Japan Video Game Chart: Monster Hunter is Purrfect!

Japan still has a thing for cutesy role playing beat'em ups, as Monster Hunter Diary (featuring cats) remains at the top of the Media Create Software Chart for this week (30th August - 5th September 2010). The release of several new games hasn't stopped this from being something of a slow week for the market however.

1 Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village – Capcom (PSP) – 88,405
2 Wii Party – Nintendo (Wii) – 55,837
3 Metroid: Other M – Nintendo (Wii) – 45,398 / NEW
4 Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault – Namco Bandai (PS3) – 27,560
5 Bleach: Hit the Soul 7 – Sony Computer Entertainment (PSP) – 25,374 / NEW
6 Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Nintendo (Wii) – 11,933
7 Art Academy – Nintendo (DS) – 10,248
8 Inazuma Eleven 3: World Challenge!! Spark/Bomber – Level-5 (DS) – 10,022
9 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Square Enix (PS3) – 9,162 / NEW
10 Another Century's Episode: R – Namco Bandai (PS3) – 8,880

The highest new entry this week is Nintendo and Team Ninja's Metroid collaboration, Other M. While critically, the game has had something of a mixed reception, certainly the Japanese pedigree behind Samus' latest has won it some domestic interest. Previous #2, Ace Combat X2, falls to #4 which allows Wii Party to move up a place on the Top 10 board.

Bleach: Hit the Soul 7 debuts at #5, giving the PSP a little new-release love, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is finally released this week in Japan, nearly a year after the game's launch in the West. It just about makes the Top 10 – it's sales are over 9,000. The only other new release this week is a DS puzzle game based on an anime, but it enters the chart at #45.