Capcom game dedicated to feline helpers sells a quarter million in chart-topping debut, doubles PSP sales week-over-week.

The Monster Hunter franchise is practically the embodiment of "Big in Japan," a fact bolstered by Media Create's Japanese sales figures for the week of August 23-29. The latest entry in the series, a PSP spin-off centered around the off-duty exploits of Monster Hunter's cat-like helpers, topped the charts with more than four times the sales of the second-place title.

Untrue statement: Monster Hunter's cat-like helpers pass judgment on people's souls with their trademark "Penance Stare."

MonHun Nikki: Poka Poka Ailu Mura sold 256,076 copies for the week, and helped move plenty of new PSP systems in the process. Sony's handheld sold almost exactly doubled its week-over-week sales total, topping the hardware charts with 55,112 units sold. The PS3 came in second despite selling less than half as many systems as its handheld counterpart, with Nintendo's trifecta of the DSi LL (DSi XL in the West), DSi, and Wii once again coming in third through fifth, respectively.

The PSP's hardware performance was no doubt also bolstered by the other two new release games to hit the top 10. Namco Bandai's Ace Combat: Joint Assault flew as high as second place on the charts, finishing the week with sales of 57,785, while Idea Factory's romantic adventure Hakuouki: Zuisouroku Portable landed in fifth with 24,469 sold. The PSP game arrived almost a year to the day after the original PlayStation 2 Hakuoki: Zuisouroku.

As for enduring sellers, Nintendo's Wii Party again showed its legs, coming in third with 54,673 copies sold, easily outpacing the previous week's best-seller, Another Century's Episode R. The Namco Bandai PS3 game was forced to settle for fourth place with 28,354 games sold. The bottom half of the top 10 also featured a number of familiar faces, from Level Five's Inazuma Eleven 3 DS games to Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Capcom's Sengoku Basara 3.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF AUGUST 23-29, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. MonHun Nikki: Poka Poka Ailu Mura / Capcom / PSP / 256,076
2. Ace Combat: Joint Assault / Namco Bandai / PSP / 57,785
3. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 54,673
4. Another Century's Episode R / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 28,354
5. Hakuouki: Zuisouroku Portable / Idea Factory / PSP / 24,469
6. Inazuma Eleven 3: Sekai e no Chousen!! Spark and Bomber/ Level Five / DS / 15,889
7. Super Mario Galaxy 2 / Nintendo / Wii / 11,977
8. Art Academy / Nintendo / DS / 10,301
9. Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X / Namco Bandai / PSP / 9,371
10. Sengoku Basara 3 / Capcom / PS3 / 8,834

Hardware:
PSP - 55,112
PS3 - 25,053
DSi LL - 19,010
DSi - 17,057
Wii - 15,989
DS Lite - 3,925
Xbox 360 - 2,665
PS2 - 1,358
PSP Go - 836

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Labor Day week sees massive wave of releases, including Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Otomedius Excellent, and the latest Dragon Age: Origins expansion.

Next Monday is Labor Day, a national holiday in the US and the traditional end of summer. And once the barbecues have cooled and the last cold beverage has been plucked from the cooler, the week will see the start of the end-of-the-year game flood.

Superhero fans will get a double-dose of games on Tuesday, when Warner Bros. releases Batman: The Brave and the Bold (DS, Wii) and Activision ships Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Xbox 360, DS, PlayStation 3, Wii). Unlike the dark and violent Arkham Asylum, the former title is geared to a younger audience, with a cel-shaded look and co-starring the caped crusader's longtime companion Robin. Meanwhile, the T for Teen-rated Shattered Dimensions will see four different versions of the famous webslinger trade blows and quip webslinger trade blows and quips with villains as he tries to reassemble a broken artifact.

Gamers will play as four incarnations of Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions.

Ubisoft is releasing two titles this week in two different genres. After a slight delay, the feint-focused World War II strategy title R.U.S.E. will arrive on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Those same platforms and the Wii will also receive HAWX 2, the sequel to the decently reviewed, Tom Clancy-branded air combat simulator.

Hockey fans will fans will also have a pair of games to choose from this week, both from Electronic Arts. NHL 11, the latest annual iteration of EA Sports' rink-and-puck franchise, will ship for the PS3 and X360 on Tuesday. The company is also releasing NHL Slapshot, a more arcade-style hockey game for the Wii.

The PSP will see a major release in the form of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, the newest installmentin the Square Enix'-Disney crossover franchise. The role-playing game lit up Japan's game software sales charts upon its debut in January, selling some 445,000 units within its first week on the market.

Fans of more bizarre Japanese games can sample the Xbox 360-exclusive Otomedius Excellent. Konami's hybrid game combines Gradius-style side-scrolling space warfare and combines it with visuals of exaggeratedly proportioned, attractive anime girls.

Otomedius Excellent is…excellent?

For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 (LABOR DAY)
Photo World DSi--DS--Puzzle--Interworks Unlimited, Inc.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
101-in-1 Sports Megamix--DS--Puzzle--Atlus
Aion: Assault on Balaurea--PC--Role-Playing--NCsoft
Batman: The Brave and the Bold--DS, WII--Action--Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Brunswick Cosmic Bowling--WII--Sports--CokeM Interactive
Dawn of Heroes--DS--Role-Playing--Majesco Games
Dragon Age: Origins - Witch Hunt--PC, PS3, X360--Role-Playing--Electronic Arts
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep--PSP--Role-Playing--Square Enix
Kung Fu Rider--PS3--Action--SCEA
Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy--DS--Adventure--MumboJumbo
NHL 11--PS3, X360--Sports--Electronic Arts
NHL Slapshot--WII--Sports--EA Sports
Otomedius Excellent--X360--Action--Konami
R.U.S.E.--PC, PS3, X360--Strategy--Ubisoft
Saints Row Diamond 2-Pack--X360--Puzzle--THQ
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions--X360, DS, PS3, WII--Action--Activision
The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff--MAC, PC--Puzzle--Electronic Arts
Tom Clancy's HAWX 2--PS3, X360--Action--Ubisoft
UFC 2010 Undisputed--PSP--Fighting--THQ

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Amnesia: The Dark Descent--PC--Adventure--Frictional Games
Plants vs. Zombies--X360--Strategy--PopCap

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
No releases scheduled

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Recettear--PC--Puzzle--Carpe Fulgur
Operation Barbarossa - The Struggle for Russia--PC--Strategy--Matrix Games

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot