Yakuza 4 in at number one in Japanese charts

Sega's annual blockbuster has best opening yet for long-running crime series

News by David Jenkins Contributor

Published on March 25, 2010

The fourth mainline entry in what is known in the West as the Yakuza series has entered at number one in this week's Japanese software charts.

Known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku 4: Densetsu wo Tsugumono (Like a Dragon 4: Successor of the Legend), the latest game sold 384,000 on its debut. This firmly ensconces it in the top tier of Japanese franchises and represents a slight improvement on the previous title, which sold 372,000 in its first week and currently has a lifetime total in Japan of over 500,000 units.

The third entry in the series has just been released in North America and PAL territories, leaving the West almost exactly a year behind the Japanese schedule. A fifth title has recently been hinted at by Sega, which if it follows recent tradition is expected to be released next March.

The only other new entry in the top ten this week is Namco Bandai's Gundam Assault Survive for the PSP, with 91,000 units sold. The game is the fifth in Gundam Battle series of third-person action games based on the perennially popular anime series.

The rest of the top ten is made up of the usual evergreen titles such as Friend Collection and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, as well as new releases from the previous week such as Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce 2.

However sales were generally low across the board, with the tenth ranked title selling just 15,000 units.

Outside of the top 10 there few other notable titles, although Western release God of War Collection for PlayStation 3 - containing HD remakes of the first two PlayStation 2 titles - did manage to enter the chart at number 13.

Japanese software sales chart: