Big in Japan May 16-22: Akiba's Trip

The long-running king of the Japanese charts has finally been dethroned by two new kids on the block. According to this week's sales chart on Media Create, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional is now at third place with 19,290 units sold, with the top two slots occupied by Akiba's Trip for the PSP and Dead or Alive: Dimensions for the 3DS.

The first-placed title is an action game where the main character is given the task to protect the Japanese electronics hub known as Akihabara against a rising vampire threat. Players will have to master the art of stripping their opponents down to their skivvies and exposing their bodies to sunlight. Akiba's Trip has sold 58,150 units within its debut week.

Fighting game fans need no introduction to the Dead or Alive series. The 3D fighting game, which now features stereoscopic 3D in this portable rendition, has sold 23,078 units. Another newcomer on the list makes an appearance: the PSP role-playing game Gungnir has sold 16,355 units and is now residing at fourth place. This tactical RPG was developed by the team behind Yggdra Union and features a tactical gauge system, which allows players to change the battle turn order.

Other surprises on the list include Portal 2, debuting in Japan at sixth place with a respectable 8,942 units sold and the sudden drop of the two Haruhi Suzumiya titles. The PSP version of Reminiscences of Haruhi Suzumiya has dropped from fourth to 14th place with 3,758 units sold, while the PlayStation 3 version went from second to 17th place with 3,529 units sold.

On the hardware side of things, the PSP are 3DS are still the top-selling consoles in Japan, though the numbers aren't as big as in the past few weeks. The PSP has sold 30,463 units while the 3DS has sold 17,240 units.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF MAY 16-22
Software
Rank/Title/Publisher/Platform/Unit Sales
1. Akiba's Trip / Acquire / PSP / 58,150
2. Dead or Alive: Dimensions / Tecmo Koei / 3DS / 23,078
3. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional / Square Enix / DS / 19,290
4. Gungnir / Atlus / PSP / 16,355
5. Patapon 3 / Sony / PSP / 11,458
6. Portal 2 / Electronic Arts / PS3 / 8,942
7. Professional Baseball Spirits 2011 / Konami / PSP / 8,032
8. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 5,043
9. Pokemon Black/White / Nintendo / DS / 4,767
10. Steel Diver / Nintendo / DS / 4,583

Hardware
PSP – 30,463
3DS – 17,240
PS3 – 12,935
Wii – 6,269
DSi XL – 5,176
DSi – 4,938
Xbox 360 – 2,186
PS2 – 1,129
DS Lite – 158
PSP Go - 65