Frank-ProvoMedia Create, the soothsayer of Japanese sales figures, has released its chart of console hardware and software for the week spanning November 1-7, 2004.
The big deal this week concerns the hardware numbers…
Hardware (units this week – last week – all 2004)
1. PlayStation 2 – 114,831 – 19,345 – 1,959,422
2. GameBoy Advance SP – 27,611 – 30,506 – 2,081,561
3. Xbox – 4,959 – 271 – 31,766
4. Gamecube – 4,656 – 6,170 – 511,633
5. Gameboy Advance – 982 – 810 – 188,653
6. Swan Crystal – 108 – 44 – 7,080
7. PSone – 80 – 75 – 13,694
Obviously, the PS2 holds court at the top with 114,831 new systems sold, which represents a nearly 500% increase over the week before. Analysts suggest that this spike is due to the release of the sexy, svelte PStwo unit.
But, look at those Xbox numbers also. 4,959 units may not seem like much, even on a weekly chart, but that is a 20-fold increase over the week prior. Those same analysts suggest that the cause of the Xbox spike is the release of Dead or Alive Ultimate. Although we in the west are a bit less crazy for Tecmo's bouncy fighting series, the Japanese really love it, and sales tend to jump whenever a new one is released.
And now, the software numbers…
Software (units this week – units 2004)
1. (GBA) Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap – Nintendo – 96,981 – 96,981
2. (PS2) Shining Tears – Sega – 65,873 – 65,873
3. (Xbox) Dead Or Alive Ultimate – Tecmo – 59,649 – 59,649
4. (GC) Mario Tennis – Nintendo – 44,064 – 229,765
5. (PS2) Arc the Lad Generation – SCEJ – 29,478 – 29,478
6. (PS2) Ace Combat 5: Unsung War – Namco – 24,091 – 245,040
7. (PS2) Dokapon World – Asmik Ace – 19,585 – 19,585
8. (GBA) Mawaru Made in Wario – Nintendo – 18,220 – 200,400
9. (GBA) Pokemon Emerald – Nintendo – 17,788 – 1,148,924
10. (PS2) Pride of the Dragon Peace PEACE – SCEJ – 17,417 – 48,673
Nintendo's latest installment of the Legend of Zelda series, for the GBA, tops the chart, with Sega's latest "Shining" RPG and Tecmo's DOA Ultimate filling out the top 3.