14 DAY TRIAL // Sony must be glad to get some good news, seeing how the company has been battered by falling hardware sales and reports of losses. On the Japanese home market, the company has seen the PlayStation brand managing to sell more than the Nintendo and Microsoft rivals, which is quite a feat.
The PlayStation Portable sold almost 60,000 units in one week, despite the fact that there were no important videogame releases for the platform. The increase of about 24,000 in sales is due to the launch of the Radiant Red and Vibrant Blue models of the handheld. More color options, including Bright Yellow and Spirited Green, are coming in Japan on March 19. Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS sold just 43,342 units, most of them DSi, seeing a drop of about 4,000 in the numbers compiled by Media Create.
The PlayStation 3 was the second best selling hardware platform and the best sold home gaming console, seeing sales going up by 3,000 units to a high mark of 39,835. The main reason for the increase has been the release of Resident Evil 5, which is known as BioHazard on the Japanese market.
At the same time, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii were almost tied, with sales of 14,994 and, respectively, 16,560. The PlayStation 2 sold in the same week just 4,954 consoles.
As anyone could predict, Resident Evil 5 is the best sold videogame in Japan, moving no less than 400,000 copies in its debut week. Initial sales are better than those of Resident Evil 4 but smaller than those Resident Evil 2 and 3 posted on the first PlayStation gaming console.
7th Dragoon from SEGA, for the Nintendo DS, is the second fastest selling title in the chart, with 80,000 copies bought by players during last week. Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid for the PSP is at number three, with only 64,000 units sold.