According to recently reported tracking from Famitsu Xbox 360 and Enterbrain, Mistwalker's platform exclusive RPG
Blue Dragon commanded a strong lead in a top 50 list of lifetime to date software sales in Japan, followed by
Dead or Alive 4, Ace Combat 6, and
Halo 3.
According to Enterbrain's figures,
translated by members of gaming forum NeoGAF,
Blue Dragon has thus far reached sales of 203,740, nearly double the amount of the number two game on the list,
Dead or Alive 4.
In January of this year, we asked John Ricciardi, COO and creative director of localization company 8-4, Ltd., if he thought the Mistwalker title, which a month after its holiday release had reached sales of 133,000, had
changed perceptions of Microsoft's console.
"Not as much as I think most people hoped it would," said Ricciardi. "It's gonna take a lot, lot more than two or three high-profile titles from Mistwalker to affect the perceptions of the 360 in Japan."
"Microsoft's problems over here run deep," he continued. "Their situation isn't something that can be changed overnight or even in six months. The entire way they approach the Japanese market needs sweeping changes before any real progress can be made."
The full list, which follows below, shows a healthy presence of Eastern-developed games across the board -- some 14 of its 20 top sellers -- though unit sales fall dramatically after its top three lead:
01.
Blue Dragon - 203,740
02.
Dead or Alive 4 - 108,618
03.
Ace Combat 6 - 83,045
04.
Halo 3 - 82,987
05.
Ridge Racer 6 - 73,501
06.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - 72,274
07.
Trusty Bell - 70,244
08.
Gears of War - 68,270
09.
Dead Rising - 68,078
10.
Lost Planet - 61,555
11.
DEAD OR ALIVE Xtreme 2 - 60,544
12.
Lost Odyssey - 60,376
13.
[email protected] - 48,695
14.
Dynasty Warriors 6 - 44,292
15.
Assasin's Creed - 41,436
16.
Ninetynine Nights - 38,019
17.
Forza Motorsports - 2 31,255
18.
Rumble Roses XX - 29,187
19.
Crackdown - 28,588
20.
Culdcept Saga - 27,960
21.
Earth Defense Force 3 - 27,087
22.
Perfect Dark Zero - 26,085
23.
Test Drive Unlimited - 25,788
24.
PGR3 - 25,058
25.
Beautiful Katamari - 24,186
26.
World Soccer Winning Eleven X - 21,904
27.
Armored Core 4 - 21,096
28.
Dead Rising (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 20,325 (combined sales of 88,313)
29.
[eM] eNCHANT arM - 20,233
30.
Saint's Row - 18,593
31.
Rainbow Six Vegas - 18,592
32.
Oneechanbara vorteX - 18,443
33.
Need For Speed Most Wanted - 17,973
34.
Bulletwitch - 16,241
35.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - 15,994
36.
PlayOnline/Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack 2006 - 15,754
37.
World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 - 15,090
38.
[email protected] (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 14,864 (combined sales of 63,559)
39.
Earth Defense Force 3 (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 14,707 (combined sales of 41,794)
40.
Final Fantasy XI Wings of the Goddess Expansion - 14,412
41.
Call of Duty 3 - 14,194
42.
Virtua Fighter 5 Live Arena - 13,169
43.
Chrome Hounds - 13,110
44.
Tenchu Z - 12,974
45.
Project Sylpheed - 12,283
46.
PGR 4 - 12,237
47.
Viva Pinata - 12,184
48.
Godfather - 11,670
49.
Dynasty Warriors 5 Special - 10,957
50.
Bulletwitch (Xbox360 Platinum Collection) - 10,857 (combined sales of 27,098)
Enterbrain and Famitsu have reported that total lifetime sales of the console's top 50 titles stands at 1,818,924 units. Gamasutra continues to chart the progress of Japan's software sales on a weekly basis, most recently seeing Mistwalker's latest console exclusive,
Lost Odyssey,
debut at number 7, with 55,000 units sold.
