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Japan game charts: August 7-13

New Super Mario Bros. leaps back to number one; popular user-made game debuts at number three.

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After a short-lived shakeup in Japanese software sales that saw two shocking changes--the Nintendo DS dethroned from the top slot and the exit of Brain Age from the top 10--this week brings a return to the status quo.

SD Gundam G Generation Portable, last week's top game, tumbled hard to number eight, while New Super Mario Bros. is back in the top slot, according to the latest data from Media Create. Proving it still has some fight left in it, Brain Age clawed its way to seventh after dipping off the charts last week. Animal Crossing: Wild World also charmed its way back onto the top 10 after a brief hiatus, appearing at number six.

As for the week's brand-new games, arguably the biggest news this week is Ecole Software's 2D fighting game Melty Blood: Act Cadenza, which debuted at number three. Melty Blood is notable in that it is a creation of Japan's "doujin circles"--which are groups of enthusiasts who collaborate to create products that often end up rivaling the quality of professional products. Melty Blood began life as a doujin title on the PC but was later ported to the NAOMI arcade board. The PlayStation 2 version has sold 64,980 copies in its first week, more than 92 percent of its existing supply, according to Media Create.

As for games that missed the top 10, Mario Hoops 3 on 3 quietly dropped to number 11, while Rhythm Tengoku, the Game Boy Advance collection of rhythm minigames from the maker of WarioWare, dropped to 14th. Star Fox Command also slipped a few places, ending up at number 17.

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