Japan Charts Nov. 26-Dec. 2: Wii Fit debuts in second place
Nintendo's physical-training sim sells 261,000 but is beaten out by Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, which sold 294,000.
At this year's E3 Media and Business Summit, Nintendo revealed what it hopes to be the biggest thing since brain training, Wii Fit. Bundled with the Wii Balance Board, Wii Fit is Nintendo's flagship installment in the physical training genre, and features minigames designed around the fundamental concepts of aerobics, muscle conditioning, yoga, and balance. As noted in October, Japanese gamers would be the first to don their jumpsuits on December 1, with the game cartwheeling to the rest of the world presumably in 2008.
With sales expectations high for Wii Fit, Japanese gamers have shown their enthusiasm for Nintendo's latest health initiative by purchasing 261,000 units in the game's first two days on the market, according to the latest figures from Japanese industry trackers Media Create for the week ended December 2. While impressive, the showing was only enough to secure the number two slot in the week's best-sellers chart. Trumping Wii Fit was Level 5's Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, which sold 294,000 units in its first week at retail.
The rest of Japan's weekly sales chart was likewise dominated by newcomers. Namco Bandai's SD Gundam G Generation Spirits secured the third position with 252,000 units, while Capcom's Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes ranked fifth with 95,000 copies sold. Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed managed a strong showing in its first week--for an Xbox 360 game, at least--with the version for Microsoft's console landing in slot eight with 41,000 units. (The PS3 version of the game has not yet been released in Japan.) Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters World Championship 2008 rounded out the top 10 with 35,000 units sold.
Returning this week were Square Enix's Dragon Quest IV for the DS at slot four, which sold 135,000 units for the week and 732,000 lifetime to date. At six, Nintendo's Mario Party DS sold 80,000 copies this week, bringing its lifetime total in Japan to 539,000, while Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 for the PlayStation 2 secured seventh with 74,000 units for the week and 368,000 lifetime. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii landed in the ninth slot with 41,000 units sold, bringing its total to 103,000.
Japan Game Chart Week of November 26, 2007
1. Prof. Layton and Pandora's Box - 294,000 / DS
2. Wii Fit - 261,000 / Wii
3. SD Gundam G Generation Spirits - 252,000 / PS2
4. Dragon Quest IV - 135,000 / DS
5. Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes - 95,000 / PS2
6. Mario Party DS - 80,000 / DS
7. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 - 74,000 / PS2
8. Assassin's Creed - 41,000 / X360
9. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games - 41,000 / Wii
10. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters World Championship 2008 - 35,000 / DS
Rankings based on Media Create figures from November 26-December 2, 2007.
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