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Big in Japan Mar. 2-8: Resident Evil 5 infects 400,000

Capcom's multiplatform zombie shooter slays hometown crowd, as PS3 edition leads Xbox 360 counterpart by huge margin.

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The past few weeks have seen Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 dueling in Japan, with both consoles seeing chart-topping performances on the release of highly anticipated system exclusives. So what happens when both consoles receive the same sought-after title? The numbers speak for themselves, as the PS3 edition of Resident Evil 5--called BioHazard 5 locally--crushed its Xbox 360 counterpart, selling 319,000 units to 79,000.

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Neither system saw a particularly strong bump from Capcom's multiplatform title, though the PS3 did emerge as the best-selling console in Japan for the week of March 2-March 8, according to figures provided by Media Create. Sony's system sold 39,835 units during the seven-day period, followed by the Wii with 16,560 consoles, and the Xbox 360 at 14,994. The PSP posted the best hardware performance on the week, selling 59,568 units, while the DSi and DS Lite combined for 43,342.

Slotting in just above BioHazard 5 on the Xbox 360, Sega's Seventh Dragon debuted on the DS with 80,000 units. Koei's Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce for the PSP turned in another strong performance, selling 63,000 units while prior chart-topper Yakuza 3 for the PS3 sold 53,000 units.

Rounding out the bottom half of the chart, Nintendo's Mario & Luigi RPG 3 sold 44,000 units, Tecmo's Aibou DS debuted with 43,000 copies, Namco Bandai's Super Robot Taisen Z Special Disk moved 28,000 in its first week, Monster Freedom Unite sold 17,000, and Konami's Tennis no Oji-Sama: Doubles no Oji-Sama - Girls, Be Gracious finished with 14,000 units.

Week of March 2 - 8, 2009
Software:
1) BioHazard 5 (PS3) - 319,000
2) Seventh Dragon (NDS) - 80,000
3) BioHazard 5 (X360) - 79,000
4) Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce (PSP) - 63,000
5) Yakuza 3 (PS3) - 53,000
6) Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (NDS) - 44,000
7) Aibou DS (NDS) - 43,000
8) Super Robot Taisen Z Special Disc (PS2) - 28,000
9) Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP) - 17,000
10) Tennis no Oji-Sama: Doubles no Oji-Sama - Girls, Be Gracious (NDS) - 14,000

Hardware:
PSP - 59,568
PS3 - 39,835
DSi - 32,102
Wii - 16,560
Xbox 360 - 14,994
DS Lite - 11,240
PS2 4,954

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