Big in Japan Feb. 27-March 4: One Piece Kaizoku Musou

Anime pirates eating devil fruits while gaining abnormal powers was the flavor of the week of February 27 in Japan. One Piece: Kaizoku Musou topped the recent Media Create sales update chart, with 655,774 units sold.

The PlayStation 3 exclusive published by Namco Bandai and developed by Omega Force places gamers in the shoes of Straw Hat Pirates leader Monkey D. Luffy as he fights his way through recaps of the anime/manga's prominent story arcs. Other features in the brand-new title include alternate story modes featuring different controllable characters and an online co-op multiplayer.

Also making their debuts on the week in Japan were Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games 2012 for the 3DS and Great Battle Fullblast for the PSP. The former title sold 43,155 units, while the latter title sold 24,289 units. Great Battle Fullblast is a side-scrolling action game featuring playable characters from the Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Gundam series.

The recent 3DS installment of Harvest Moon secured third place for the week with 27,378 units sold. Square Enix received a special surprise as Theatrhythm Final Fantasy went up from 15th place on last week's charts to fifth place this week with 21,540 units sold. Tales of the Heroes Twin Brave went down from the top of the heap to the tail end of the top 10 with 12,358 units sold.

On the hardware side, there was a close fight for the top spot, with two systems pulling far ahead of the pack. The 3DS managed to stay atop the heap despite taking a slight dip with 70,744 units sold. Meanwhile, the PS3 saw a huge jump in sales due to the release of the One Piece title and sold 65,116 units for the week. Sony's other systems didn't fare as well, with the PSP and PS Vita selling 15,715 and 10,023 units, respectively.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 4

Software
Rank/Title/Publisher/Platform/Unit sales
1. One Piece: Kaizoku Musou / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 655,774
2. Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games 2012 / Nintendo / 3DS / 43,155
3. Harvest Moon: The Land of Origin / Marvelous AQL / 3DS / 27,378
4. Great Battle Full Blast / Namco Bandai / PSP / 24,289
5. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy / Square Enix / 3DS / 21,540
6. Mario Kart 7 / Nintendo / 3DS / 18,945
7. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generation / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 17,917
8. Super Mario 3D Land / Nintendo / 3DS / 16,142
9. Monster Hunter 3G / Capcom / 3DS / 15,836
10. Tales of the Heroes Twin Brave / Namco Bandai / PSP / 12,358

Hardware
3DS - 70,744
PS3 - 65,116
PSP - 15,715
PS Vita - 10,023
Wii - 8,111
Xbox 360 - 1,377
PS2 - 1,248
DSi XL - 810
DSi - 553