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The Japanese game retail market seems to be in the midst of a rather glum spell, with a brief burst a few weeks ago — which can certainly be attributed in part to a pre-tax increase flurry of sales — making way for trends sliding in the wrong direction. This week also brings an unwelcome weekly loss for the 3DS, albeit against the context of a dry software week as opposed to new software helping other hardware.

To begin with software, Yo-kai Watch continues its consistently strong run for Level-5 in third place, with Mario Party: Island Tour dropping to 4th, just ahead of the only new top 20 entry on Nintendo hardware, Bandai Namco's Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Kasukabe Eiga Stars!. The best performer was 3rd Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-Hen on PS3 and Vita, while the Wii U has one entry with the underwhelming second week sales of Just Dance Wii U — lifetime sales are in brackets below.

1. [PS3] 3rd Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-Hen – 142,433 (New)
2. [PSV] 3rd Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-Hen – 128,236 (New)
3. [3DS] Yokai Watch – 33,833 (720,220)
4. [3DS] Mario Party: Island Tour – 28,114 (285,987)
5. [3DS] Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Kasukabe Eiga Stars! – 16,409 (New)
6. [PSV] Mato Kurenai Yuugekitai – 14,468 (New)
7. [PS3] Samurai Warriors 4 – 13,552 (206,066)
8. [PS3] Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – 11,005 (190,036)
9. [360] Titanfall – 10,478 (New)
10. [PS3] Mato Kurenai Yuugekitai – 8,469 (New)
11. [PS3] J-Stars Victory VS – 7,461 (164,418)
12. [Wii U] Just Dance Wii U – 7,164 (25,567)
13. [3DS] Kirby: Triple Deluxe – 6,987 (547,360)
14. [PSV] Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd – 6,333 (121,071)
15. [3DS] Pokemon X and Y – 6,020 (4,029,314)
16. [3DS] Kaseki Horider: Mugen Gear – 5,951 (136,033)
17. [PS3] Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2014 – 5,609 (96,485)
18. [PSV] Samurai Warriors 4 – 5,369 (74,165)
19. [PSV] J-Stars Victory VS – 5,353 (139,875)
20. [PS3] Dark Souls II – 5,286 (325,463)

The hardware results don't make great reading for either Nintendo or Sony, with all systems down on last week's results. The Vita has enjoyed some weekly successes over the 3DS LL (XL) in recent months, though typically both Nintendo portable models combined have come out on top. Perhaps helped along by the number two new release in the software chart, the smaller drop for Sony's portable sees it sneak ahead of the combined 3DS figure. As for home consoles, the results are poor all around, with the Wii U falling further still — last week's sales are in brackets.

PlayStation Vita – 24,078 (25,017)
3DS LL – 17,291 (22,947)
PlayStation 4 – 13,034 (13,401)
PlayStation 3 – 7,305 (10,871)
3DS – 6,271 (9,091)
Wii U – 5,512 (7,962)
PSP – 2,027 (2,892)
PlayStation Vita TV – 1,220 (1,371)
Xbox 360 – 229 (276)

It's natural for there to be peaks and drops in retail markets, of course, though it has been a tough period in Japan during the last two weeks. Nintendo will no doubt be hoping that upcoming releases in May and beyond will provide much-needed boosts for 3DS and Wii U.

Image credit: www.edge-online.com

[source gematsu.com]