The top ten selling games in the Japanese market of 2008 are sure to make fans of Sony and Microsoft despair, revealing as they do an almost embarrassing dominance by the resurgent Nintendo:
1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom/PSP)
2. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo/DS)
3. Wii Fit (Nintendo/Wii)
4. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo/Wii)
5. Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Nintendo/Wii)
6. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo/DS)
7. Dragon Quest 5 (DS/Square Enix)
8. Hoshi no Kirby: Ultra Super Deluxe (Nintendo/DS)
9. Doubutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing: City Folk) (Nintendo/Wii)
10. Wii Sports (Nintendo/Wii)
The PSP managed to grab the top position all the same, with the latest in the domestically hugely popular (but internationally not well liked) Monster Hunter series (gallery); this blockbuster sold some 2,500,000 copies.
A DS Pokemon title follows up with 2,100,000 copies. A Wii title, Wii Fit, is next up with just over 2,000,000 copies to its credit.
Apart from Monster Hunter on the PSP, the list is entirely dominated by Wii and DS titles, happy days for Nintendo indeed. The top ranked PS3 title was the latest Metal Gear, coming in with a still respectable 650,000.
Via Ore-teki (data is from Ascii).
Recently, doubts have been raised over the state of Japan’s gaming industry, especially internationally; looking at this list, comprised entirely of sequels and casual games, we might wonder if the industry is indeed in something of a slump.
However, nobody could argue with the huge sales these titles enjoyed, or their quality in their respective genres…
This list really was a disappointment.. Except for Monster Hunter, but I’m a huge fan, so I love it when my favorite stuff does well.
I just hope this success earned Nintendo enough money to pay for that surgery to get their heads removed from their collective asses so they can see that their success won’t last unless they make some solid titles, and none of this mini-game compilation bullshit.
SUPPER SMASH BROTHERS BARLW
CASUALS
He he he…
Nintendo PWNS the competition in Japan. Best of luck, Xbox360 & PS3. Sony better get some new ideas on how to survive, else they be left behind.
Micro$oft still has control & $h1tl04z of money, so even they are second best, they still deliver the goods.
This is imho, the way it has to be. ;D
Not the greatest of lists.