Japan Charts: Market revives as the big guns roll out key summer releases

Major new releases from some of Japan's biggest publishers, including Sega, Nintendo, Capcom and Square Enix, saw the first major upturn in the software market in several weeks - with even an Xbox title making it into the top ten.

This weeks best selling title was Sega's Initial D Special Stage, based on the popular anime racing franchise, which sold over 160,000 units in its first three days on sale - but there were also incredibly strong launches for Nintendo's Animal Crossing e+, which was also sold as a bundle with the E-Card Reader, and Square Enix' Hanjyuku Hero VS 3D, both of which sold over 100,000 units apiece.

Capcom's Viewtiful Joe managed a fourth place ranking in the charts, with just under 50,000 units sold - and could almost certainly have sold twice that had the company shipped enough units of the game to retail. Capcom has had to apologise publicly for underestimating demand for the quirky side-scrolling beat 'em up title.

Other new titles making it into the top ten were Gust's Atelier Violet, which is a follow-up to the popular RPG Atelier Violet, and there's even an Xbox game in the rankings, with Capcom's Dino Crisis 3 slipping in at number nine. Koei's Dynasty Tactics 2 caps off the list, making it into the chart at number ten.

A good week all round for the software market, then, and Nintendo will be especially pleased with the performance of GameCube software this week - with both Animal Crossing e+ and Viewtiful Joe making strong showings. Getting a title into the top ten on Xbox will also be a much-needed confidence boost for Microsoft's beleaguered Japanese Xbox subsidiary.

Oh, and a small point of interest - this is one of the only weekly ranking charts so far this year not to feature Pokemon Ruby or Sapphire anywhere in the top ten. Don't be surprised if they creep back into the rankings in the next few weeks, however.

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