MC 2009-03-16 and Famitsu 2009-03-09: Things of Note

Based on the latest Famitsu hardware numbers...
PSP comparisons: After 223 weeks, PSP is where PS2 was at 175.2 weeks (July 8, 2003), where DS was at 98.5 weeks (October 19, 2006), and where GBA was at 150.6 weeks (February 5, 2004).

X360 comparisons: After 171 weeks, X360 is where GCN was at 16.5 weeks (January 2, 2002), where PS3 was at 34.7 weeks (July 6, 2007), and where Wii was at 5.0 weeks (December 31, 2006).

PS3 comparisons: After 123 weeks, PS3 is where PS2 was at 41.1 weeks (December 10, 2000), where PSP was at 62.3 weeks (February 14, 2006), where GCN was at 119.9 weeks (December 27, 2003), and where Wii was at 32.5 weeks (July 12, 2007).

Wii comparisons: After 120 weeks, Wii is where GBA was at 94.2 weeks (January 7, 2003), where DS was at 76.0 weeks (May 14, 2006), where PS2 was at 113.1 weeks (April 29, 2002), and where PSP was at 163.7 weeks (January 25, 2008).

DSi comparisons: After 20 weeks, DSi is where GBASP was at 41.0 weeks (November 23, 2003) and where DSL was at 12.8 weeks (May 26, 2006).

Based on the latest Media Create hardware numbers...
DS vs PSP: Weekly shares of 54.9 / 45.1 bring total shares to 68.6 / 31.4. If DS stopped selling and PSP continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 214.7 weeks (May 4, 2013).

X360 vs PS3: Weekly shares of 17.6 / 82.4 bring total shares to 24.7 / 75.3. If PS3 stopped selling and X360 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 363.7 weeks (March 11, 2016).

PS3 vs Wii: Weekly shares of 58.4 / 41.6 bring total shares to 27.3 / 72.7. This is the first time PS3 has outsold Wii four weeks in a row. At this week's rates PS3 catches up to Wii in 668.1 weeks (January 10, 2022). If Wii stopped selling and PS3 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 192.8 weeks (December 1, 2012).

Week over week, PS3 and X360 come down from RE5 bumps, DS and PSP bump up from new colors, and PS2 and Wii stay pretty flat.

After its 225th week, the combined DS systems have passed 26 million.



Through the first twelve weeks of the year, almost everything is down by some degree. Here's how the year-to-date year-over-year percents stand as of now.

Wii: -63.0%
DSL+DSi: -5.0%
PS2: -54.9%
PS3: -3.0%
PSP: -34.0%
X360: +207.0%

Home hardware: -41.2%
Portable hardware: -19.4%
Sum of all hardware: -29.0%


Famitsu Software Stuff

Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (3432) has now sold more than either previous game sold while in the Top 30, and has yet to drop from the Top 10.


One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 2 is performing similarly to the original. Its first week was lower, but its second and third weeks have been better.


Animal Crossing City Folk has finally fallen out of the Top 30 (for this week, at least), but Wild World at #25 maintains an Animal Crossing presence in the list. At the rate it's been selling recently, Wild World is probably 8 or 9 weeks from hitting 5 million.

UK - Resident Evil 5 Still Number One; Wheelman Debuts in 11th

Resident Evil 5 remained number 1 on the UK Top 40 Software Chart for the third straight week, despite a 51% drop in sales.

Wii Fit remained at number 2, while Street Fighter IV jumped from 7th to 3rd place. Wheelman debuted at number 11.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 appears at number 25.
Mario Kart Wii made a leap from number 25 to number 13, and Guitar Hero: World Tour rose 10 spots from 31 to 21.

Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 reappeared at number 22 in the charts, as did LittleBigPlanet at number 35.

Rank – Title – Publisher

1. Resident Evil 5 – Capcom
2. Wii Fit – Nintendo
3. Street Fighter IV – Capcom
4. Professor Layton and the Curious Village – Nintendo
5. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania – THQ
6. FIFA 09 – EA
7. Call of Duty: World at War – Activision Blizzard
8. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – Take 2
9. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Activision Blizzard
10. Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. – Ubisoft

11. Wheelman – Ubisoft
12. Wii Play – Nintendo
13. Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo
14. Killzone 2 – Sony
15. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training – Nintendo
16. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Sega
17. Ben 10: Alien Force – D3P
18. Grand Theft Auto IV – Take 2
19. Carnival: Funfair Games – Take 2
20. Sega Mega-Drive Ultimate Collection – Sega

21. Guitar Hero: World Tour – Activision Blizzard
22. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 – Konami
23. Halo Wars – Microsoft
24. My Fitness Coach – Ubisoft
25. Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 – EA
26. Singstar Queen – Sony
27. Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force – Disney
28. Empire: Total War – Sega
29. Sonic and the Black Knight – Sega
30. Puzzler Collection – Ubisoft

31. Mario Power Tennis – Nintendo
32. Need for Speed: Prostreet – EA
33. Afro Samurai – Atari
34. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 – THQ
35. LittleBigPlanet – Sony
36. Scrabble Interactive: 2009 Edition – Ubisoft
37. Mystery Case Files: Millionheir – Nintendo
38. Football Manager 2009 – Sega
39. Disney’s Bolt – Disney
40. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - LucasArts

Media Create Sales: 03/16 - 03/22 (Hardware)

System |  This Week  |  Last Week  |      YTD    |     LTD    
NDS    |     80,181  |     39,135  |    942,085  |  26,061,720 
PSP    |     65,765  |     43,463  |    645,718  |  12,003,821 
PS3    |     25,435  |     28,014  |    325,285  |   2,947,753 
WII    |     18,095  |     17,941  |    372,462  |   7,851,439 
360    |      5,441  |      8,378  |    139,680  |     969,117 
PS2    |      5,067  |      4,844  |     70,761  |  21,470,290
---------------------------------------------------------------
DSi    |     71,233  |     27,564  |    742,052  |   1,973,411
DSL    |      8,948  |     11,571  |    200,033  |  17,502,838

Media Create Sales: 03/16 - 03/22

01. [NDS] Super Robot Taisen K (Namco Bandai) 117,000 / NEW
02. [PS2] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2009 (Konami) 50,000 / NEW
03. [PS2] Amagami (Enterbrain) 42,000 / NEW
04. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (Nintendo) 39,000 / 428,000
05. [PS3] Musou Orochi Z (KOEI) 36,000 / 148,000
06. [PS3] Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) 29,000 / 410,000
07. [NDS] Rittai Picross 3D (Nintendo) 24,000 / 62,000
08. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (PSP the Best) (Capcom) 23,000 / 506,000
09. [WII] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Next (Konami) 22,000 / NEW
10. [PSP] Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid (KOEI) 19,000 / 335,000

11. [NDS] Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus (Enterbrain)
12. [NDS] Crayon Shin-Chan: Arashi wo Yobu - Nendororon Daihenshin! (Namco Bandai)
13. [PSP] Sarugetchu: Piposaru Senki (SCEI)
14. [PSP] Bokujou Monogatari: Sugar Mura to Minna no Negai (Marvelous)
15. [NDS] Kuroshitsuji: Phantom & Ghost (Square Enix)
16. [WII] Play on Wii: Pikmin 2 (Nintendo)
17. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo)
18. [PS3] Yakuza 3 (SEGA)
19. [PSP] Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life CS Edition (Prototype)
20. [PSP] Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 with Izayoiki Aizouban (KOEI)
21. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Namco Bandai)
22. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
23. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo)
24. [NDS] Aibou DS (Tecmo)
25. [PSP] Brandish: Dark Revenant (Nihon Falcom)
26. [NDS] 7th Dragon (SEGA)
27. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girl's Mode (Nintendo)
28. [PSP] Resistance: Retribution (SCEI)
29. [NDS] Tantei Jinguuji Saburo DS: Fuserareta Shinjitsu (Arc System Works)
30. [PSP] World Soccer Winning Eleven 12: PES 2009 (Konami)

UK - Resident Evil 5 Remains Dominant; Many New Games Debut

Resident Evil 5 has remained number 1 on the UK Top 40 software chart for the week ending March 21st, 2009, despite a 52% drop in sales.

After a strong debut, Capcom’s biggest launch ever remains ahead of Nintendo’s popular Wii Fit, which recently surpassed sales of Halo 3 in the United States with 6 million units, according to Kotaku.

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania debuted at number 4, as well as the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars at number 6.

Due to Mother’s Day Promotion of the turquoise DS Lite Starter Pack, Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training jumped from number 21 to number 8.

Former top 10 games such as Halo Wars and Empire: Total War dropped from 8 to 18 and 9 to 19, respectively.

Singstar Queen has appeared at number 22, Madworld at number 34, and MySims Party at 35.


Rank – Title – Publisher

1. Resident Evil 5 – Capcom
2. Wii Fit – Nintendo
3. Professor Layton and the Curious Village – Nintendo
4. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania – THQ
5. Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. – Ubisoft
6. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – Take 2
7. Street Fighter IV – Capcom
8. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training – Nintendo
9. FIFA 09 - EA
10. Call of Duty: World at War – Activision Blizzard

11. Killzone 2 – Sony
12. Puzzler Collection – Ubisoft
13. Wii Play – Nintendo
14. Ben 10: Alien Force – D3P
15. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Activision Blizzard
16. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Sega
17. My Fitness Coach – Ubisoft
18. Empire: Total War – Sega
19. Halo Wars – Microsoft
20. Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force – Disney

21. Sonic and the Black Knight – Sega
22. Singstar Queen – Sony
23. Grand Theft Auto IV – Take 2
24. Mario Power Tennis – Nintendo
25. Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo
26. Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection – Sega
27. Scrabble Interactive: 2009 Edition – Ubisoft
28. Carnival: Funfair Games – Take 2
29. SOCOM: US Navy Seals Confrontation – Sony
30. Mystery Case Files: Millionheir – Nintendo

31. Guitar Hero: World Tour – Activision Blizzard
32. Disney’s Bolt – Disney
33. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima – Nintendo
34. Madworld – Sega
35. MySims Party – EA
36. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga – LucasArts
37. Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures – LucasArts
38. 100 Classic Book Collection – Nintendo
39. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin – Warner Bros.
40. Mario Kart DS - Nintendo

Source: GfK Chart-Track

MC 2009-03-09 and Famitsu 2009-03-02: Things of Note

Based on the latest Famitsu hardware numbers...
PSP comparisons: After 222 weeks, PSP is where PS2 was at 174.1 weeks (June 30, 2003), where DS was at 98.2 weeks (October 16, 2006), and where GBA was at 149.8 weeks (January 31, 2004).

X360 comparisons: After 170 weeks, X360 is where GCN was at 16.4 weeks (January 2, 2002), where PS3 was at 34.2 weeks (July 2, 2007), and where Wii was at 5.0 weeks (December 31, 2006).

PS3 comparisons: After 122 weeks, PS3 is where PS2 was at 39.7 weeks (December 1, 2000), where PSP was at 61.3 weeks (February 7, 2006), where GCN was at 119.7 weeks (December 26, 2003), and where Wii was at 32.3 weeks (July 10, 2007).

I think that's an interesting combination. The X360/PS3 hardware numbers now are very much where the PS3/Wii hardware numbers were a year and a half ago.

Wii comparisons: After 119 weeks, Wii is where GBA was at 94.0 weeks (January 5, 2003), where DS was at 75.8 weeks (May 13, 2006), where PS2 was at 112.9 weeks (April 27, 2002), and where PSP was at 163.4 weeks (January 22, 2008).

DSi comparisons: After 19 weeks, DSi is where GBASP was at 39.5 weeks (November 13, 2003) and where DSL was at 12.6 weeks (May 25, 2006).

Based on the latest Media Create hardware numbers...
DS vs PSP: Weekly shares of 47.4 / 52.6 bring total shares to 68.6 / 31.4. At this week's rates, PSP catches up to DS in 3,259.4 weeks (September 2, 2071). If DS stopped selling and PSP continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 324.6 weeks (June 4, 2015).

X360 vs PS3: Weekly shares of 23.0 / 77.0 bring total shares to 24.8 / 75.2. If PS3 stopped selling and X360 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 233.8 weeks (September 7, 2013).

PS3 vs Wii: Weekly shares of 61.0 / 39.0 bring total shares to 27.2 / 72.8. This is the first time PS3 has outsold Wii three weeks in a row, unless you count the three weeks PS3 was out and Wii wasn't. At this week's rates PS3 catches up to Wii in 487.5 weeks (July 19, 2018). If Wii stopped selling and PS3 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 175.3 weeks (July 25, 2012).

Week over week, Wii's a little up, everything else is down. Though PS2's amount of down is tiny, and if DS was split into its component parts then DSL would be a little up, too.

Through the first eleven weeks of the year, almost everything is down by some degree. Here's how the year-to-date year-over-year percents stand as of now.

Wii: -62.5%
DSL+DSi: -6.9%
PS2: -55.3%
PS3: -7.0%
PSP: -36.9%
X360: +204.5%

Home hardware: -41.4%
Portable hardware: -21.9%
Sum of all hardware: -30.5%


Here's another way of looking at how things are down this year. I've taken the first eleven weeks of every year DS/PSP/X360/PS3/Wii started in, and ranked them.

DS 2007:1,719,595
Wii 2008: 944,254
DS 2008: 926,177
PSP 2008: 918,997
Wii 2007: 915,139
DS 2009: 861,904
DS 2006: 844,214
PSP 2007: 603,928
PSP 2005: 580,120
PSP 2009: 579,953
PSP 2006: 484,474
DS 2005: 429,545
Wii 2009: 354,367
PS3 2008: 322,510
PS3 2007: 316,475
PS3 2009: 299,850
X360 2009: 134,239
X360 2007: 71,632
X360 2008: 44,092
X360 2006: 28,750

We can note things like that while X360 is having by far its best start, it's also far lower than anything any other modern system has done. We can see that Wii is massively down from last year: last year's Wii start is the second best on the list, even topping most DS starts. However, even with Wii massively down, it's still doing slightly better than any PS3 year so far. PSP isn't having its worst year, but its performance is very similar to early 2005 when it was very new.


Famitsu Software Stuff

Another interesting week on the Famitsu Software Pie. It's very much like last week's, except that with Resident Evil 5, both PS3 and X360 take a bigger share. While not Wii's lowest week in the pie, I believe this is the first time both PS3 and X360 have been above it.

PS3: 32.0%
DS: 31.2%
PSP: 12.3%
X360: 9.1%
Wii: 8.8%
PS2: 6.3%
Other: 0.3%

PS3 Resident Evil 5 is the biggest first week for an RE game in the Garaph database; you'd have to go back to its PS1 heyday to find one bigger. Of course if you add in the sales of the X360 version, it's even greater. There are a lot of things to get jumbled in this mega RE image, but the PS3 one is the one rising above the rest at the far left (3455).


Yakuza 3's (3445) second week is still pretty good, but it loses some ground to Yakuza 2's (2540) bigger second week.


Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (3432) keeps trucking on. It's passed the point where Partners in Time (212) was when it fell out of the Top 30, though not quite the same point for the original (1150).


Game Center CX (Retro Game Challenge) 2 appears to be performing almost identically to... Game Center CX.


This is the first week since Animal Crossing: City Folk released that Animal Crossing: Wild World outsold it by a slight amount: 6,285 to 5,996. A line image wouldn't show very well, since Wild World has popped in and out of the Top 30 this year.

Media Create Sales: 03/09 - 03/15 (Hardware)

Hardware | This Week | Last Week |   YTD   |     LTD   
NDS      |    39,135 |    43,342 | 861,894 | 25,981,537
PSP      |    43,463 |    59,568 | 579,953 | 11,943,972
WII      |    17,941 |    16,560 | 354,367 |  7,833,268
PS3      |    28,014 |    39,835 | 299,850 |  2,922,278
360      |     8,378 |    14,994 | 134,239 |    964,779
PS2      |     4,844 |     4,954 |  65,694 | 21,465,218
--------------------------------------------------------
DSi      |    27,564 |    32,102 | 670,819 |  1,902,186
DSL      |    11,571 |    11,240 | 191,085 | 17,493,890

Media Create Sales: 03/09 - 03/15

01. [PS3] Musou Orochi Z (KOEI) 112,000 / NEW
02. [PS3] Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) 61,000 / 381,000
03. [NDS] Picross 3D (Nintendo) 38,000 / NEW
04. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (Nintendo) 38,000 / 389,000
05. [PSP] Shin Sangoku Musou MULTI RAID (KOEI) 33,000 / 316,000
06. [WII] Wii Play: Pikmin 2 (Nintendo) 29,000 / NEW
07. [PS3] Ryu ga Gotoku 3 (SEGA) 24,000 / 449,000
08. [NDS] Seventh Dragon (SEGA) 22,000 / 102,000
09. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (Capcom) 16,000 / 484,000
10. [PSP] Resistance Retaliation (SCE) 16,000 / NEW

11. [NDS] Aibou DS (Tecmo)
12. [360] Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)
13. [NDS] Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love Plus (Konami)
14. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo)
15. [NDS] Atelier Annie: Alchemist of Sera island (Gust)
16. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo)
17. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Namco Bandai)
18. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
19. [PSP] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami)
20. [PS2] Galaxy Angel II (Broccoli)
21. [WII] One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 2 - Mezameru Yuusha (Namco Bandai)
22. [PS2] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami)
23. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girl's Mode (Nintendo)
24. [NDS] Shounen Sunday x Shounen Magazine Nettou! Dream Nine (Konami)
25. [NDS] Pokémon Platinum (Pokémon)
26. [NDS] Tennis no Oji-Sama: Doubles no Oji-Sama - Girls, Be Gracious! (Konami)
27. [PS2] Super Robot Taisen Z Special Disc (Namco Bandai)
28. [PS2] Yakuza 2 (Playstation 2 The Best) (SEGA)
29. [360] Idolmaster Twins (Namco Bandai)
30. [WII] Sonic and the Black Knight (SEGA)

MC 2009-03-02 and Famitsu 2009-02-23: Things of Note

Based on the latest Famitsu hardware numbers...
PSP comparisons: After 221 weeks, PSP is where PS2 was at 172.6 weeks (June 19, 2003), where DS was at 97.7 weeks (October 13, 2006), and where GBA was at 149.0 weeks (January 25, 2004).

X360 comparisons: After 169 weeks, X360 is where GCN was at 16.3 weeks (January 1, 2002), where PS3 was at 33.1 weeks (June 25, 2007), and where Wii was at 4.9 weeks (December 30, 2006).

Note that X360 has now made it out of GameCube's first calendar year. Of course, where that precise point goes is impossible to say since we just have numbers from several days on either side of that year switch, buuuut for our purposes it's now.

PS3 comparisons: After 121 weeks, PS3 is where PS2 was at 36.1 weeks (November 6, 2000), where PSP was at 59.9 weeks (January 28, 2006), where GCN was at 119.4 weeks (December 24, 2003), and where Wii was at 31.8 weeks (July 7, 2007).

Last week PS3 was at 34.4 PS2 weeks, so it just moved forward by 1.7. This is one of the few times it's gone forward more than one PS2 week at a time, helped both by a Yakuza 3 bump and the PS2 shortages of late 2000.

Wii comparisons: After 118 weeks, Wii is where GBA was at 93.9 weeks (January 5, 2003), where DS was at 75.7 weeks (May 10, 2006), where PS2 was at 112.6 weeks (April 25, 2002), and where PSP was at 163.0 weeks (January 20, 2008).

DSi comparisons: After 18 weeks, DSi is where GBASP was at 37.9 weeks (November 2, 2003) and where DSL was at 12.5 weeks (May 25, 2006).

Based on the latest Media Create hardware numbers...
DS vs PSP: Weekly shares of 42.1 / 57.9 bring total shares to 68.7 / 31.3. This is the first time PSP has outsold DS since the release of the DSi. At this week's rates, PSP catches up to DS in 869.6 weeks (November 7, 2025). If DS stopped selling and PSP continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 236.9 weeks (September 22, 2013).

X360 vs PS3: Weekly shares of 27.3 / 72.7 bring total shares to 24.8 / 75.2. If PS3 stopped selling and X360 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 129.3 weeks (August 31, 2011).

PS3 vs Wii: Weekly shares of 70.6 / 29.4 bring total shares to 27.0 / 73.0. This is the first time PS3's weekly share has been over 70%. At this week's rates PS3 catches up to Wii in 211.4 weeks (March 28, 2013). If Wii stopped selling and PS3 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 123.5 weeks (July 21, 2011).

Week over week, PSP is way up, X360/PS3 are a little up, and PS2/DS/Wii are a little down.

Through the first ten weeks of the year, almost everything is down by some degree. Here's how the year-to-date year-over-year percents stand as of now.

Wii: -62.1%
DSL+DSi: -5.7%
PS2: -55.6%
PS3: -11.6%
PSP: -37.7%
X360: +197.2%

Home hardware: -42.2%
Portable hardware: -21.6%
Sum of all hardware: -30.7%


At 16,560, Wii has its worst week yet, beating its previous low of two weeks ago. The past three weeks are the only times Wii has been below 20K (in MC, anyway).

Famitsu Software Stuff

A very strange week on the Famitsu Software Pie. Usually DS sits in first place with a comfortable margin at the top. This week thanks to Yakuza 3, PS3 beats it. The last time PS3 sat on top was the week of Metal Gear Solid 4. On the other hand, X360 usually sits at the bottom, but thanks to continuing Star Ocean 4 performance and three new games in this week's Top 30, it's PlayStation 2 which for the first time is the lowest ranked among the systems that aren't lumped into "Other".

PS3: 27.3%
DS: 25.2%
PSP: 24.3%
Wii: 11.3%
X360: 6.4%
PS2: 5.3%
Other: 0.3%

Yakuza 3 (3445) is off to the biggest start the series has yet had. It's also one of the biggest Sega openings of the last decade in general. Among all their games as a third party, I only see two higher first weeks: Love & Berry's 425K first week in 2006 on DS, and VF4's almost-identical-to-Y3 357K in 2002 on PS2.


Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (3432) shows some surprising legs. Even with it being a far-from-holiday release as I've previously pointed out, its third week (56K) is bigger than the third week of either the original (25K) or the sequel (29K). Though it should be noted that the original didn't have its best week until its sixth week in late December (73K).

Resident Evil 5 Hits #1 in UK, Fastest Selling Game in Franchise History

Resident Evil 5 has made a strong debut at number 1 on the UK top 40 software charts, becoming the fastest selling title in the franchise’s history, and Capcom’s biggest launch to date.

About 4 million units shipped for launch, following about 4 million downloads of the demo, according to Gamasutra.

In the ever-shifting top-10 during an exciting month for game software, Wii Fit and Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. gained a rank, despite decreased sales of14% and 19%, respectively.

Last week’s leader, Empire: Total War, has fallen to number 8. Recently launched Killzone 2 dropped from number 2 to number 5, as well as Ensemble Studios’ final offering, Halo Wars, which dropped from 5th to 9th place.

SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Confrontation debuted at number 11, while newcomer Street Fighter IV has fallen from 7th to 13th place in software sales for the week ending March 14th, 2009. Sonic Team’s latest project, Sonic and the Black Knight, debuts at number 30.

01. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)
02. Wii Fit (Nintendo)
03. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. (Ubisoft (Romania))
04. Professor Layton And The Curious Village (Level 5)
05. Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games)
06. Fifa 09 (EA Canada)
07. Call Of Duty: World At War (Treyarch)
08. Empire: Total War (Creative Assembly)
09. Halo Wars (Ensemble Studios)
10. Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games (Sega)

11. Socom: Us Navy Seals Confrontation (Slant Six Games)
12. Ben 10: Alien Force (1st Playable)
13. Street Fighter Iv (Capcom)
14. Mario Power Tennis (Camelot)
15. Wii Play (Nintendo)
16. Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (1st Playable)
17. Disney's Bolt (Altron)
18. Grand Theft Auto Iv (Rockstar North)
19. Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (Backbone)
20. My Fitness Coach (Respondesign)

21. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo)
22. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Neversoft)
23. Need For Speed: Undercover (EA Black Box)
24. Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures (Traveller's Tales)
25. Carnival: Funfair Games (Cat Daddy)
26. Mystery Case Files: Millionheir (Big Fish Games)
27. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward)
28. The House Of The Dead: Overkill (Headstrong Games)
29. Puzzler Collection (Route 1 Games)
30. Sonic And The Black Knight (Sonic Team)

31. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
32. Tomb Raider: Underworld (Crystal Dynamics)
33. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami Digital Entertainment)
34. Football Manager 2009 (Sports Interactive)
35. F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin (Monolith)
36. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Traveller's Tales)
37. Halo 3 (Bungie)
38. Lego Batman: The Videogame (Traveller's Tales)
39. Silent Hill: Homecoming (Double Helix)
40. Mario Kart Ds (Nintendo)

Editor's Note: copy written by Matt

Media Create Sales: 03/02 - 03/08 (Hardware)

Media Create Sales: 03/02 - 03/08 (Hardware)
PSP 59,568
PS3 39,835
DSi 32,102
Wii 16,560
Xbox 360 14,994
DS Lite 11,240
PS2 4,954

Resident Evil 5 Zombifies Japan -- Sells Nearly 400k in First Week

Media Create Sales: 03/02 - 03/08 (Software)
01. [PS3] Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) 319,000 / NEW
02. [NDS] Seventh Dragon (SEGA) 80,000 / NEW
03. [360] Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) 79,000 / NEW
04. [PSP] Shin Sangoku Musou MULTI RAID (KOEI) 63,000 / 283,000
05. [PS3] Yakuza 3 (SEGA) 53,000 / 425,000
06. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (Nintendo) 44,000 / 351,000
07. [NDS] Aibou DS (Tecmo) 43,000 / NEW
08. [PS2] Super Robot Taisen Z Special Disc (Namco Bandai) 28,000 / NEW
09. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (Capcom) 17,000 / 467,000
10. [NDS] Tennis no Oji-Sama: Doubles no Oji-Sama - Girls, Be Gracious! (Konami) 14,000 / NEW

11. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo)
12. [WII] One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 2 - Mezameru Yuusha (Namco Bandai)
13. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Namco Bandai)
14. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo)
15. [NDS] Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou 2 (Namco Bandai)
16. [PSP] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami)
17. [NDS] Shounen Sunday x Shounen Magazine Nettou! Dream Nine (Konami)
18. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girl's Mode (Nintendo)
19. [PS2] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami)
20. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
21. [NDS] Pokémon Platinum (Pokémon)
22. [PS2] Yakuza 2 (Playstation 2 The Best) (SEGA)
23. [PS3] Demon's Souls (SCE)
24. [360] Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope (Square Enix)
25. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven (Level 5)
26. [PSP] Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 (Namco Bandai)
27. [NDS] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (Square Enix)
28. [NDS] Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo)
29. [NDS] Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! (Konami)
30. [NDS] Tongariboushi and the 365 Days of Magic (Konami)


The chart above reflects worldwide data as of 11/11/08 per Capcom's Investor Relations site. Article HERE.

UK - Empire: Total War Knocks Killzone 2 Off the Top

Creative Assembly’s new Empire: Total War, scoring 93 on Metacritic, has taken over the top spot this week on the UK Top 40 chart. Last week’s leader, Killzone 2, drops to number 2, and Halo Wars was pushed to number 5.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. debuted in the number 4 spot, right behind top-10 regular Wii Fit. Some notable drops are F.E.A.R. 2 – Project Origin from 20 to 31, and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II from 18 to 35.

Mario Power Tennis makes its first appearance at number 23. Along with last week, there is a lot of diversity of publishers at the top of the charts during this part of the year, with 9 different publishers in the top 10.

Rank – Title – Publisher

1. Empire: Total War – Sega
2. Killzone 2 – Sony
3. Wii Fit – Nintendo
4. Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. – Ubisoft
5. Halo Wars – Microsoft
6. Professor Layton and the Curious Village – Nintendo
7. Street Fighter IV – Capcom
8. FIFA 09 – EA
9. Call of Duty: World at War – Activision Blizzard

10. Ben 10: Alien Force – D3P
11. Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection – Sega
12. Disney’s Bolt – Disney
13. Silent Hill: Homecoming – Konami
14. Wii Play – Nintendo
15. Grand Theft Auto IV – Take 2
16. Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo
17. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Sega
18. Guitar Hero: World Tour – Activision Blizzard
19. Need for Speed: Undercover – EA

20. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Activision Blizzard
21. My Fitness Coach – Ubisoft
22. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training – Nintendo
23. Mario Power Tennis – Nintendo
24. Carnival: Funfair Games – Take 2
25. LittleBigPlanet – Sony
26. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Eidos
27. Football Manager 2009 – Sega
28. Puzzler Collection – Ubisoft
29. Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures – LucasArts

30. Halo 3 – Microsoft
31. F.E.A.R. 2 – Project Origin – Warner Bros. Interactive
32. The House of the Dead: Overkill – Sega
33. Lego Batman: The Videogame – Warner Bros. Interactive
34. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 – Konami
35. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – THQ
36. Mystery Case Files: Millionheir – Nintendo
37. Fallout 3 – Bethesda Softworks
38. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga – LucasArts
39. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 – THQ
40. Saints Row 2 - THQ

MC 2009-02-23 and Famitsu 2009-02-16: Things of Note

Based on the latest Famitsu hardware numbers...
PSP comparisons: After 220 weeks, PSP is where PS2 was at 171.7 weeks (June 13, 2003), where DS was at 97.4 weeks (October 11, 2006), and where GBA was at 148.3 weeks (January 20, 2004).

X360 comparisons: After 168 weeks, X360 is where GCN was at 16.2 weeks (December 31, 2001), where PS3 was at 31.8 weeks (June 15, 2007), and where Wii was at 4.8 weeks (December 30, 2006).

PS3 comparisons: After 120 weeks, PS3 is where PS2 was at 34.4 weeks (October 25, 2000), where PSP was at 58.8 weeks (January 20, 2006), where GCN was at 119.1 weeks (December 22, 2003), and where Wii was at 31.3 weeks (July 3, 2007).

PS3 and GCN streams have crossed again, for what should be the next-to-last time. GCN numbers were pretty poor from much past this point, so the next time PS3 gets ahead it should be for good.

Wii comparisons: After 117 weeks, Wii is where GBA was at 93.9 weeks (January 4, 2003), where DS was at 75.5 weeks (May 10, 2006), where PS2 was at 112.3 weeks (April 23, 2002), and where PSP was at 162.7 weeks (January 18, 2008).

DSi comparisons: After 17 weeks, DSi is where GBASP was at 36.0 weeks (October 19, 2003), and where DSL was at 12.4 weeks (May 24, 2006).

At this point early-DSL is pretty clearly pulling away from early-DSi.



Based on the latest Media Create hardware numbers...
DS vs PSP: Weekly shares of 57.2 / 42.8 bring total shares to 68.8 / 31.2. If DS stopped selling and PSP continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 397.0 weeks (October 9, 2016).

X360 vs PS3: Weekly shares of 24.4 / 75.6 bring total shares to 24.8 / 75.2. If PS3 stopped selling and X360 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 162.3 weeks (April 11, 2012).

PS3 vs Wii: Weekly shares of 67.1 / 32.9 bring total shares to 26.8 / 73.2. This is the highest weekly share PS3 has had versus Wii since Wii launched, though it has been over 60% on three previous occasions. At this week's rates PS3 catches up to Wii in 265.3 weeks (April 2, 2014). If Wii stopped selling and PS3 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 135.4 weeks (October 5, 2011).

Week over week, PS3 has a bump and X360 returns from one. The rest don't share any common movement.



Through the first nine weeks of the year, almost everything is down by some degree. Here's how the year-to-date year-over-year percents stand as of now.

Wii: -61.5%
DSL+DSi: -5.4%
PS2: -55.8%
PS3: -19.0%
PSP: -40.9%
X360: +181.0%

Home hardware: -44.0%
Portable hardware: -23.1%
Sum of all hardware: -32.3%


Famitsu Software Stuff

Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope has a start that is greater than the recent PSP remakes of 1 and 2 (2761 and 2849), but far below that of Star Ocean 3 (1567).


It's pretty understandable given that it's an X360 game, though, and in THAT context, it's started out much more quickly than any of that system's other big games. In fact, this first week makes it the #2 X360 game overall.


The PSP Idolmaster games are off to a big start, too; bigger than any of the earlier X360 releases. Even adding up the original and its budget rerelease (2644 and 2752), no X360 version of the game has yet hit 100K.


Without a holiday behind it Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (3432) doesn't maintain its large lead over Partners in Time (212). However, at 2 weeks it's still about where Partners in Time was at 3 weeks.

Media Create Sales: 02/23 - 03/02 (Hardware)

PS3 36,513
DSi 35,827
PSP 35,588
Wii 17,876
Xbox 360 11,795
DS Lite 11,774
PS2 5,099

Yakuza 3 Humbles Japan: Media Create Sales: 02/23 - 03/02

Media Create Sales: 02/23 - 03/02
01. [PS3] Yakuza 3 (SEGA) 372,000 / NEW
02. [PSP] Shin Sangoku Musou MULTI RAID (KOEI) 219,000 / NEW
03. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (Nintendo) 52,000 / 307,000
04. [WII] One Piece Episode 2 (Namco Bandai) 45,000 / NEW
05. [NDS] Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou 2 (Namco Bandai) 44,000 / NEW
06. [NDS] Shounen Sunday x Shounen Magazine Nettou! Dream Nine (Konami) 23,000 / NEW
07. [PS2] King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match (SNK Playmore) 19,000 / NEW
08. [360] Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope (Square Enix) 17,000 / 179,000
09. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Namco Bandai) 16,000 / 400,000
10. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) 16,000 / 3,277,000

11. [PSP] Kiniro no Corda (KOEI)
12. [360] Chaos: Head Noah (5pb)
13. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (Capcom)
14. [360] Halo Wars (Microsoft)
15. [PS2] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami)
16. [NDS] Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo)
17. [PSP] Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami)
18. [PS3] Demon's Souls (SCE)
19. [NDS] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (Square Enix)
20. [NDS] Shining Force Feather (SEGA)
21. [PSP] Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 (Namco Bandai)
22. [NDS] Wagamama Fashion: Girl's Mode (Nintendo)
23. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
24. [NDS] Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! (Konami)
25. [PS2] Yakuza 2 (Playstation 2 The Best) (SEGA)
26. [PSP] Idolmaster SP: Perfect Sun (Namco Bandai)
27. [360] Samurai 3 (Spike)
28. [PS3] Street Fighter IV (Capcom)
29. [NDS] Pokémon Platinum (Pokémon)
30. [WII] Wii Play: Mario Tennis (Nintendo)

MC 2009-02-16 and Famitsu 2009-02-09: Things of Note

Based on the latest Famitsu hardware numbers...
PSP comparisons: After 219 weeks, PSP is where PS2 was at 171.1 weeks (June 9, 2003), where DS was at 97.1 weeks (October 9, 2006), and where GBA was at 147.7 weeks (January 16, 2004).

X360 comparisons: After 167 weeks, X360 is where GCN was at 16.0 weeks (December 30, 2001), where PS3 was at 29.5 weeks (May 30, 2007), and where Wii was at 4.7 weeks (December 29, 2006).

PS3 comparisons: After 119 weeks, PS3 is where PS2 was at 33.6 weeks (October 19, 2000), where PSP was at 58.3 weeks (January 17, 2006), where GCN was at 119.0 weeks (December 21, 2003), and where Wii was at 31.1 weeks (July 2, 2007).

You may notice PS3 and GCN are both at 119 weeks. The streams haven't crossed quite yet, though. Usually one decimal is plenty enough, but in a case where things are so close it doesn't cut it. Through 119 weeks PS3 is still about 4400 units ahead of GCN.

Wii comparisons: After 116 weeks, Wii is where GBA was at 93.8 weeks (January 4, 2003), where DS was at 75.3 weeks (May 9, 2006), where PS2 was at 112.0 weeks (April 21, 2002), and where PSP was at 162.4 weeks (January 16, 2008).

DSi comparisons: After 16 weeks, DSi is where GBASP was at 34.5 weeks (October 8, 2003), and where DSL was at 12.3 weeks (May 23, 2006).


Based on the latest Media Create hardware numbers...
DS vs PSP: Weekly shares of 63.7 / 36.3 bring total shares to 68.8 / 31.2. If DS stopped selling and PSP continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 477.6 weeks (January 4, 2017).

X360 vs PS3: Weekly shares of 61.1 / 38.9 bring total shares to 24.8 / 75.2. At this week's rates, X360 catches up to PS3 in 205.7 weeks (February 1, 2013). If PS3 stopped selling and X360 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 74.6 weeks (July 30, 2010).

PS3 vs Wii: Weekly shares of 48.8 / 51.2 bring total shares to 26.6 / 73.4. If Wii stopped selling and PS3 continued at this week's rate, it would catch up in 307.3 weeks (January 14, 2015).

Week over week, you're either down or you're Xbox 360.

This week's 16,973 is the lowest Wii week ever by several thousand units. Its previous low was 20,412; just two weeks ago.

Through the first eight weeks of the year, almost everything is down by some degree. Here's how the year-to-date year-over-year percents stand as of now.

Wii: -60.6%
DSL+DSi: -5.2%
PS2: -56.0%
PS3: -28.4%
PSP: -39.9%
X360: +166.5%

Home hardware: -45.7%
Portable hardware: -22.1%
Sum of all hardware: -32.5%


Famitsu Software Stuff
Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (3432) has a much bigger first week than either of its predecessors. However, it probably can't remain this much ahead. Since it's not a holiday release it probably won't have the huge week 2 of December release Partners in Time (212) or the big weeks 6 & 7 of November release Superstar Saga (1150).


Among my records for releases on PS2-and-later systems, PS3 Street Fighter IV has the best Street Fighter first week, narrowly beating out PS2 launch title Street Fighter EX 3. Of course, if you add in the X360 Street Fighter IV, it becomes a little less narrow. PS3 SF IV also beats out the known totals for all the Street Fighter releases since EX3.

UK - Halo Wars Loses First Battle -- To Killzone 2

Killzone 2 took over the number 1 spot in the UK this past week, knocking off newcomer Street Fighter IV. The anticipated FPS sequel is the 4th fastest selling Sony-published title ever in the UK.

Halo Wars, the final offering from recently-closed Ensemble Studios, debuts in the number 2 spot. It sold 17.6% of Halo 3’s record-breaking launch week figure.

Sales were down significantly on titles such as FIFA 09 (-24%), Call of Duty: World at War (-21%), and Ben 10: Alien Force (-29%). On the plus side, there is quite a bit of diversity of publishers in the Top 10.

Coming up in March: new franchise installments like Resident Evil 5, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Tom Clancy’s HAWX.

(Source: GfK Chart Track)

Rank – Title – Publisher

1. Killzone 2 – Sony Computer Entertainment
2. Halo Wars – Microsoft
3. Street Fighter IV – Capcom
4. Wii Fit – Nintendo
5. Professor Layton and the Curious Village – Nintendo
6. Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection – Sega
7. FIFA 09 – EA
8. Call of Duty: World at War – Activision Blizzard
9. Ben 10: Alien Force – D3P

10. Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo
11. Silent Hill: Homecoming – Konami
12. Wii Play – Nintendo
13. Grand Theft Auto IV – Take 2
14. Disney’s Bolt – Disney Interactive Studios
15. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Activision Blizzard
16. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Sega
17. Guitar Hero: World Tour – Activision Blizzard
18. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – THQ
19. Need for Speed: Undercover – EA

20. F.E.A.R. 2 – Project Origin – Warner Bros. Interactive
21. My Fitness Coach – Ubisoft
22. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand – THQ
23. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training – Nintendo
24. The House of the Dead: Overkill – Sega
25. Carnival: Funfair Games – Take 2
26. Football Manager 2009 – Sega
27. Race Pro – Atari
28. Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures – LucasArts
29. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Eidos

30. Puzzler Collection – Ubisoft
31. Lego Batman: The Videogame – Warner Bros. Interactive
32. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 – Konami
33. LittleBigPlanet – Sony Computer Entertainment
34. Mario Kart DS – Nintendo
35. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 – THQ
36. Saints Row 2 – THQ
37. New Super Mario Bros. – Nintendo
38. Sonic Unleashed – Sega
39. Halo 3 – MicrosoftShaun White Snowboarding - Ubisoft

Street Fighter IV Coming to PC, Summer 2009

Following a strong debut in the retail market, Street Fighter IV will also be coming to PC this summer.

According to Gamer Investments, Capcom VP of business development and strategic planning, Christian Svensson, is working with Mad Catz to create a bundle that includes Mad Catz controllers with the game. Said Svensson, “We rolled out our Mad Catz sticks and pads, and the interesting thing to note about all of those sticks and pads is they all work with PC as well.”

Street Fighter IV debuted at number 1 on the UK Top 40 software chart, and has received universal acclaim with a 93 on Metacritic.