So cute!

Pikmin 3 launched this week in Japan, and appears to have had the desired effect on the Wii U's retail health.

According to Japanese store Tsutaya, the sequel is selling very well indeed and has triggered "greater sales" of its host console.

Here's Taketo Matsuo, Tsutaya’s Director of the Game Rental Planning Group:

Pikmin 3, that came out nine years after Pikmin 2, is having a really good start. Sales at Tsutaya are comparable to the release of Super Mario Bros U and have driven greater sales of Wii U units.

For reference, New Super Mario Bros. U shifted 163,528 copies during its launch week. Hopefully the release of this much-anticipated game marks something of a turning point in the Wii U's commercial fortunes in Japan, and it can replicate the same kind of positive performance when it is released in the west soon.

[source mantan-web.jp, via dualshockers.com]