Media Create Weekly Sales Charts: March 17-23

Software Sales

Hardware Sales

There’s quite a bit to talk about with regards to new games in this week’s Media Create charts. But first, let’s take a quick look at the hardware side of the things. I am happy to report that every system rose in sales from last week, even the Wii U, which had nothing reach the Top 20 software sales (nor did it have any new games reach Famitsu’s Top 30) but it went up the most in percentage at 30%. The Vita was the big winner in total numbers gained with 7,411 more than last week.

Okay, now on to the new games:

The top individual game this week comes from Nintendo in the form of Mario Party: Island Tour, securing 132,668 in sales. The game has already released in the West to mixed reviews.

Samurai Warriors 4, the latest in the spin-off series of Dynasty Warriors, was in second with 120,452 units sold for the PS3 port. The Vita port also made the Top 20 with 39,597 units sold. Combined, Samurai Warriors 4 sold 160,049 in it’s first week. Currently, there are no plans for release outside of Japan.

The PS3 port of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes was third this week, selling 119,615 units. The PS4 version also made the list, selling 91,903 units. Combined, the two versions sold 211,518 units. The game released last week in the West to mixed results. If you would like to learn more about the game, check out our review.

The top selling game in combined sales this week was J-Stars Victory Vs for PS3 and PS Vita. The game combined for 216,061 units sold (PS3: 118,240; Vita: 97,821). J-Stars Victory Vs is a crossover fighting game featuring several characters from a number of Weekly Shōnen Jump franchises. The game is not currently scheduled for release in the West.

Konami released the latest game in their baseball simulation series, Pro Baseball Spirits 2014. The game was released on the PS3, PS Vita, and PSP for a combined 121,982 units sold.

Game Center CX: 3-Choume no Arino has been released in Japan. This is the second sequel to Retro Game Challenge, which was released in North America thanks to XSEED Games. However, just like Game Center CX: Arino no Chōsenjō 2, we will not likely see this game come over due to low sales of the first game.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth 2 released this week to the tune of 26,845 units sold. The Vita remake of Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 has yet to be announced for the West, but we do know that Re;Birth 1 will be coming over. So, there is hope that this will be localized as well.

Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 2 is the latest addition to the series, selling 16,152 units for the Vita port. Phantasy Star Online 2 was announced for localization back in 2012 but has been stuck in “limbo” since then. Here’s hoping we see it come over one of these days.

The last new game on the list is one of the most peculiar. Hero Bank by Sega is a new IP that will have an anime launch in two weeks. The story centers around an elementary school boy named Kaito who is suddenly burdened with a massive debt (as in billions of Yen). In order to pay it off, he must win matches in “Hero Battle”, an in-series eSport, by mastering “Hero-Gi”. We’ll see how the anime does and if it has a similar effect to what is happening with Yo-kai Watch.

Speaking of which, Yo-kai Watch was the top returning game, selling 44,659 units last week, pushing sales beyond 600,000 units sold lifetime. Also of note, Fossil Fighters: Infinite Gear topped 100,000 this past week. It’s still unclear whether either of these games will be localized.

Finally, I must note that Pokemon X&Y missed the Top 20 this week, ending it’s consecutive week streak. Granted, I didn’t think it would have the same run that Animal Crossing had last year, but going from October until now is still impressive. I expect it to be back next week when the crowded field of new games thins out.

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