Price cut gives Vita sales surge, but 3DS stays top, Layton 6 debuts
Posted 06 Mar 2013 at 18:58 by Aaron Clegg
In a sick and twisted turn of events that suggests new games lead to more sales, a spate of new releases has left the Japanese charts looking their least terminally ill in ages.
Topping the software chart is the eighth main iteration of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, whilst the sixth Professor Layton was close behind at number two. That game sold a fair bit more than its predecessor Miracle Mask, which was a 3DS launch title.
Famously dead PlayStation Vita had a price cut in Japan this week, and took advantage of it by coinciding a pair of big new releases. Sales subsequently flooded in.
It's all a bit weird seeing so many non-terrible sales, really. Take a look for yourself at the week of February 25th to March 3rd.
| Game/ Sales | Platform | Publisher | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dynasty Warriors 8 203,224 | PS3 | Koei Tecmo |
| 2 | Professor Layton and the Legacy of Civilization A 130,686 | 3DS | Level-5 |
| 3 | Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus: Otome Shoujotachi no Shoumei 94,324 | PSV | Marvelous |
| 4 | Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 88,386 | 3DS | Bandai Namco |
| 5 | Animal Crossing: New Leaf 73,615 / 2,739,654 | 3DS | Nintendo |
| 6 | Macross 30: Ginga o Tsunagu Utagoe 63,089 | PS3 | Bandai Namco |
| 7 | Phantasy Star Online 2: Special Package 61,227 | PSV | Sega |
| 8 | Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance 60,394 / 369,075 | PS3 | Konami |
| 9 | Shining Ark 54,837 | PSP | Sega |
| 10 | Dragon Quest VII: Fighters of Eden 46,878 / 1,135,220 | 3DS | Square-Enix |
| 11 | Touch Detective: Nameko Shigeru 28,367 | 3DS | Success |
| 12 | D.C.III Plus 12,444 | PSP | Kadokawa |
| 13 | New Super Mario Bros. 2 10,208 / 1,942,364 | 3DS | Nintendo |
| 14 | Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Best Price!) 9,177 / 244,642 | 3DS | Capcom |
| 15 | Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition 7,737 / 413,787 | Wii | Bandai Namco |
| 16 | Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational 7,616 / 184,192 | PSV | Sony |
| 17 | Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb 5,983 / 435,146 | 3DS | Bandai Namco |
| 18 | Magi: The Labyrinth of Beginning 5,815 / 35,217 | 3DS | Bandai Namco |
| 19 | Mario Kart 7 5,307 / 1,988,455 | 3DS | Nintendo |
| 20 | Fantasy Life 5,236 / 241,576 | 3DS | Level-5 |
The Vita price cut sent Sony's handheld surging up the software chart, but the company will be disappointed it couldn't knock 3DS off the top; itself having a comparatively tiny rise on last week. Wii U bobbed up above the 10k mark, but suffered the ignominy of being over-taken by PSP anyway.
| System | This week's sales | Last week's sales | Life-to-date sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nintendo 3DS | 77,439 | 74,729 | 10,764,295 |
| 2 | PlayStation Vita | 62,543 | 11,456 | 1,294,407 |
| 3 | PlayStation 3 | 25,725 | 18,529 | 9,081,744 |
| 4 | PlayStation Portable | 11,171 | 8,981 | 19,783,093 |
| 5 | Wii U | 10,021 | 9,633 | 801,027 |
| 6 | Wii | 1,383 | 1,317 | 12,658,837 |
| 7 | Xbox 360 | 486 | 473 | 1,620,893 |
