Weekly Japanese video game hardware chart

(AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND)

Video game hardware sales in Japan during the week of February 8-14 continued a comfortable decline after the highs of December and early January, with a few marked exceptions.

Though the handheld Nintendo DS console was part of that overall reduction in immediate demand, the cheapest of the three available models encoutered a slight rise in fortunes.

That the DS Lite selling 5,659 units instead of 5,410 may not be statistically significant, but it shows there is a steady interest in the budget DS, despite a reduced functionality in comparison to its more expensive and newer siblings.

The Nintendo Wii seems to have found its level as it was bought 1,350 more times than it was the previous week. Of significance is a similar rise in Japan's software charts, as Wii Fit Plus was buoyed by 2,000 more sales in the same time period. Could the fitness game be part of last-minute preparations for the upcoming Tokyo Marathon?

1) Nintendo DS: 51,327
2) Sony PSP: 40,687
3) Nintendo Wii: 37,501
4) PlayStation 3: 24,811
5) Xbox 360: 3,428
6) PlayStation 2: 1,869

Sony PSP sales breakdown
PSP: 39,293
PSP Go: 1,394

Nintendo DS sales breakdown
DSi LL (aka xL): 27,586
DSi: 18,082
DS Lite: 5,659

Source: Media Create