The most recent Japanese charts showed us that musical instruments have more legs than horses, as Band Brothers DX jumped up into the first place spot. Meanwhie, Nanashi no Game made its debut in the top ten, but only sold a total of 30,000 copies.
Hardware sales were also interesting, as the DS stubbornly held onto the second spot:
PSP: 56,439 (2,442)
Nintendo DS: 47,455 (1,429)
Wii: 44,525 (3,955)
PlayStation 3: 14,359 (3,614)
PlayStation 2: 11,768 (4,095)
Xbox 360: 4,776 (328)
With the Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G craze finally starting to quiet a bit, we don't think it will be too long before the PSP dips closer to DS sales (as long as Nintendo's handheld can maintain its own momentum). Enough about the future, though -- it's all about the now. So, go on and see how software fared last week in Japan by clicking past the break.
The DS found itself back in cozy old third place in this week's chart, as the hype from Metal Gear Solid 4 died down a bit in Japan:
PSP: 59,531 (5,325)
Wii: 41,037 (4,527)
NDS: 36,599 (2,602)
PS3: 20,336 (54,975)
PS2: 6,346 (951)
Xbox 360: 2,555 (392)
Meanwhile, Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team's steady climb back into the top ten makes us wonder if supply just wasn't meeting demand a few weeks earlier, when the game fell out of the top thirty.
Yet overall, the DS had a relatively boring week in terms of software, with no exciting new releases to congratulate or poke fun at (unless you consider the budget-priced re-release of Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary "exciting" and "new").
If you want to see what Japanese gamers were buying last week, though, just click on past the break.
Hey, guess what? You can buy Super Smash Bros. Brawl on Amazon today (and today only) for $25.99!
What a minute -- why are we posting about a Brawl deal on DS Fanboy, of all places? Because, friends, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Amazon is offering up nine Nintendo deals today, which (if our guesses are correct) includes five DS games.
Since all of the said games are published by Nintendo you might own most of them already, but if not, they're games that are definitely worth getting for cheap. So, all you stingy folks that are able to order from Amazon.com should check past the break to see what Gold Box sales are in store for you today.
Not all of us are blessed with the talents needed to bake an edible cake, much less a video game cake with an identifiable shape. More often than not, the desserts we've pulled from the oven look like something you'd shoot and put out of its misery. As you turn your head and watered eyes to the side, pulling back the hammer on your heavy, shaking pistol, you sometimes catch the cakes looking up at to you, wishing they had more time to spend with you.
For those of you left in depressed states after having to euthanize so many cakes, there might still be hope for you, an opportunity to make things right. Flickr user Neko Joe spotted this pre-made Nintendo DS and New Super Mario Bros. layered sponge cake at Sainsbury's, a UK supermarket chain. It comes with a janky cardboard top screen, but you can add your own custom message: "It's-a-me, Mario Cake!" or "Sorry we didn't buy you a real DS!" or "You're adopted!"
We don't suggest you bring this sponge cake to any birthday parties, however ... Watch the NSFW video past the break to find out why!
Just as we were starting to get comfortable with the DS coming in third consistently on the Japanese hardware charts, Metal Gear Solid 4 came out and helped push our favorite handheld down to fourth. Fourth! Meaning, it only did better than the PS2 and 360. Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!
DS hardware did get a little boost, though, despite the fact that not much new software made its way into the charts:
Playstation 3: 75,311 (64,455)
PSP: 64,675 (2,659)
Wii: 45,564 (925)
Nintendo DS: 39,201 (4,181)
PlayStation 2: 7,297 (1,018)
Xbox 360: 2,163 (117)
There were some surprises this week, as Let's Make a Pro BaseballTeam! found itself back in the top thirty (so did Pokémon Diamond). But, you can just see all the hot software action for yourself after the break.
Remember that haaauuuuge list of Japan's 500 highest-selling games of 2007? Well, sorry, but you'll have to forget them all. Yep, every last one of 'em. That's because we now have a new list which is also claiming to feature the 500 best-selling games of 2007 in Japan. This one has been compiled by Enterbrain (the original was from rival data-gatherers Media Create), and it's ever so slightly different.
The good news is that, despite the origins of each list being different, the overriding message is still the same, and that message is: DS rules all yaaay. Both lists agree that Wii Sports was top dog, but the top DS games have been jumbled about. Now, for example, it is the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers games that are top of the DS pile, while Mario Party DS drops to second. The changes are subtle, but definitely exist. Hit the break to see the top ten DS games!
Well, okay, you can do that by just playing Donkey Kong, but there's also another way. You can take these Nintendo wall decals from Blik and create a Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. or New Super Mario Bros. mural right on your wall. We won't tell you how we're getting some for our office, as you should have already figured that out by now.
What's really cool about these, though, is that the user has some level of creativity. It's not just one standard piece you slap on the wall. It comes in many pieces, meaning you can create a design all your own. Want it to look like an exact level from the game? Want it to be completely unrealistic? It's all up to you.
Of course, there is a catch. Each set costs $75, which means you'll need to spend a bunch of Mario's coins if you expect to send your walls back to the 8-bit era.
We're crying for Namco Bandai's Tears of 99 right now, as the game debuted in the twenty-third spot this week. We guess Japanese gamers just didn't feel like being bummed out, and therefore avoided buying this original title. Sad, indeed.
With Nintendo dominating both the console and handheld markets, their key franchises have installments on both platforms. Focusing on the DS, which key franchise do you believe has the best entry? Phantom Hourglass?
It would probably be New Super Mario Bros., for us. That game is pure Mario Bros. fun. But, what do you all think? Of all the entries in Nintendo franchises on the DS, which one is your favorite? Pokémon Diamond & Pearl? Let's hear it!
For all of you in Taiwan who have relied on non-official distribution to satisfy your need for Nintendo, know that a new third-party distributor has made a deal with Nintendo to supply the region with video games from the Kyoto-based company. FarEasTone (FET) will be teaming up with Nintendo to provide the region with DS units and hopefully find as receptive a market as the handheld has in all other regions of the world it's available for sale.
Two specific models of DS Lite were mentioned, in the crimson black (or "senior") unit and a "New Super Mario DS Lite console." The handheld will be available from July 3rd on.
After a somewhat stalwart week, DS software recovered nicely and once again dominated the charts. Even though the same amount of games appeared in the top thirty (fifteen in total), they ranked higher on average than they did in the previous week. Good software sales also gave DS hardware a little boost:
PSP: 64,449 (6,087)
Wii: 49,047 (7,475)
Nintendo DS: 37,404 (2,499)
PlayStation 3: 9.071 (1,370)
PlayStation 2: 7,189 (167)
Xbox 360: 1,947 (473)
Four new games debuted in the top thirty, including Sega's Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team!, which nabbed the first place spot from Monster Hunter. The other three games were Glory of Herakles, Scarlet Fragment, and Tea Dogs Room 3. Herakles (or Hercules, if you prefer) is the title that sparks our interest the most, as it's an interesting RPG published by Nintendo. Even so, it's first week sales were (unfortunately) subpar, yet good enough to land it in the top ten.
Check out the sales numbers and rankings for yourself after the break.
Didja hear? Doctor Who is back from the future to save the DS in Europe! Hurray!
Haha. Not really. In fact, even though Top Trumps: Doctor Who is the only new Nintendo DS game to appear in a European chart this week, it still only managed a risible 33rd spot in the UK. Still, that should keep you David Tennant fans happy, and we even included a shot of Dave to aid your celebrations. Aren't we nice?
Aside from that, it's the usual tiresome faces, which means lots of Professor Kawashima and ... actually not so much of Mario and Sonic. Yep, there's no doubt about it: the pair's Olympics game is slowly dropping off the pace, appearing in only two top tens this week.
As usual, hit the break to peruse the charts, though please accept our profuse apologies for the lack of an Irish top ten.
The spotlight this week is on Luminous Arc 2: Will, a game that has yet to be confirmed for English language localization. While we're forced to sit and wait jealously, though, forty thousand Japanese gamers ran out and bought the title. Only falling behind the juggernauts Monster Hunter and Mario Kart Wii (and almost squeezing past Nintendo's racer), Image Epoch's SRPG debuted pretty impressively.
In other sales news, the announcement for another Professor Layton game in Japan managed to push the first title in the series back into the top thirty. Aside from that, there weren't any differences in DS software worth mentioning.
In terms of hardware, the numbers for the DS weren't so hot. In fact, we don't remember the sales numbers for Nintendo's handheld ever being this low in Japan. With everyone and their mother already owning a DS in the country, does the system still have room for growth? We won't know for sure until the next big software push, but for now it looks like the dual-screened handheld should get comfy in that third place spot.
PSP: 70,536 (19,348)
Wii: 41,572 (25,736)
Nintendo DS: 34,905 (16,323)
PlayStation 3: 7,701 (353)
PlayStation 2: 7,022 (442)
Xbox 360: 1,474 (176)
The software numbers are located after the break, so go on and take a look. They won't bite!*
*DS Fanboy claims no responsibility for those who get bitten by our sales figures.
Hey, you! No, not the guy on the next screen along with the muffin -- you. That's right. You a European? You are? Great! So let's hear it: why have we just checked the latest European charts and found that Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney charted absolutely nowhere? If yours truly can summon up the the effort to scour the high street give his credit card details to an online retailer, you can do the same! No wonder Capcom seems to be thinking twice about releasing Trials and Tribulations here.
There's no new DS software in the top of the charts to report this week, but that doesn't mean Nintendo's little handheld didn't completely clean house. In fact, nineteen of the top thirty were DS games, showing how gluttonous the dual-screened portable can get when it comes to sales. Some old favorites also popped back up around the bottom, including Brain Age 2, Animal Crossing, and the original Taiko Drum Master DS.
Hardware continues to be a struggle, though. That doesn't mean the DS is doing poorly, because it's not; sales for the handheld even jumped up almost 10,000 units since last week. However, since the PSP and Wii have been doing so well lately, it's hard for Nintendo's handheld to compete:
PSP: 89,884
Wii: 67,308
Nintendo DS: 51,228
PlayStation 3: 8,054
PlayStation 2: 7,464
Xbox 360: 1,298
We have no doubt that the DS will be on top again soon enough, but until then, you can check out the satisfactory software numbers posted after the break.
The most recent Japanese charts showed us that musical instruments have more legs than horses, as Band Brothers DX jumped up into the first place spot. Meanwhie, Nanashi no Game made its debut in the top ten, but only sold a total of 30,000 copies.
2,442)
4,095)
The DS found itself back in cozy old third place in this week's chart, as the hype from Metal Gear Solid 4 died down a bit in Japan:
Hey, guess what? You can buy Super Smash Bros. Brawl on Amazon today (and today only) for $25.99!
Just as we were starting to get comfortable with the DS coming in third consistently on the Japanese hardware charts, Metal Gear Solid 4 came out and helped push our favorite handheld down to fourth. Fourth! Meaning, it only did better than the PS2 and 360. Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!
Remember that haaauuuuge list of Japan's 500 highest-selling games of 2007? Well, sorry, but you'll have to forget them all. Yep, every last one of 'em. That's because we now have a new list which is also claiming to feature the 500 best-selling games of 2007 in Japan. This one has been compiled by Enterbrain (the original was from rival data-gatherers Media Create), and it's ever so slightly different.
Well, okay, you can do that by just playing Donkey Kong, but there's also another way. You can take these Nintendo wall decals from Blik and create a Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. or New Super Mario Bros. mural right on your wall. We won't tell you how we're getting some for our office, as you should have already figured that out by now.
We're crying for Namco Bandai's Tears of 99 right now, as the game debuted in the twenty-third spot this week. We guess Japanese gamers just didn't feel like being bummed out, and therefore avoided buying this original title. Sad, indeed.
For all of you in Taiwan who have relied on non-official distribution to satisfy your need for Nintendo, know that a new third-party distributor has made a deal with Nintendo to supply the region with video games from the Kyoto-based company. FarEasTone (FET) will be teaming up with Nintendo to provide the region with DS units and hopefully find as receptive a market as the handheld has in all other regions of the world it's available for sale.
