The Top 100 games of 2011 in Japan, mid-way through the year, is ruled by portables like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.
Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu published this Top 100 in their latest weekly issue. No million-sellers yet. Here are the best-selling video games so far:
Number. [System] Game name (Publisher) – Sales numbers this year (Total sales in Japan)
001. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (Capcom) – 968,269 (4,449,258)
002. [NDS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 – Professional (Square Enix) – 469,469
003. [PSP] Dissidia: 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (Square Enix) – 454,522
004. [PS3] Dynasty Warriors 7 (Koei Tecmo) – 443,873
005. [PS3] Yakuza: Of the End (Sega) – 376,193
006. [WII] Donkey Kong Country Returns (Nintendo) – 368,527 (928,495)
007. [PSP] Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Wars Z: Hakai-hen (Bandai Namco) – 364,881
008. [PSP] Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity (Sega) – 352,511
009. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) – 349,951 (1,889,179)
010. [PSP] SD Gundam G Generation: World (Bandai Namco) – 332,278
011. [PS3] Samurai Warriors 3 Z (Koei Tecmo) – 323,168
012. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) – 303,299 (5,218,112)
013. [3DS] Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (Level 5) – 301,156
014. [PSP] Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3 (Bandai Namco) – 275,202
015. [3DS] Nintendogs + Cats: French Bulldog / Shiba / Toy Poodle & New Friends (Nintendo) – 244,048
016. [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Nintendo) – 223,260
017. [NDS] Ni no Kuni: The Ebony Wizard (Level 5) – 217,847 (550,158)
018. [NDS] Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth 2 (Capcom) – 214,994
019. [WII] Mario Sports Mix (Nintendo) – 207,449 (629,494)
020. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) – 204,858 (3,182,494)
021. [PSP] Little Battler Xperience (Level 5) – 202,330
022. [WII] Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) – 198,016 (2,317,864)
023. [PSP] Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection (Square Enix) – 189,073
024. [PS3] Catherine (Atlus Co.) – 186,086
025. [PSP] Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 (Konami) – 182,593
026. [PSP] AKB1/48: If I loved an Idol (Bandai Namco) – 167,837 (403,781)
027. [WII] New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo) – 165,013 (4,250,008)
028. [PS3] Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 (Konami) – 163,037
029. [WII] Super Mario Collection: Special Pack (Nintendo) – 154,956 (907,975)
030. [WII] The Last Story (Nintendo) – 154,145
031. [PSP] Valkyria Chronicles 3 (Sega) – 149,274
032. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 3: World Challenge!! The Ogre (Level 5) – 134,857 (430,853)
033. [NDS] New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo) – 133,265 (6,148,490)
034. [NDS] Battle & Get! Pokemon Typing DS (Pokemon Co.) – 132,269
035. [PS3] Way of the Samurai 4 (Spike) – 130,916
036. [PSP] Amagami (EBKore+) (Kadokawa Shoten) – 130,913
037. [PSP] Kenka Bancho 5: Laws of Manhood (Spike) – 129,146
038. [PSP] Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep – Final Mix (Square Enix) – 128,458
039. [3DS] Samurai Warriors: Chronicles (Koei Tecmo) – 120,362
040. [3DS] One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP (Bandai Namco) – 118,004
041. [PSP] My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute Portable (Bandai Namco) – 116,960
042. [PSP] Patapon 3 (SCE) – 116,556
043. [NDS] Magician’s Quest: The Merchant’s Store of Sorcery (Konami) – 116,505 (344,766)
044. [WII] Taiko Drum Master Wii 3 (Bandai Namco) – 116,127 (237,795)
045. [PSP] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2011 (Konami) – 113,046 (212,256)
046. [WII] Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo) – 111,644 (2,259,841)
047. [PS3] Disgaea 4 (Nippon Ichi Software) – 111,162
048. [NDS] Super Fossil Fighters (Nintendo) – 105,447 (328,588)
049. [NDS] Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem (Nintendo) – 105,413 (318,604)
050. [3DS] Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (Capcom) – 103,872
051. [PSP] Another Century’s Episode Portable (Bandai Namco) – 103,141
052. [PSP] Earth Defence Force 2 Portable (D3 Publisher) – 102,846
053. [PS3] Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 (Bandai Namco) – 100,918 (349,112)
054. [PS3] Atelier Meruru: The Alchemist of Arland 3 (Gust) – 100,722
055. [PS3] Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Capcom) – 98,944
056. [WII] Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Nintendo) – 96,698 (450,496)
057. [NDS] Friend Collection (Nintendo) – 92,604 (3,600,700)
058. [PSP] Macross Triangle Frontier (Bandai Namco) – 91,285
059. [PSP] The 3rd Birthday (Square Enix) – 90,830 (236,093)
060. [3DS] Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (Capcom) – 89,401
061. [PSP] Persona 2: Innocent Sin (Atlus Co.) – 89,136
062. [PSP] Final Promise Story (Image Epoch) – 88,814
063. [PSP] Akiba’s Trip (Acquire) – 86,557
064. [PSP] Steins;Gate (Kadokawa Shoten) – 85,918
065. [3DS] Ridge Racer 3D (Bandai Namco) – 84,420
066. [PSP] Magical Index Term (ASCII Media Works) – 84,352
067. [3DS] Winning Eleven 3DSoccer (Konami) – 84,076
068. [WII] Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo) – 81,067 (981,606)
069. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 3: World Challenge!! Spark / Bomber (Level 5) – 78,735 (969,175)
070. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) – 78,147 (3,787,418)
071. [NDS] Momotaro Railway: World (Hudson) – 77,947 (179,962)
072. [PS3] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2011 (Konami) – 76,414 (443,008)
073. [WII] Momotaro Railway 2010 [Everyone’s Recommendation Selection] (Hudson) – 76,174
074. [NDS] Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butouden (Bandai Namco) – 75,114
075. [PSP] White Knight Chronicles Episode Portable: Dogma Wars (SCE) – 71,458
076. [NDS] SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha – Shadow or Light (Square Enix) – 68,056
077. [NDS] Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars – Blue / Red (Bandai Namco) – 67,819
078. [3DS] Pilotwings Resort (Nintendo) – 66,713
079. [PS3] Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition (PlayStation 3 the Best) (Capcom) – 66,581 (109,281)
080. [NDS] One Piece: Gigant Battle (Bandai Namco) – 66,350 (332,003)
081. [PS3] El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Ignition) – 65,889
082. [PS3] Dragon Age: Origins (Spike) – 64,833
083. [NDS] Taiko Drum Master DS: Dororon! Battle With the Ghouls!! (Bandai Namco) – 63,015 (342,583)
084. [WII] Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo) – 61,810 (2,094,464)
085. [PSP] Gundam: Memories of the Battle (Bandai Namco) – 60,189
086. [NDS] Art Academy (Nintendo) – 59,847 (322,644)
087. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom Unite [PSP the Best Reprint] (Capcom) – 58,424 (592,747)
088. [PS3] Call of Duty: Black Ops (Dubbed Edition) (Square Enix) – 57,232 (97,915)
089. [WII] Samurai Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends (Koei Tecmo) – 56,053
090. [PSP] Fairy Tail: Portable Guild 2 (Konami) – 54,659
091. [360] The Idolmaster 2 (Bandai Namco) – 54,600
092. [PS3] Killzone 3 (SCE) – 53,891
093. [PS3] Gran Turismo 5 (SCE) – 50,754 (595,881)
094. [NDS] Nintendogs (Labrador, Dachshund, Chihuahua) (Nintendo) – 49,733 (2,037,232)
095. [NDS] Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus (Konami) – 49,672
096. [NDS] Monster Busters: Powered (Bandai Namco) – 47,648
097. [PS3] Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (Take-Two Interactive) – 47,305
098. [PS3] Castlevania: Lord of Shadow (Konami) – 46,591 (95,768)
099. [PSP] Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP the Best) (Konami) – 46,237
100. [NDS] Power Pro Kun Pocket 13 (Konami) – 46,018 (120,872)
Thanks to Maf for finding the list.
Here’s Capcom’s Monster Hunter Portable 3rd movie presentation they put out to celebrate the first few million happy customers playing their game on PSP.
I always think it’s very interesting the see how the difference in culture affects gaming habits too. That said, a good game is a good game, no matter where it’s developed. Case and point is the recently in Japan released L.A. Noire, which Famitsu gave an almost perfect score of 39/40. As a result that game has recently sold 58,436 copies on PS3 and 12,621 on Xbox 360.
If you’d like to keep up to date what the Top 10 best-selling games in Japan are each week, I keep track of this in our Games Weather Report feature.