Sales Chart JPN: Vaan and Penelo take the lead

Week 23-29 April 2007

With the latest Final Fantasy game coming out on the most popular handheld console at the moment, it's no surprise that Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is this week's number one on the DS (don't tell me you didn't see that coming). It was released on the 26th, so the 274,004 units sold was achieved in only 4 days. Don't forget that the special edition DS is also part of the deal. It will be interesting to see what FFXII:RW can do in a full week of being on sale.

Following almost 200,000 copies behind is another new comer, the Momotarou Dentetsu DS: Tokyo & Japan, another special DS edition (78,980). Super Paper Mario is third, still having a strong sale at 75,839 units sold. Elsewhere on the chart, some of the top 10 games have dropped off. Gyakuten Saiban 4 has fallen slightly, but still in the top 10 at number 9, but Final Fantasy on the PSP fell to 17th, while Persona 3 and Fate / Stay Night [Realta / Nua] (both on PS2) dropped to 18th and 21st respectively. Games on Nintendo hardware have taken all but 2 spots on the top 20, such is the power of Nintendo.

Surprise of the week is no who's number one, but XBox 360, with not 1, but two games on the top 50. They are Test Drive Unlimited at 24th and Rainbow Six: Vegas at 27th, none of which is developed by a Japanese company.

This is the worst week for the DS in terms of the number of games in the top 50. Only 29 games made it, the worst so far this year. But who cares when all the cool stuff is on the DS.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

DS - Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Wii - Super Paper Mario
PSP - Final Fantasy
PS2 - Persona 3

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 29
PS2 - 8
Wii - 6
PSP - 5
XBox 360 - 2

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

Not to be unexpected, Nintendo dominated this week like every other week. Fuelled by Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and Momotarou Dentetsu DS: Tokyo & Japan, the DS sold more than 2 times its next rival, its bigger cousin, the Wii. Needless to say, it killed the PSP by more than 7 to 1.

Since it's debut in March 2006, the DS Lite has sold 10 million units in Japan. The total DS units sold is 16.6 million. So if VGCharts is anything to go by, then the Japanese must have snapped up 39.77% of all the DS in the world. 4 out of 10 DS is bought in Japan!

Super Paper Mario is also helping the Wii as well, pushing it over 100K units. That's 15 Wii for every PS3 sold.

DSL - 255,971
Wii - 192,522
PSP - 33,860
PS3 - 12,791
PS2 - 12,584
Xbox360 - 3,162

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
88.32% vs 11.68%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
92.35% vs 6.14% vs 1.52%

Source: Media Create

Zelda mod DS Lite on sales

So, you're a Zelda fan, and you want the perfect DS Lite to play your Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, what's the best way to do that? On a Zelda DS Lite, of course. Morpheon Mods has created a golden DS mod that features a backlit Zelda crest. There are also a custom-made charger and two stylii.

It's going for $760US so far on eBay, with 15% of the proceed pledged to charity.

If you a Zelda fan and can afford that kind of money, get it. It's one of its kind.

Source: EuroGamer

Touch me, I'm better than Zelda!

According to Amazon JP (via Insert Credit via Kotaku), the SNK game Doki Doki Majo Shinpan is more popular than Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. The basis of the game has it that you are to find out which junior high school female student is a witch. The suspected junior high school witch is examined with the touch pen.

Usually, there's a "witch's crest" hidden somewhere on her body which can appear in "Witch Check Mode." And yes, that means touching junior high school girls all over her body. As to which part of the body is touchable, well, it's up to you to find out.

Now we wait for JT to cross international borders to file for its ban in Japan.

I am actually having more fun reading the comment section on Kotaku than the game itself. Read them at your pleasure.

Source: Kotaku

Father of Final Fantasy doesn't like Father of PlayStation

No sooner has Ken Kutaragi, the Father of PlayStation, left the Sony building, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the Father of Final Fantasy was having a go at him.

In the latest issue of EGM magazine, Hironobu Sakaguchi mentioned that the reason why there's is no PS3 titles planned is because "The machine's architecture is tricky, and I don't like Ken Kutaragi." Interrupt any way you want. But it sounds pretty clear to me, unless, of course, if it's been lost in translation.

He also has a stab at all the other platforms. For the Wii, he said, "The system is intriguing, but right now, I have no plans on making a game for the Wii."

And the XBox 360, "Microsoft has to change its marketing strategy in Japan. There are a lot of excellent games on the 360, far better games than what's on the Wii or PS3. But not a lot of people in Japan have a clear idea what games like Gears of War are all about. Just look at the Windows Vista commercial -- it's terrible."

Source: 1UP

Final Fantasy III originally planned for PS2.

CVG has caught up with Hiromichi Tanaka, the producer of Final Fantasy III on the DS. Apparently, Final Fantasy III was originally planned for release on the PlayStation 2. How did Nintendo persuade SquareEnix to change the platform, I don't know. But the end result was great. With Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings already out in Japan (and doing very well, mind you), and the other FF titles Crystal Chronicles and FF Tactics A2 also coming out on the DS, Final Fantasy seems to be leaving footprints all over the DS.

Must admit, though, the PSP is also getting a fair share of FF games as well, noticebly the Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II anniversary, as well as the remake of FF Tactics. But where are the new games? huh?

Have a read.

Source: CVG

The Rise and Fall of Ken Kutaragi

Last week, it was reported that Ken Kutaragi is sacked retiring from Sony to become its honourary chairman. That's just another way of saying, "we'll pay you to do nothing. But we still got you on the leash, so you can't work for anyone else."

I've just found an article on EuroGamer about the rise and fall of the Father of PlayStation. It was an interesting read, to say the least. For example, did you know that when you played Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, or just firing up Super Mario Bros. on your SNES, every note of music and sound effect were produced by a chip designed by none other than Kutaragi? Did you also know that the SNES were to have a CD plug-in called "Play Station", developed by, yep, Kutaragi.

For those who are interested in the history of PlayStation, and Kutaragi in particular, this article is worth a read.

After reading it, it makes you wonder if there will ever be a PlayStation 4.

Play-Asia Weekly Special: Crackdown US$29.90

This week's Play-Asia special is Crackdown on the XBox 360. The game just came out in Feburary this year. So it's still pretty new. And look, it's already a bargain. So if you haven't got it already, get it. This version is region free, so you can play it on any XBox 360.