Awesome

The latest Japanese sales figures are in, and despite the lack of any major releases the results have brought welcome boosts in software and hardware. This increase in sales is being widely attributed to the Obon Festival (known natively as "Hachigatsu Bon") in Japan, a public holiday that often improves retail performance. That brought increases across the board, including the Wii U.

To start with software, Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life is still number one, while Mario & Luigi: Dream Team comes in at second place; it looks set to pass a quarter of a million physical retail sales next week. Various other 3DS titles are in the top 20, and Pikmin 3 is still gathering some fruit down in 9th position, while Pikmin 2's Wii re-release appears in 19th; lifetime sales are in parenthesis.

1. [3DS] Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life – 41,679 (206,627)
2. [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – 39,809 (244,638)
3. [3DS] Tomodachi Collection: New Life - 28,361 (1,379,177)
4. [3DS] One Piece: Romance Dawn – 15,711 (40,498)
5. [3DS] Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies – 13,447 (322,764)
6. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 13,222 (3,377,938)
7. [3DS] Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon – 12,501 (870,745)
8. [3DS] Yokai Watch – 11,133 (136,711)
9. [Wii U] Pikmin 3 – 10,956 (165,660)
10. [3DS] Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D – 10,322 (253,454)
11. [PS3] Dragon’s Crown – 9,644 (148,563)
12. [3DS] Hoppechan: Tsukutte! Asonde! Punipuni Town!! – 8,299 (29,577)
13. [3DS] Fantasy Life Link! – 8,139 (44,393)
14. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 – 7,788 (2,101,260)
15. [Wii] Taiko Drum Master Wii Super Wonderful Edition – 7,743 (545,084)
16. [PSV] Dragon’s Crown – 7,122 (103,130)
17. [3DS] Danball Senki W Super Custom – 6,823 (58,039)
18. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 – 6,806 (2,078,965)
19. [Wii] Pikmin 2 Wii – 6,342 (223,138)
20. [PS3] The Witch and the Hundred Knights – 5,984 (78,674)

In the hardware stakes there are increases for all, which sees the Wii U climb back into five figures. The 3DS still dominates the results, and last week's sales are in parenthesis, as usual.

3DS LL – 47,005 (38,822)
3DS – 23,992 (18,949)
PlayStation Vita – 19,363 (17,639)
PlayStation 3 – 14,331 (12,228)
Wii U – 12,047 (9,950)
PSP – 7,616 (6,303)
Wii – 1,772 (1,373)
Xbox 360 – 322 (275)

Although the rise in sales for the Wii U was expected, at least it didn't completely miss out on a boost with the Obon festivities. The brief revival of Pikmin 2 also gives hope that, once the Wii U userbase grows, Pikmin 3 may be an evergreen with sales into the end of the year. Next week brings The Wonderful 101, though hopefully reports of just 30,000 copies being shipped are wide of the mark.

[source gematsu.com]