Japanese charts: PS3 closing in on Wii

By Robert Purchese Published 23 January, 2009

Fallout 3, Naruto help Sony's cause.

New releases Fallout 3 and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm have helped the PS3 narrow the sales gap with Wii across Japan.

Nintendo counted 32,333 console sales for the week ending 18th January, while Sony's flagship machine notched up 20,690 sales, according to Media Create data (recreated by NeoGAF).

The increased competition echoes in the software chart, where both platforms count two top 10 entries. The Wii representatives are new entry New Control Play! Mario Power Tennis at one and Wii Fit at nine. The PlayStation 3 candidates are newcomers Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm at three and Fallout 3 at seven.

Nintendo sees 11 entries for Wii across the top 50, while Sony fills eight places with titles on PS3.

Both consoles are streets ahead of Xbox 360 and PS2, which record 9576 and 5760 sales, respectively. The Microsoft console only has one top 50 game entry (Race Driver: GRID at 44), and the PS2 has two.

Unsurprisingly, though, DS sales remain dominant for the region, and nearly double those of rival handheld, PSP.

The DS occupies 23 - just under half - of the top 50 software slots, while PSP games fill just five.

This Week Last Week Title Platform Weekly Sales Lifetime Sales
1 New Entry New Control Play! Mario Power Tennis Wii 56,509 56,509
2 New Entry Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor DS 55,466 55,466
3 New Entry Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm PS3 44,065 44,065
4 1 Dissidia: Final Fantasy PSP 29,355 848,000
5 2 Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) PSP 27,032 332,000
6 3 Rhythm Tengoku Gold DS 25,488 1,594,000
7 New Entry Fallout 3 PS3 24,488 24,488
8 5 Wagamama Fashion: Girl's Mode DS 22,628 667,000
9 4 Wii Fit Wii 21,847 3,177,000
10 New Entry DS Uranai Seikatsu DS 19,881 19,881
Platform This Week Last Week This Year Lifetime
Nintendo DS 81,334 101,630 413,642 25,451,951
PlayStation Portable 42,559 60,495 314,142 11,618,033
Nintendo Wii 32,333 41,243 193,541 7,672,442
PlayStation 3 20,690 28,144 109,488 2,731,916
Xbox 360 9576 10,554 39,824 870,364
PlayStation 2 5760 6628 24,936 21,424,460
Platform This Week Last Week This Year Lifetime
Nintendo DSi 62,525 78,201 140,726 979,296
Nintendo DS Lite 18,809 23,429 42,238 17,416,632
Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (69) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • agparrot #1 3 years ago

    Wii is doomed, etc.

    God, can't believe I wasted the veneer on my keyboard even typing it.

  • ChaK #2 3 years ago

    wow @ DS(i)

    where are they going to stop

  • muscleblade #3 3 years ago

    Naruto 2 Broken bond on the 360 was fantastic imo. Is Ultimate Ninja Storm on the PS3 as good? Have EG reviewed any of the two? I dont think so.

  • snowdog #4 3 years ago

    Closed the gap..? Erm...no. The gap in sales between the Wii and PS3 has still widened, just not widened quite as much as other weeks. The gap will only close when the PS3 actually sells more units than the Wii, which as far as I remember has only happened once when MGS4 was released...although I will stand to be corrected.

  • Rash' #5 3 years ago

    EG have reviewed neither Naruto games. Ultimate Ninja Storm looks fantastic. Best visual adaptation of an anime. The trailer on the Jap PSN looks the business. Pull your finger out EG.

  • GamesConnoisseur #6 3 years ago

    'closing in' indicated to me that the sales are not widening the gap ie the difference of almost 12k more consoles just add to the Wii lifetime total and increasing the effort Sony need to actually close in and then overtake!

    Naruto on X360 is great and I got the Storm for PS3 but not yet got the chance to unwrap the wrapper and hoping it a good game too, I never watched the TV series but for some reason the game franchise just appealed to me!

  • Dizzy #7 3 years ago

    >Is Ultimate Ninja Storm on the PS3 as good?

    Very mediocre. Mostly 7s. Well it is Naruto.... the Japanese buy anything that has the Naruto name. The Ubisoft versions are superior except in cutscenes.

  • Gurgeh #8 3 years ago

    Slightly related news: Sony posts $ 2.9 billion loss for the year, twice as much as predicted.

    [link url=http://www.dailytech.com/Sony+to+Re port+Massive+29B+USD+Loss/article14030.htm
    ]http://ww w.dailytech.com/Sony+to+Report+...[/link]

  • Tonka #9 3 years ago

    Here's another title for you
    The Balance Board increases the lead over the PS3

  • NorfolkNClue #10 3 years ago

    Who cares about the semantics of the analysis, it's just nice to have the figures!

  • Rash' #11 3 years ago

    Dizzy, according metacritic, there isn't much between them. i played the demo on PSN and thought the presentation and intuitive combat very good. visually broken bond looks well broken to me. the visuals look like a western dev trying to do manga in a moving medium. it's a disconnect that sits uncomfortably with me. probably is a good game, but the authenticity of UNS's presentation (with full jap dialogue and subtitles) makes it the more appealing game.
    Edited by 2 at 23/01/09 @ 10:27

  • MoGamer2006 #12 3 years ago

    It's not about semantics, it's about spin - of creating a falsely positive take on information that is nothing of the sort.

    If people actually read these stats and thoughts about them then it might not matter so much, but most won't and will just take the headline at face value.

    You'd expect better from a supposedly professional gaming site.

  • Dizzy #13 3 years ago

    >but the authenticity of UNS's presentation (with full jap dialogue and subtitles) makes it the more appealing game.

    The Ubisoft games also have full Japanese and they have clips from the original series.

    Anyway... yea only Japanese people are allowed to make manga based games. I get it.

  • IronCladChicken #14 3 years ago

    Good to see Fallout3 in the top 10 (even if I never 'got' the game myself)

  • consignia #15 3 years ago

    I thought Broken Bond (and Rise of a Ninja) was a really good atempt by a Western Developer on an anime based game. It felt authentic enough, except perhaps the missions not based on the actual anime. It even uses music from the series, which many anime games don't.

  • Rash' #16 3 years ago

    i'm usually not one defend EG, but it all depends on what you perceive narrowing the gap implies. is it weekly sales or, as the sceptics would like to believe, overall sales?

    either way it's done its job and got the hits.
    Edited by 2 at 23/01/09 @ 11:05

  • CaptianScarlet #17 3 years ago

    @Tonka

    Lol, that's the best comment here :)

  • muscleblade #18 3 years ago

    @Rash

    If you say Broken Bond visually looks broken im afraid your opinion isnt to be taken seriously. The game looks amazing. Reviewers agree on the fact that its absolutely gorgeous. It really is. One of the best looking games in 2008. The sharpness is just incredible.

    edit: and its in japanese btw. The cutscenes is taken from actual episodes too and they look good. But the actual gameplay graphics looks even better. You actually feel like you are watching (or participating) the anime when playing ranked matches online.
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/09 @ 10:39

  • Triggerhappytel #19 3 years ago

    snowdog - "Closed the gap..? Erm...no. The gap in sales between the Wii and PS3 has still widened, just not widened quite as much as other weeks. The gap will only close when the PS3 actually sells more units than the Wii, which as far as I remember has only happened once when MGS4 was released...although I will stand to be corrected."

    Well, they obviously mean the gap in weekly sales, rather than the lifetime total.

    Dizzy - "Very mediocre. Mostly 7s. Well it is Naruto"

    Stop now. Bad Dizzy; 7/10 is a very respectable score and probably indicates a purchase if someone is a fan of the genre or franchise.

  • muscleblade #20 3 years ago

    @Dizzy

    Thanks. I take it you have actually played both games and actually have a valid opinion. Waiting for the third Naruto from Ubisoft then.

  • merkdot #21 3 years ago

    Japanese charts: PS3 not closing in on Wii

  • Rash' #22 3 years ago

    Dizzy, ... :)

    When the western dev produces this: [link url=ht tp://www.gamersyde.com/pop_image.html?G=9491&N=6
    ]http://ww w.gamersyde.com/pop_image.html?...[/link]

    And the Jap dev produces this: [link url=ht tp://www.gamersyde.com/pop_image.html?G=9040&N=8
    ]http://ww w.gamersyde.com/pop_image.html?...[/link]

    When the reference point is this: [link url=http://1.bp.bl ogspot.com/_ouC92wvILSw/SKliiQRUKAI/AAAAAAAADSQ/4q4Z4gFTnlI/ s400/Uchiha-Sasuke-naruto-anime.jpg
    ]http://1.bp.blogspot .com/_ouC92wvILSw/SK...[/link]

    I know which I consider to be more authentic, but please let me illustrate better:

    Ultimate Ninja Storm: [link url=http://w ww.gamersyde.com/stream_9219_en.html
    ]http://ww w.gamersyde.com/stream_9219_en....[/link]

    Broken Bond: [link url=http://w ww.gamersyde.com/stream_9471_en.html
    ]http://ww w.gamersyde.com/stream_9471_en....[/link]

    It this case, yes the Jap dev is more authethic to the source material than the western dev.

    ;o)

  • merkdot #23 3 years ago

    come on guys, Dizzy is only doing his job.

    I hope.

  • Dizzy #24 3 years ago

    "Stop now. Bad Dizzy; 7/10 is a very respectable score and probably indicates a purchase if someone is a fan of the genre or franchise. "

    Indeed... I just replied to the question if it was as good as Broken Bond. It is the weakest of the Naruto games on next gen systems. So if you are a fan 7.5 is still rather good yes, but there are better ;)

  • bigbadbeasty #25 3 years ago

    "Well, they obviously mean the gap in weekly sales, rather than the lifetime total"

    A bit tenuous considering the Wii still sold a third more units. No gap closing there.

  • Rash' #26 3 years ago

    muscle, it's just about authenticity for me. Ninja storm looks incredible as a anime adaptation. Where as Broken Bond's aesthetic appears to be from manga which isn't at all like the anime series which is the closest reference point for both games. The backdrops are a fine example in Broken Bond. Highly textured affairs that sit uncomfortably with the cel-shaded characters, when the watercolour effect of the Namco game would've served better.

  • Rash' #27 3 years ago

    "come on guys, Dizzy is only doing his job."

    LOL!

    That's quite funny. Who's paying him?

  • sneetch #28 3 years ago

    @Triggerhappytel
    Well, they obviously mean the gap in weekly sales, rather than the lifetime total.

    Yes, it's obvious when you read the article and realise that they in fact haven't closed the gap at all and have instead sold almost 12,000 consoles less. Then you look for other, reasonable, interpretations of their poorly-worded statement (because you're reasonable) and you come to the conclusion you did. :)

    It's wrong though as both the Wii's and the PS3's sales are down on last week. In terms of raw numbers the Wii is down more, selling 8910 consoles less than last week compared to the PS3 selling 7454 less than last week, however if you look at it as a percentage of last week's sales then the Wii's 32,333 is 78.39% of the previous weeks sales while the PS3's 20,690 is 73.51% of the previous weeks sales. So in fact the gap in sales is widening.

    There is no way that they are "closing in on Wii".

  • merkdot #29 3 years ago

    more typical anti-PS3 bias from eurogamer. I really am disgusted.

  • Dizzy #30 3 years ago

    >That's quite funny. Who's paying him?

    Microsoft ;)

  • PlugMonkey #31 3 years ago

    I'm quite surprised at how well Fallout 3 is doing. The Japanese market doesn't generally go crazy for western devloped, non-turn-based RPGs. Progress?

  • Dizzy #32 3 years ago

    >I'm quite surprised at how well Fallout 3 is doing

    The numbers are quite low TBH. It needs a few weeks to do "well". That being said Oblivion did some ok numbers as well. Maybe some Japanese have an obsession for anything Western probably claiming on forums as we speak that "Only US/European companies can make good WRPGs".

  • Eighthours #33 3 years ago

    Closing the gap? PS3's sales are 8k down on last week, and still far less than the Wii's!

  • Rash' #34 3 years ago

    So who's telling fibs? according to gamtrailers (whose rating for BB and UNS sits at 7.6 and 7.5 respectively) BB doesn't have anime cut scenes...

  • Rash' #35 3 years ago

    LOL! Dizzy, you're mildly amusing when bitter at conceding.

  • Dizzy #36 3 years ago

    "So who's telling fibs? according to gamtrailers (whose rating for BB and UNS sits at 7.6 and 7.5 respectively) BB doesn't have anime cut scenes... "

    Let it go dude. We have moved on.

    Ultimate Ninja Storm is the best ok? You obviously are the expert.

  • Doctor_What #37 3 years ago

    That's a fairly reasonable week of sales for the 360, yes, it's still 50% of the PS3, but that's still excellent compared to last-gen.

    It's good to see the Japanese picking up more PS3s too: roll on the bonkers Japanese 'not a game' 'interactive screensaver' titles! I really enjoy that sort of creative nonsense :)

  • Rash' #38 3 years ago

    Dizzy, it was naughty of you to be so provocative in comparison.

    Neither game is brilliant, and about as good as each other.

    I'm satisfied now so yes, lets leave it there. :)
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/09 @ 12:00

  • MoGamer2006 #39 3 years ago

    LOL. There's always at least one 'Hey, the XB360 is doing quite well.... er... when you think about it... um... compared to the XB's performance.... and, ah... the GBC sales...."

    Yeah, with the XB360 selling like this, the XB720 is all primed to take over Japan... ;)

  • Tonka #40 3 years ago

    The DSi is not 100% backwards compatible with the DS or the DSlite.

    Try to play Guitar Hero on it if you don't believe me.

  • muscleblade #41 3 years ago

    "Yeah, with the XB360 selling like this, the XB720 is all primed to take over Japan... ;) "

    Even the Japanese are starting to aknowledge that the 360 is better than the competition. Its almost unpatriotic for them to buy an American console, but for those who dear to do it never look back. Next generation console wars should be exiting. I really hope Sony make a PS4 but i think they might throw in the towel.

  • Rash' #42 3 years ago

    muscle, you sure are delusional.

  • muscleblade #43 3 years ago

    "Neither game is brilliant, and about as good as each other."

    Broken Bond made me a Naruto fan and i thouth it was brilliant. One of my favourite games.


  • muscleblade #44 3 years ago

    @Rash'

    "you sure are delusional"

    You wish! Being a owner of both HD consoles (traded in my PS3 though) i understand why the Japanese suddenly buy the evil breakable noisy American console. You just dont get it. You are delusional my friend.

  • Rash' #45 3 years ago

    muscle, let me rephrase, neither game is critically brilliant.

  • Rash' #46 3 years ago

    muscle, "You are delusional my friend."

    If you say so...

  • El-Dev #47 3 years ago

    They really are buying the 360's in droves over there. Shame they're not buying any games though, 1 in the top 50.

  • muscleblade #48 3 years ago

    @Rash'

    "If you say so..."

    Well you said it first. Still friends i hope.

  • Rash' #49 3 years ago

    muscle, if you still had a PS3 we would be!!!

    I kid, I kid!

  • Inigo #50 3 years ago

    Nice to see Fallout 3 doing well in japan, i never expected that. I bet they are regretting signing the exclusive DLC agreement with Microsoft now.

  • septimus #51 3 years ago

    Storm is a very good Naruto game and far truer to the series than the Ubisoft versions. Have both, the 360 version got dull quick. Partially due to the timeline setting.

  • muscleblade #52 3 years ago

    @retibra

    I was talking about the 720 vs PS4. Next gen isnt this gen anymore is it? The 360 are selling alot more consoles in Japan than i expected. Not nearly enough to really compete with the Japanese consoles of course. I bet most Japanese 360 owners already owned a Wii and maybe even a PS3 when their bought it.
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/09 @ 14:15

  • muscleblade #53 3 years ago

    "the 360 version got dull quick"

    Cant be Broken Bond you are talking about. That game is far from dull. Its kind of a mix of Ubisoft Montreals own POP and AC mixed with a very good fighting game and with a lot more variety than those games. Dull - No way.

  • muscleblade #54 3 years ago

    "(despite a year long head-start on MS' part)"

    Not correct. The PS3 released in Japan before Europe remember.

  • Daikon #55 3 years ago

    Fallout 3 on X360 in Japan gets beaten by Uranai Seikatsu and Wagamama Fashion.
    What is the world coming to?

    Edit: The Asian version of Fallout 3 still hasn't been patched, so Asian gamers couldn't care less about DLC (which requires the patch)...
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/09 @ 14:34

  • Machiavellian #56 3 years ago

    I happen to have both Naruto games and my son and I have also played them both. Bar none, the PS3 version characters totally blow away the 360 version. There is no comparison, the 360 version doesn't even come close. Animation on the PS3 version also totally owns as they are smooth while the 360 version clearly could use more frames.

    The environments I give the edge to the 360 version. They look very good and sharp and definitely a much better recreation of the village.

    The gameplay I defintely give to the 360 version. Though Ninja Storm is a beutiful game, it is also very boring and reptitious. My Son and I grew very bored of it quickly and we didn't even finish the game. Also the combat is about as simplistic as it gets since you only use one button to attack. I do not mind simplisty within my fighting games but Ninja Storm became boring pretty quick.

    On the 360 version, they did a great job of putting you into the story arch. It's also good that you get to use more characters than just Naruto. Even though the 360 version could get tedious, they way the game is layed out made it more fun to play and complete.

    The way I see it, the Developers on Ninja Storm spent so much time on getting the graphics and animation right, they forgot to actually anything for the gameplay and it suffered.

    In the end, Ninja Storm is the better looking of the two games but Broken Bond will be the game you enjoy the most to actually play.

  • Calgon #57 3 years ago

    Rash' in "I stop attacking EGs integrity and do the opposite only when they unrigtfully make the PS3 look good" SHOCKER!!! same as every other PS3 troll on EG I'll bet too. :/
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/09 @ 15:36

  • Les #58 3 years ago

    As for the 'not closing the gap' remarks, it all depends on how you define 'gap' (which is why it's so easy to spin statistics). In the case of the gap you could define it in a gap in absolute numbers or in a relative gap (the ratio between the two systems).

    Obviously to close the absolute gap, one system needs to sell more than the other in a period. But to close the relative gap, the system that's behind has to only sell more relative to the ratio 'system behind'/'system in front' at the start of the period that's being measured. So if there are 3 times as many Wii's as PS3s at the start of the period, if PS3 in over the period sells more than 1/3 of the number of Wii's, it's actually closing the relative gap.

    As installed bases grow, the relative gap becomes more and more important versus the absolute gap. E.g. at the start of 2008 there were roughly 18m 360s sold versus around 12m PS3s (if I recall correctly). That's an absolute gap of 6m and the 360/PS3 ratio (relative gap) was 1.5. At the end of 2008 the numbers were 28m 360s and 20m PS3s. Absolute gap has grown 2m but the relative gap closed (ratio is 1.4).

  • miiiguel #59 3 years ago


    I don't know what's the big deal, if Portugal launched a console, even if inferior I would buy it. Day one, probably.

    lol.

  • Rash' #60 3 years ago

    Mach, I've only sampled the demo (and judging by the reviews no Naruto game warrants paying the full RRP) but I found the simplicity in Ninja Storm's combat to be quirkie and deep. Obviously I'm not talking VF deep here, but the full three dimensional movement in combination with the chakra load, the items on the dpad and the team assist certainly made for some strategic and epic fights. yes there's only one attack button, but my impression was the system is about how you use that button in tandem with everything else. I think calling the combat repetitive is doing the game a major disservice.

  • miiiguel #61 3 years ago

    ""As installed bases grow, the relative gap becomes more and more important"

    Let me quote Madona:
    "Hey DJ, put your record on, I wanna dance..."

  • snowdog #62 3 years ago

    @Les: I've never read so much bollocks in all my life lol.

  • ronuds #63 3 years ago

    I would think the "relative gap" would close almost no matter what happened, as long as both consoles were still on the market and selling? LOL

    It would take very poor sales to not close the relative gap at all, especially for a console late out of the gates. Plus, as numbers grow, the relative gap is almost assured to shrink. To say that you've lost ground, but are still happy because your relative gap has shrunk, though, is a bit of a stretch.

  • Les #64 3 years ago

    @snowdog

    "@Les: I've never read so much bollocks in all my life lol."

    Just because you can't grasp something doesn't necessarily mean it's bollocks. Though I can't blame you for not seeing the difference, I can blame you for assuming the worst... I think my numerical examples are illustrative enough for someone of average intelligence to understand - though it's a tough call for me to make given my peerless intelligence...

    But as I'm always willing to educate the people that are willing to learn, let me try another example. Surely you get that when deciding whether to create something for consoles A and/or B, there's a big difference between te following two situations:
    1) Console A has an installed base of 12m, console B has an installed base of 4m (gap is 8m)
    2) Console A has an installed base of 120m, console B has an installed base of 100m (gap is 20m)

    hint: It has something to do with critical mass...

  • ronuds #65 3 years ago

    @ Les

    I think we all understand you, but that doesn't make your comments any less a load of bollocks. :p

    I don't think Sony/Ninty/MS would be happy about "relative" anything if their console is losing by millions while the gap continues to grow. I'm sorry, but it just makes no sense. The day the PS3 went on sale, its relative gap with the 360 began to shrink. Do you think Sony's happy about that, even though the overall lead has grown by 1-2m? Maybe if Sony were on crack that would make them happy (and some may argue they are). Otherwise, I doubt it...and I doubt their stockholders are happy either.

    By your logic though, Sony should be happy if by the time they reach 100m consoles sold, the 360 has sold 137m. So, their relative gap is now 1.37, but they're now losing by 40m instead of 7 or 8. lol

  • FenderMaster #66 3 years ago

    Wow.... thats amazing, Fallout 3; a Western developed fps/wrpg is in the Japanese top 10...

    Either Famitsu have been raving about it, or japanese tastes are changing...


    As for Naruto: UNS, it looks incredible, and the fights are jaw dropping, but it's really very shallow. The adventure mode was extremely lazy, theres an excellent recreation of the Hidden Leaf Village, but aside from Hide & Seek and scroll collecting theres very little to do in it. The missions rather than consisting of action adventure stages where you explore outside the village, are just a mix of 3 mini-games and fights, selected from the pause menu.... and theres no voice acting at all in the village, its eerily quiet!!... I still actually enjoyed it, but despite the visuals, the 360 Naruto games look more appealing to me, so no need to be jealous of this one!!
    Edited by 1 at 23/01/09 @ 20:46

  • Slipstream #67 3 years ago

    The Ubisoft versions are superior except in cutscenes

    Hmm I have to disagree, the Ubisoft games excel in the additional twists they added to lengthen the game and with the sequel they actually paid for the voice talent (both english and Japanese) and animated the cutscenes themselves, was all very impressive. Otherwise the gameplay is completley broken, again the sequel performed better in this aspect but the game is far from polished, still fun overal.

    The CC2 Naruto games I find vastly more interesting, combat is fast paced and true to the anime, and so far the purists consider Ultimate Ninja 3 on the PS 2 the pinnacleof the Naruto fighting series thus far. The Ps3 version looks and plays very well, the attacks and special moves are mind blowing in terms of animation which is so true to the anime it hurrts and execution. However the fighting system was dumbed down dramatically and the explore mode is extremely lackustre compared to Broken Bonds on the 360 which is actually very good fun!

  • Law07 #68 3 years ago

    LOL Naruto nerds arguing which game is better

  • bonker #69 3 years ago

    "I'm quite surprised at how well Fallout 3 is doing. The Japanese market doesn't generally go crazy for western devloped, non-turn-based RPGs. Progress? "

    And in a post-nuke setting too of course - interesting ...

    Fallout 3 does seem to divide people though. It's absolutely not true to say that anyone who loved Oblivion will love it too - I loved Oblivion and I really like Fallout 3 too but some of my Oblivion-loving friends *can not stand* Fallout 3! :)