Japan stops ignoring the PS3, sales jump 900%

by Alan Tsang { Nov 6th 2008 at 12:00PM }

Looks like all is right with the world again, according to the latest numbers from Media Create. This week on Sony's home turf, the PS3 moved 39,587 units -- outselling the combined figures of the Wii and Xbox 360. Also worth noting is that PS3 sales jumped a whopping 907% from last week, when the PS3 sold only 3,931 units.

As we reported yesterday, Grand Theft Auto IV for the PS3 took first place on the Japanese charts -- now we know it has sold 132,676 copies, while LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Spec III sold 51,705 and 34,965 copies, respectively. You'll notice that Media Create has released slightly different numbers -- for example, the 360 version of GTA IV is in eighth place now instead of fourth place. Hardware sales are below, software sales are after the jump:

Hardware and software sales for the week of October 27th - November 2nd:

DSi -- 171,925
PSP -- 50,358
PS3 -- 39,587
Wii -- 23,123
DS Lite -- 16,369
PS2 -- 6,714
Xbox 360 -- 6,119

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) -- 132,676
Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (DS) -- 79,760
LittleBigPlanet (PS3) -- 51,705
Pokemon Platinum (DS) -- 47,243
Wagamama Fassion Girls Mode (DS) -- 40,380
Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS) -- 38,558
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Spec III (PS3) -- 34,965
Grand Theft Auto IV (360) -- 33,648
Your Life's Rhythm DS (DS) -- 26,191
Chocobo's Dungeon DS+ (DS) -- 26,190

Tags: japan, ps3, ranking, sales

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Puli @ Nov 6th 2008 12:05PM

I am pleasantly surprised and hope this becomes a trend in the coming weeks/months and not just a one off occurrence.

j.howlett @ Nov 6th 2008 12:08PM

damn

Rasti Amin @ Nov 6th 2008 12:14PM

It is probably a reaction to the release of GTAIV and LBP. While it stay high for a while, I doubt we will see these numbers that often

Brodie-san @ Nov 6th 2008 12:56PM

Shirokishi Monogatari (White Knight Chronicles) is out in ... oooh ... exactly 7 weeks. Expect to see these figures* again soon.

*OK - maybe not THIS big but the PS3 will continue to see well up to Christmas.

deathxrebirth @ Nov 6th 2008 12:59PM

Except maybe White Knight Chronicles next month? And Biohazard shortly after...

Devin @ Nov 6th 2008 12:59PM

WKS, FFXIII, Versus just to name a few not including possible price drops or bundles, but yeah the way things have been going in Japan, Sony is really going to need killer titles/apps to keep the ball rolling.....

Rasti @ Nov 6th 2008 1:37PM

You all make excellent points, but I merely said that we would not see these numbers that often. Even though White Knight Chronicles, FF13 and a few other games coming next year might give temporary spikes, it is still "not that often".

justsomeKAI @ Nov 6th 2008 12:22PM

-breaks out the champagne-

gg no re microsoft. ;D

Jerses @ Nov 6th 2008 12:23PM

what!? did little big planet sell 51k in 4 days? or when was it released in japan?

Brodie-san @ Nov 6th 2008 12:54PM

It was released on October 30th in Japan.

morningdrive @ Nov 6th 2008 12:26PM

yay ps3 good job sony up there with the handhelds. its like xbox and ps3 switched shifts for a while.

Vincent @ Nov 6th 2008 12:43PM

I hope it stays that way!

Mana Knight @ Nov 6th 2008 12:44PM

I kind of told people, once the new PS3 SKU was released (the 80GB finally bundled with the game GT5P Spec III) and so on would cause a boost.

The entire reason PS3 sales went down was because there was ONLY a 40GB being offered and everyone knew an 80GB w/DS3 (+ game) was coming (so why buy a 40GB?).

brettjr @ Nov 6th 2008 12:57PM

Hopefully Resistance 2 boost US sales cause that's the only territory that PS3 is losing to 360 in. And by a big amount. The amount the 360 sold over the amount the PS3 sold in US allowed them to get more total sales despite PS3 destroying 360 in japan and leading by a good Margin in "others".

Mattchewie @ Nov 6th 2008 12:59PM

I'm surprised LBP has moved so little in the land of the rising sun. I would think a game like that would of been very popular.

Way more than GTA......I can never figure Japan out!

Vcize @ Nov 6th 2008 3:11PM

Not enough anime porn in LBP to attract big sales in Japan.

In GTA4, you can have sex with asian prostitutes so it works as a good enough substitution.

Kxpuc @ Nov 6th 2008 3:59PM

that's 3 days of sales so over 10k a day in Japan isn't too bad

Mattchewie @ Nov 6th 2008 4:16PM

True, didn't think that was just for 3 days

Hurricane @ Nov 6th 2008 7:04PM

Whoa even above the wii, thats monstrous! Hopefully sony can keep this up with WKC and other games coming out this holiday season

Kgg @ Nov 6th 2008 1:33PM

Anyone noticed? PS3 has sold almost enough to take back the lead that Xbox has gained the last months HHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

tboy123 @ Nov 6th 2008 1:18PM

YES! Everything is right in the world... considering the PS2 outsold the 360 (not the first time)!

ajiezer @ Nov 6th 2008 1:45PM

OMFG! That's what I'm talking about, go PS FTW!!!!

Being a fanboy has it's rewards :)

Mark @ Nov 6th 2008 3:15PM

Anyone notice, Dirtbox360Fanboy has not reported last weeks Japan sales, like they have done in the last 7 weeks. I wonder why...

They are selective about what they report, thats why.. Shouldn't we see a Xbox loses it's last 7 weeks gains in a single week kind of post... (to be fair to PS3, the 360 only gained 12k, the PS3 trounced it by 30k last week)