Big in Japan April 23-29: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Despite the lukewarm critical reception surrounding the spin-off Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Japan has paid no heed, with the PlayStation 3 version of the title sitting at first place on the recent Media Create sales update. The PS3 version of the game sold 252,525 units, while the Xbox 360 version was also in the top 10, with 16,285 units sold.

Zombie killing trumped life simulations and baby-making RPGs in Japan.

The PlayStation Vita also saw a significant bump this week, with a title in the top 10 for the first time since Gravity Daze and Tales of Innocence R. The PS Vita's Ciel Nosurge: Ushinawareta Hoshi e Sasagu Uta was at fourth place, with 33,324 units sold. The game is classified as a life simulator, with elements of a dating simulation and visual novel.

Players are tasked with taking care of a girl called Ion, who lives inside their PS Vitas. At the same time, the title implements a cloud-share system, where data from all players affects the narrative progression of the game. This hybrid title is developed by Gust, which is known for the Atelier series.

The PSP role-playing game Conception: Please Have My Children made its mark on the top 10 list at fourth place with 29,846 units sold. The game places players in the role of a student given the task of conceiving children with 12 "star maidens" to save the world of Granvania. The game asks players to create a party of up to 13 star children, each with his or her own different class types and skill sets.

Nintendo's Mario Party 9 also made its debut high on the top 10 list, claiming second place, with 152,883 units sold. Dynasty Warriors Vs. for Nintendo's 3DS also made its debut on the list, with the action title coming in at 10th place, with 15,578 units sold.

Otherwise, the usual suspects from the 3DS side were still around. Fire Emblem: Kakusei was still standing strong at third place, with 60,313 units sold. Super Mario 3D land was at ninth place, with 15,696 units sold.

Thanks to Gust's life-simulation title, PS Vita units experienced a surge in sales, going from 8,206 from the previous week to 12,299 units for the latest update. The PSP also saw a bit of a surge, thanks to new PSP titles, going from 11,779 units to 22,457 units. The 3DS, however, went down a little, to 74,282 units.

Top Japan game sales of April 23-29

Software
Rank/Title/Publisher/Platform/Unit sales
1. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City/Capcom/PS3/252,525
2. Mario Party 9/Nintendo/Wii/152,883
3. Fire Emblem: Kakusei/Nintendo/3DS/60,313
4. Ciel Nosurge: Ushinawareta Hoshi e Sasagu Uta/Gust/PS Vita/33,324
5. Conception: Please Have My Children!/Spike Chunsoft/PSP/29,846
6. Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling/5pb/PSP/24,849
7. Idolmaster Anime & G4U! Pack Vol. 7/Namco Bandai/PS3/17,314
8. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City/Capcom/Xbox 360/16,285
9. Super Mario 3D Land/Nintendo/3DS/15,696
10. Dynasty Warriors VS/Tecmo Koei/3DS/15,578

Hardware
3DS - 74,282
PSP - 22,457
PS3 - 21,114
PS Vita - 12,299
Wii - 9,200
PS2 - 1,395
Xbox 360- 1,327
DSi XL - 895
DSi - 717