Big in Japan June 21-27: Monster Hunter Frontier Online

Not even a three-year-old port on a largely marginalized system could quell Japanese gamers' insatiable appetite for Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise. According to the latest report from Japanese stat tracker Media Create, the week of June 21-27 saw Monster Hunter Frontier Online for the Xbox 360 lead sales with 92,807 units. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game's release also gave Microsoft's console a solid sales bump, as the oft basement-dwelling system sold 17,370 units for the week, up 843 percent from the seven-day period prior.

New titles dominated Media Create's top-10 software sales chart for the last full week in June. Nipping at Monster Hunter's heals was Konami's Love Plus +, which opened with 84,364 units on the DS. Fellow new arrival Atelier Totori: Alchemist of Arland 2, from Gust on the PlayStation 3, slotted into third with 53,871 units. That performance slightly outpaced Konami's DS title Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side 3rd Story, which sold 52,245 units.

The new-game charters hit a hiccup in fifth, thanks to Super Mario Galaxy 2's 42,153 unit sales finish but resumed with the sixth, seventh, and eighth slots. Sega's Hatsune Miku: Project Diva sold 28,938 units, followed by Aqua Plus' White Album: Tsuzurareru Fuyu no Omoide with 25,672 units and Asgard's Starry Sky: In Spring - PSP Edition's 22,423 units.

The Xbox 360's dramatic gains notwithstanding, the DSi LL took the top slot on the hardware chart during the week, selling 41, 676 units. That figure almost doubled the PSP's 23,257-unit second place finish, and it did double the PS3's (19,578) and Wii's (19,115) performance. Rounding out the chart were the DSi (17,306), DS Lite (5,209), PlayStation 2 (1,530), and PSP Go (845).

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF JUNE 21-27, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online / Capcom / X360 / 92,807
2. Love Plus + / Konami / DS / 84,364
3. Atelier Totori: Alchemist of Arland 2 / Gust / PS3 / 53,871
4. Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side 3rd Story / Konami / DS / 52,245
5. Super Mario Galaxy 2 / Nintendo / Wii / 42,153
6. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva / Sega / PSP / 28,938
7. White Album: Tsuzurareru Fuyu no Omoide / Aqua Plus / PS3 / 25,672
8. Starry Sky: In Spring - PSP Edition / Asgard / PSP / 22,423
9. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective / Capcom / DS / 20,362
10. Art Academy / Nintendo / DS / 20,153

Hardware:
DSi LL - 41,676
PSP - 23,257
PS3 - 19,578
Wii - 19,115
Xbox 360 - 17,370
DSi - 17,306
DS Lite - 5,209
PS2 - 1,530
PSP Go - 845