The 30 top selling games of 2009 amply demonstrate the Japanese market continues to revolve around Nintendo, RPGs and the occasional dash of Sony, with precious little in the way of originality or novelty on display, not that these games are necessarily bad.
The chart, as compiled by Ascii:
| Title | Date | 2009 Sales | Total Sales | ||
| 1 | DS | Dragon Quest IX | 09/07/11 |
4,089,136 |
4,089,136 |
| 2 | DS | Pokémon Heart Gold | 09/09/12 |
3,301,873 |
3,301,873 |
| 3 | DS | Tomodachi Collection | 09/06/18 |
2,059,236 |
2,059,236 |
| 4 | Wii | New Super Mario Brothers | 09/12/03 |
1,897,089 |
1,897,089 |
| 5 | Wii | Wii Sports Resort | 09/06/25 |
1,499,058 |
1,499,058 |
| 6 | PS3 | Final Fantasy XIII | 09/12/17 |
1,455,505 |
1,455,505 |
| 7 | Wii | Wii Fit Plus | 09/10/01 |
1,205,424 |
1,205,424 |
| 8 | Wii | Monster Hunter III | 09/08/01 |
949,095 |
949,095 |
| 9 | PSP | Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G |
08/10/30 |
878,880 |
1,080,715 |
| 10 | DS | Inazuma Eleven 2 | 09/10/01 |
851,175 |
851,175 |
| 11 | DS | Mario & Luigi RPG3!!! | 09/02/11 |
708,311 |
708,311 |
| 12 | DS | Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days | 09/05/30 |
571,981 |
571,981 |
| 13 | PS3 | Biohazard 5 | 09/03/05 |
552,553 |
552,553 |
| 14 | PS3 | Ryu ga Gotoku 3 | 09/02/26 |
525,826 |
525,826 |
| 15 | Wii | Wii Fit | 07/12/01 |
499,251 |
3,470,235 |
| 16 | DS | Professor Layton 4 | 09/11/26 |
481,311 |
481,311 |
| 17 | PSP | Fantasy Star Portable 2 | 09/12/03 |
415,522 |
415,522 |
| 18 | Wii | Mario Kart Wii | 08/04/10 |
404,751 |
2,447,964 |
| 19 | PSP | Shin Sangokushi Musou MULTI RAID | 09/02/26 |
397,080 |
397,080 |
| 20 | DS | Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon | 09/04/18 |
383,226 |
383,226 |
| 21 | Wii | Taiko no Tatsujin Wii | 08/12/11 |
375,895 |
625,391 |
| 22 | PS3 | Winning Eleven 2010 | 09/11/05 |
370,831 |
370,831 |
| 23 | DS | Rhythm Tengoku Gold | 08/07/31 |
361,292 |
1,763,270 |
| 24 | PS3 | Tales of Vesperia | 09/09/17 |
352,961 |
352,961 |
| 25 | PSP | Tales of The World | 09/01/29 |
339,523 |
339,523 |
| 26 | DS | Pokémon Platinum | 08/09/13 |
325,911 |
2,536,712 |
| 27 | PSP | Gundam vs Gundam NEXT PLUS | 09/12/03 |
323,531 |
323,531 |
| 28 | DS | Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode | 08/10/23 |
314,832 |
861,393 |
| 29 | DS | Gyakuten Kenji | 09/05/28 |
313,891 |
313,891 |
| 30 | PS2 | SD Gundam G Generation Wars | 09/08/06 |
306,985 |
306,985 |
2009 seems not to have been the most inspiring year for the Japanese gaming market, with a succession of formulaic RPG sequels, Pokémon titles and casual games dominating the charts.
Even more disturbingly, of the top 30 games of 2009 only 2 are non-sequels, with one being a Sims style rearing game and the other a fashion game. 7 of the top 30 were not even released in 2009.
Originality and innovation in game design seems at some point to have become a commercial liability in the Japanese market, perhaps even more so than elsewhere.
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yes, because we know western games have been chock full of originality
I seriously think originality is important for eastern and western games
but if a sequel is good enough, or better than the original, why is it bad thing that it does well?
Uncharted 2 anyone?
also, the same thing could be said about movies
they suck now
A LOT
and it's not a lack of creativity alone, it's just pure business liability
companies are always gonna milk a series to death, we just have to hope that, at the end of the day, they still make a good game/movie sequel
examples:
FFXIII = overblown waste of CG
DQIX = taking advatage of hardware and making a pretty good game
Tales of Vesperia = well... they improved upon the 360's faults...?
This should be called 'japan's list of xenophobia'
You know when a game like modern warfare 2 can't even make the top 30 then Japan really is the racist gaming capital of the world.
Where's Gran Turismo?
gran-what now?
Sony's probably asking the same question to Polyphony Digital. lol
No western titles in top 30, not even modern warfare 2.
Anyone for a cup of xenophobia?
I heard it tastes bitter, a bit like the aftermath of a WW2 atomic bomb.
MW2 hasn't come out in Japan yet.
They don't care about shitty games.
This ranking is WRONG!...where the hell is Project Diva!?
oh wow,Dragonquest still breathes!
I just can't wait for Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver to be released in the US so I can get HeartGold sooner here in Europe. =P One of the reasons for that is the censorship of Game Corners in European versions starting with Platinum, due to a stupid recent law against gambling in the EU... -_____-
Man, March 14th is still a little far and South Korea is gonna get HGSS before NA.
Says the 2d loli fag.
Good graphics R the beast and the best!
It's not surprising that Japanese gamers want the same old thing. What IS surprising is the delusion that this is unique to Japan. With the top-selling American game being the sixth installment of a yearly shooter franchise (and shooters not having seen the tiniest hint of innovation since at least Bioshock) and Madden, Tony Hawk, and Ratchet and Clank continuing to sell millions of what are essentially reskinned versions of last year's title, you have to laugh at anyone who says America is any more big on originality.
So the 360 owns Europe and USA (wii doesn't count)
PS3 gets JP.
I think we have a winner in the 360.
FFXIII go go go!
Alright!!!
Tales Of Vesperia
I knew it was gonna be a hit game ^^
I mean I was one of the first people around where I live to purchase this game and complete all the achievements in like 3 weeks.
This game is like one of the best I played.
-2009 seems not to have been the most inspiring year for the Japanese gaming market-
STFU! Ryu ga Gotoku 3 more than compensates all the fagotry up there.
No Xbox 360? This list is GAY.
get over it.........
Your mother.
real mature,,,
Top of JAPAN!!! they dont play for see good graphics like the american "gamers"
Wonder why you didn't link to that "Capcom: TGS 'Boring', Japan's Game Industry 'Finished'" article, Arte.
Anyways, at least I can say that 8, 9, 13, 14, 22, 24 don't seem to suck.
1 doesn't suck either
just tried it
"Originality and innovation in game design seems at some point to have become a commercial liability in the Japanese market, perhaps even more so than elsewhere."
That doesn't mean these games can't be good. Look at New SMB Wii, it's an excellent Mario game, an excellent platformer and an excellent multiplayer game. Originality and innovation is important, but not required to make a good game.
...On the other hand, a total lack originality or innovation can results in games like FFXIII or RE5, which is not a good thing...
DS DS DS... Handheld ftl.
The DS is my favorite 'console'. I'm not a hardcore gamer by any means, but I've bought a bunch of DS titles in the last year or so. I think the DS appeals a lot to the puzzle and RPG crowds, or at least those are the games I usually buy and there's a good number of them on DS. That and the fact that I can take it with me everywhere makes it pretty Win to me.
@fxc2
thank you captain obvious
The fact that people buy DS games at all is surprising, especially considering they have "majikon" vending machines in some places...
THIS JUST IN:
Not everyone is a pirate!
WTF!?
As a Microsoft fag, I keep telling myself Tales of Vesperia was on the Xbox first so technically there is an Xbox game on the list.
I'll go cry in a corner now.
Not even a single western game?
Srsly... japanese people don't know what good.
Even the western saleslists have a lot of jap-games in them.
I would call Resident evil 5 (Biohazard 5) a western game by now.
which be like calling anything made in the US a Somalian game by now
LMAO! NO 360 GAMES HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHH! DIE MICROSOFT LOVERS!!!! HARHARHAR
Stop typing like you got a chode up your ass.
but he does have a chode up his ass... my chode
yaranaika?
In these days the Xbox 360 outsell the PS3 ONLY in the US.
Xbox fans are weeping....
Lol, it outsells in Europe too dumbass.
The PS3 is still a shitty system with almost no games.
yeah keep telling yourself that. Enjoy being in complete denial
PS3.
There's my list.
And for the idiot that said there's no games for the PS3, it's been a couple of years since we discovered new problems with it you fucking tard. Now I find myself saying that for the 360. ODST? Gears of War 2? Psh. Don't make me laugh. They're not even selling them at regular price anymore. I can't even think of any other crappy games for the 360 because I haven't heard of any new exclusive ones yet. Granted Fable, Mass Effect 2, and KOTR will probably be good, but face it! Halo was the meal ticket and they fucked it up.
Not quite. You're only 3/4 correct. It's: PC>PS3>Wii>360. Though I have to say that the few really good games for the Wii, such as Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and New Super Mario Bros, are the best.
pc>ps3>360>wii
accept the the fact.
Wii ftw!
...
I'll show myself out.
lol. I dunno about that buddy. Maybe your not up on current events but, more than half of 360s have a complete failure. Did that bring you back to speed on the situation?
"I regret ever buying the Wii there are not too many games that appeal to me for this console."
Save for the punctuation oversight, this is the most intelligent statement I have read on the internet in some time.
Not, "there are no games;" rather, "there are not too many games that appeal to me."
*breaks into applause*
360 have good warranty for their failure rate. I think the number was %30 failure rate with 3 years warranty. The PS3 is %10 for 1 year warranty.
But I do wish I had a PS3 this year it looks like they had better games then the 360.
Some years 360 have better games.
I regret ever buying the Wii there are not too many games that appeal to me for this console.
For SD Gundam G Generation Wars to end up in the list just makes me happy, loved the game. :3
I wondered why there aren't any X360 games up there in the list ?
Are there even 300,000 people in Japan who own 360s?
Because the elevens are faggots and won't support a foreign made console. And as a result the PS3 hasn't really had to have any good games to shine and thus became the utter failure of a console it is now.