Latest installment of Nintendo's strategy RPG series leads the way as 3DS games take eight of top 10 spots on software sales chart.
After a rocky launch, the 3DS has begun to look a lot more like its successful predecessor. The most recent Media Create sales update brings the latest evidence of that, as the 3DS easily topped the hardware charts, selling more than five times as many systems as the next-best-selling hardware for the week of April 16 to April 22. On top of that, 3DS accounted for eight of the top 10 best-selling games of the week, led by Fire Emblem: Kakusei (Fire Emblem: Awakening in the West) with 242,600 units sold.
The latest Fire Emblem title focuses on the prince of the kingdom of Iris and his companions as they deal with the state of war in the game's narrative. Highlights in the game include the ability to have nearby allies tag-team attack enemies on the battlefield, new classes like the grandmaster and griffon knight, and the option to play the game in casual mode where permanent death is removed. Fire Emblem: Kakusei will also feature paid downloadable content including maps, new episodes, and units from previous games in the series.
Code of Princess was another new title that made its debut on the top 10. The game was below Fire Emblem: Kakusei with 19,554 units sold. In Code of Princess, each stage of the side-scrolling action title has multiple 2D layers for players to jump between. The game also has cooperative and competitive multiplayer.
Other than that, most of the top 10 list was populated by familiar faces from previous weeks' charts. Super Mario 3D Land climbed to third place with 14,491 units sold, while the latest Super Robot Taisen title for the PSP was just below with 13,560 units sold. Capcom's sole Monster Hunter title on the 3DS was at fifth place with 13,069 units sold, while Square Enix's latest Kingdom Hearts title was just below with 12,881 units sold.
The 3DS saw a slight increase in sales, topping the hardware chart with 84,760 systems sold. Otherwise, the rest of the systems' sales were mostly flat. The PS3 moved 16,390 units while the PSP sold 11,779 units. Sony's newest handheld, the PS Vita, trailed with 8,206 units sold.
Top Japan Game Sales of April 16-22
Software
Rank/Title/Publisher/Platform/Unit sales
1. Fire Emblem: Kakusei / Nintendo / 3DS / 242,600
2. Code of Princess / Agatsuma / 3DS / 19,554
3. Super Mario 3D Land / Nintendo / 3DS / 14,491
4. Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Taisen Z Saisei-hen / Namco Bandai / PSP / 13,560
5. Monster Hunter 3G / Capcom / 3DS / 13,069
6. Kingdom Hearts 3D / Square Enix / 3DS / 12,881
7. Kid Icarus: Uprising / Nintendo / 3DS / 10,915
8. Mario Kart 7 / Nintendo / 3DS / 10,892
9. Chou Rich Tamagotchi Puchi Puchi Omisecchi / Namco Bandai / 3DS / 8,453
10. Detective Conan: Prelude From the Past / Namco Bandai / DS / 8,312
Software
3DS - 84,760
PS3 - 16,390
PSP - 11,779
PS Vita - 8,206
Wii - 7,025
Xbox 360 - 1,282
PS2 - 1,172
DSi XL - 760
DSi - 516
Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.
Ps: I am, of course, pleased to hear that 3DS is continuing to sell by the truckloads, but - to return to my real agenda - when I look at the shelves at my local game-monger, I just can't spot the benefits as a consumer. They're mostly the kind of games that the DS and Wii get, both of which are slowly being out-phased. Is it similar in the States? (I'm Danish)
Ok, I gotta say this... Someone needs do to something about the cosmic chasm between what's being released in Japan and what's being released in the west. Don't get me wrong: I love my 3DS, but it's becoming increasingly annoying to read about all these awesome looking japanese titles and automatically assuming, that I'll never get to play any of it. To make matters worse - I'm European - we didn't even get Sakura Samurai for crying out loud. (I contacted Nintendo, and their explanation was, that it's just the way it is). Now, I'm just talking here, but I think that most mature gamers, who went out and bought a 3DS, are somewhat jp-enthusiastic. The undeniable jp-charm the 3DS offers - with its Miis, humor, mascots etc etc is something that we like. Our minds are open and our horizons wide - if not we'd just all buy Vitas. So please, developers/distributors, stop labelling us as a demograph which only wants sports- and mini-games, Ubisoft rubbish, sub-par console ports and the occasional Mario game. Just let us have a go... please? It has to start somewhere...
We all have to think about games alot... like what we're going to buy, what we're waiting to drop in price, what games we want for the future, etc... But we don't have to think about Vita.. We can just put it out of our minds
This just in: Vita and Wii fighting it out! Anyone else find it weird that the company that is know for "borrowing" a lot of its main ideas from others cannot seem to see why Nintendo is killing in the handheld department and keeps making the same mistakes?
Tat 3DS SALES just makes one wonder just how many units will be sold next week which is Golden Week for the Japanese.
hey 3ds isn't bad compare to the other handheld system out now. I was surprise at its graphics when I saw this fire emblem game.
Wow, 360 isn't popular in Japan. Also, seems like the Japanese prefer handhelds over consoles.
All I can say is: FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! FIRE EMBLEM! For the love of all video gamers, PLEASE BRING THIS TO NORTH AMERICA THIS YEAR!!!!!
Well this is starting to look like a list of decent games to come out....I sure miss the days that the Japanese games were dominate in the market, it seems like the Americanized games are made for people who can not play a hard game....just MHO.....
Code of Princess is a fun and funny fantasy brawler that's unfortunately hampered by technical issues.
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