Big in Japan: Aug. 31-Sept. 5: PS3 Slim sells 151,000

As part of the NPD Group's monthly US retail sales report yesterday, Sony announced that PlayStation 3 sales have jumped 300 percent at top retailers since the $299 120GB Slim went on sale late last month. Unsurprisingly, that trend has held true in Japan, as well.

Following the PS3 Slim's unveiling at GamesCom 2009, Media Create reports that Sony's console shifted an impressive 151,783 units for the week of August 31-September 5. That figure was slightly higher than the 150,832 units Famitsu publisher Enterbrain announced earlier in the week.

Namco Bandai's Mobile Suit Gundam: Battlefield Record U.C. 0081 had the benefit of launching alongside the PS3 Slim, taking the top slot with 178,000 units sold on the week. A trio of DS titles followed, with Nintendo's Tomodachi Collection (87,000) edging out Square Enix's Dragon Quest IX (50,000) and Konami's Love Plus (46,000). Nintendo's Wii Sports Resort sold an additional 43,000 units during the week, while fellow Wii title Monster Hunter 3 shifted 22,000 units.

Level 5's Sloane and MacHale's Mysterious Story 2 debuted on the DS with 19,000 units, and Nintendo's forthrightly titled You'll Incur Losses if You Remain Ignorant: How Money and Things Work on the DS sold 16,000. Perennial charter Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on the PSP and Spike's 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de for the PS3 rounded out the week's software chart with 15,000 units apiece.

As for the remainder of the hardware sales, the DS and DSi combined for 68,728 units during the first week of September. The PSP got the better of the Wii, selling 22,184 units to 21,557. With Microsoft pulling the trigger on the Xbox 360's price cut on September 10, the console sold 8,309 units during the August 31-September 5 accounting period. Sony's stalwart PlayStation 2 brought up the rear with 3,001 units sold.

Week of August 31-September 5, 2009
Software:
1) Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record U.C. 0081 (PS3) - 178,000
2) Tomodachi Collection (DS) - 87,000
3) Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Starry Sky (DS) - 50,000
4) Love Plus (DS) - 46,000
5) Wii Sports Resort (Wii) - 43,000
6) Monster Hunter 3 (Wii) - 22,000
7) Sloane and MacHale's Mysterious Story 2 (DS) - 19,000
8) You'll Incur Losses if You Remain Ignorant: How Money and Things Work (DS) - 16,000
9) Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP) - 15,000
10) 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de (PS3) - 15,000

Hardware:
PS3 - 151,783
DSi - 60,419
PSP - 22,184
Wii - 21,557
DS Lite - 8,309
Xbox 360 - 6,827
PS2 - 3,001