IdolMaster 2 Outsells Killzone 3

Japanese gamers have been presented with yet another perverse week of game sales – this time with IdolMaster 2 bombing with a pathetic 36,000 sales, but still better than the pathetic reception top PS3 blockbuster Killzone 3 received, with only 26,000.

The weekly sales figures for the last week of February, showing healthy sales for Disgaea 4, and distinctly unhealthy sales for IdolMaster 2 and Killzone 3:

1. Phantasy Star Portable 2 – PSP – 11/02/24 – 206,654/206,654

2. SD Gundam G Generation World – PSP – 11/02/24 – 192,981/192,981

3. Layton & The Mask of Miracles – 11/02/26 – 3DS – 119,591/119,591

4. Disgaea 4 – PS3 – 11/02/24 – 79,425/79,425

5. Nintendogs+Cats – 3DS – 11/02/26 – 64,213/64,213

6. Sengoku Musou Chronicle – 3DS – 11/02/26 – 49,327/49,327

7. Super Street Fighter IV 3D EDITION – 3DS – 11/02/26 – 44,649/44,649

8. Ridge Racer 3D – 3DS – 11/02/26 – 38,226/38,226

9. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd – PSP – 10/12/01 – 36,323/4,325,672

10. IdolMaster 2 – 360 – 11/02/24 – 34,621/34,621

11 Rune Factory Oceans – PS3 – 11/02/24 – 28,939/28,939

12. SD Gundam G Generation World – Wii – 11/02/24 28,119/28,119

13. KILLZONE 3 – PS3 – 11/02/24 – 26,717/26,717

14. Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5 – PSP – 11/02/24 – 26,345/26,345

15. Winning Eleven 3D Soccer – 3DS – 11/02/26 – 24,556/24,556

16. Sengoku Musou 3 Z – PS3 – 11/02/10 – 24,075/290,712

17. Catherine – PS3 – 11/02/17 – 21,183/163,008

18. Yu-Gi-Oh Over the Nexus – DS – 11/02/24 – 21,002/21,002

19. Marvel vs Capcom 3 – PS3 – 11/02/17 – 14,821/82,008

20. Rune Factory Oceans – Wii – 11/02/24 – 10,495/10,495

For historical comparison purposes:

Disgaea 3 – 55,000

IdolMaster Live for You – 44,000

Killzone 2 – 41,000

Whether the colourful fan reception of IdolMaster 2 is actually the cause of its low sales is somewhat in question – in Japan the Xbox 360 is barely capable of supporting sales of any great magnitude, and now plays host only to a handful of international ports and niche groping simulators.

In any case, Bandai’s canny use of DLC, character goods and mixed media probably makes the initial sales of IdolMaster a far less pressing concern than with a conventional game – although the same can not be said for the unfortunate publishers of all the international mega-blockbusters the Japanese mysteriously refuse to have anything to do with.