DK 3 D Barrel

The latest Media Create Japanese chart results are in, and while there are positives for the 3DS there's little cheer for Wii U. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze arrived in Japan on 13th February and, despite coming in second in the charts, has failed to make a significant impact.

Top honours in the software chart go to Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca's Wonderful Mysterious Keys once again, which remains comfortably number one in its second week. The top ten alone features eight 3DS titles, with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze in second place — it's sold just 35,717 physical retail copies; Donkey Kong Country Returns sold over 160,000 copies in its début week in Japan, but its arrival in 2010 gave it the benefit of a substantial Wii userbase. Another comparison is Super Mario 3D World, which sold 99,588 copies on its Japanese début during the Holiday season. The top 20, with lifetime sales in parenthesis, is below.

1. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca’s Wonderful Mysterious Keys – 118,427 (562,083)
2. [Wii U] Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – 35,717 (New)
3. [3DS] A-Ressha de Ikou 3D – 27,009 (New)
4. [3DS] Kirby: Triple Deluxe – 23,017 (440,131)
5. [3DS] Yokai Watch – 22,230 (423,836)
6. [3DS] Magi: Aratanaru Sekai – 15,793 (New)
7. [3DS] Puzzle & Dragons Z – 15,462 (1,359,241)
8. [3DS] Puyopuyo Tetris – 13,717 (58,345)
9. [PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Full Boost – 13,704 (313,291)
10. [3DS] Pokemon X and Y – 12,750 (3,950,322)
11. [PS3] Diablo III – 7,345 (62,277)
12. [Wii U] Super Mario 3D World – 6,952 (489,596)
13. [PS3] Sengoku Basara 4 – 6,611 (224,094)
14. [PSV] Terraria – 6,245 (21,315)
15. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto V – 5,904 (707,610)
16. [3DS] Sentouchu Densetsu no Shinobi to Survival Battle – 5,450 (270,846)
17. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 5,275 (3,672,543)
18. [3DS] Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind – 5,273 (248,079)
19. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 5,103 (3,219,168)
20. [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – 4,785 (377,432)

The hardware results see the 3DS XL / LL dip after its Dragon Quest 2 boost of last week, though Nintendo's handheld is still the strongest performer in the market. As for the Wii U, its minor boost is disappointing in light of a major first-party release, with its sales remaining in four figures.

3DS LL – 27,650 (36,306)
PlayStation Vita – 17,081 (16,951)
3DS – 12,066 (12,002)
PlayStation 3 – 10,226 (10,240)
Wii U – 8,782 (7,180)
PSP – 2,944 (2,948)
PlayStation Vita TV – 1,267 (1,331)
Xbox 360 – 256 (194)

More positive news for Level-5 on the 3DS, but in comparison to its predecessor and Mario's festive performance Tropical Freeze has endured a poor start. We'll have an idea of how it's performed in the West — it arrives on 21st February — when European charts emerge next week.

[source gematsu.com]