Weekly Japanese video game hardware chart

(AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA)

The Nintendo DS overtook Sony's PSP as the best-selling games console in Japan for the week of January 25-31. Sales were no doubt boosted by the release of the 1996 classic Dragon Quest VI, remade and spruced up for the portable DS, which itself sold 906,000 copies during the same week.

There are three versions of the DS currently available brand new. Sales of the most recent, the large-screened DSi XL, rose by 45 percent compared to last week's tally as an extra 10,000 units were bought. The standard DSi model gained 20 percent on the previous week, another 4,400. Japanese consumers ensured that the older (and cheaper) DS Lite continued to sell well, which hovered as usual between 5,000 and 7,000 unit sales.

Sales of the PSP continued a slow decline, with interest in the newer, digital-only PSP Go remaining steady (but inconsiderable). The number of PlayStation 3 consoles sold this week increased by 8,000, again quite possibly linked to the release of new games End of Eternity and to a lesser extent the American-made multiplayer shooter MAG. The next entry in the PlayStation exclusive Yakuza series is due out mid-March so many new buyers will have an eye on that as well.

Japanese video game hardware sales, January 25-31 2010
Total unit sales
1) Nintendo DS: 66,457
2) Sony PSP: 49,520
3) Nintendo Wii: 42,309
4) PlayStation 3: 34,431
5) Xbox 360: 4,089
6) PlayStation 2: 2,182

Sony PSP sales breakdown
PSP: 47,875
PSP Go: 1,645

Nintendo DS sales breakdown
DSi LL (aka xL): 34,863
DSi: 24,783
DS Lite: 6,811

Source: Media Create