Japan Charts: Second week at number one for Suikoden IV
The latest instalment in Konami's popular RPG series, Suikoden IV, has taken a second week at number one in Japan - but overall sales dropped off as the impact of the end of the summer holiday period was felt across the market.
The latest instalment in Konami's popular RPG series, Suikoden IV, has taken a second week at number one in Japan - but overall sales dropped off as the impact of the end of the summer holiday period was felt across the market.
The traditional "obon" holiday actually ended a fortnight ago, but its market impact was cushioned last week by the launch of Suikoden IV, which single-handedly sustained strong software sales in the country's retailers.
This week, however, the biggest new title in the chart was Bandai's PS2 beat 'em up Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival, based on the enormously popular Square Enix manga, anime and videogame franchise, which sold around 41,000 units and came in at number three.
Only two other new titles made it into the top ten ranking, with Nintendo's GBA title Super Mario Ball at number four and Koei's Taikou Risshiden V at five, but neither of them had sales approaching Fullmetal Alchemist's figures.
Despite the declining market figures - almost 30 per cent down week on week, with sales of under 600,000 units overall - Konami will be happy with its showing. Both of the top two places are occupied by Konami titles, with Suikoden IV at number one and World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 at number two.
In hardware terms, the Game Boy Advance continues to be the market leader this week, holding just under 52 per cent market share, compared with just under 40 per cent for the PS2. The Cube makes up the balance with slightly over eight per cent share.