable from Sony.
It's not clear whether the 3DS has the staying power to keep the number one position once interest in the new game launch vanishes.
The PlayStation 3 home console from Sony has managed to sell 26,441 home consoles in order to keep third position in the hardware chart while the Nintendo Wii has also had a good week and managed to reach 12,423 in sales, significantly more than during the previous seven day period.
The old DS consoles have not managed to get above the 5,000 units sales marks while the PSP Go has managed to sell just 7 devices during the week.
The Japanese mobile version of Tales of the Abyss, the role-playing game from Namco Bandai, has managed to top the video game chart on its first week on sale, selling 74,173 copies.
A localization of the game for Western markets is set to launch before the end of the year.
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition for the PlayStation 3 has managed to take the second place in the chart with 54,926 units in sales while To Heart 2 Dungeon Travelers took third place.
The rest of the top ten is made up of: GoldenEye 007, Danball Senki, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Meruru no Atelier: Arland no Renkinjutsushi 3, Steins; Gate, Mashiroiro Symphony Mutsu-no-Hana and Test Drive Unlimited 2.