14 DAY TRIAL // Media Create has revealed the results for both videogame and hardware charts for the Japanese market for the week ending on May 3 and it seems that Sony has reason to be happy about the way its gaming devices are doing on its home market, as the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 3 have edged past their Nintendo rivals for the first time in quite a while.
The big surprise of the week is that the PSP, the handheld produced by Sony, has managed to sell 49,600 units, which is 500 more than the 49,100 that have been moved to gamers by the Nintendo DS, which used to top the charts.
If we take into account the new model DSi, which is counted separately and sold 7,500, then the Nintendo handheld is still number one. The big boost for the PSP probably came from the release of Persona, one of the best received franchises in Japan.
The PlayStation 3 continues to solidify its hold of third place, with about 23,600 consoles sold, while the Nintendo Wii is not able to mount a challenge, selling about 2,000 system less. The Microsoft made Xbox 360 sold a little over 7,000 consoles, while the PlayStation 2 is last, as 5,500 units were bought.
As far as videogames go, the best seller of the week is the PlayStation Portable remake of the original Persona title. The Japanese role playing game has managed to top the chart with a little over 79,000 copies sold in its debut week. Second place has been occupied by Dragon Ball Kai: Saiyajin Raishuu for the Nintendo DS, which sold 74,300 games. WarioWare Myself, also for the DS, sits in third place, with sales of 56,200. Jikkyou Powerful Major League 2009 for the PS2 is fourth, while Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon is fifth.