Virtua Fighter 5 Leads In Sales
Despite early predictions that sales of the game were "sluggish", Virtua Fighter 5 has managed to beat the odds and to become the sales leader this week in Japan.
Published: February 15, 2007
We mentioned earlier last week and over the weekend how Japanese gamers weren't exactly thrilled by the arrival of Virtua Fighter 5; a number of leading Japanese media outlets had previously reported seeing large numbers of the game in stores, with early sales coming out to less than Dead Or Alive 4 for the XBox 360.
Of course, all these reports left many North American gamers wondering 'what the heck had happened' to one of Japan's most antipicated titles. Certainly if there were ever a PlayStation 3 system seller to come out overseas, Virtua Fighter 5 would be it.
As it turns out, perhaps those early sales predictions were, well, too early. For the week of February 5th to February 11th, Virtua Fighter 5 actually lead in sales, selling 48,346 copies. The second highest game in the list; Wii Sports, came in at 45,897 copies (which really isn't bad for a game that is a pack-in title here in North America).
Here is a rundown of the other titles on the list:
# GAME TITLE WEEKLY SALES / TOTAL SALES
1. Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3) 48,346 / new
2. Wii Sports (Wii) 45,897 / 1,004,555
3. Wii Play (Wii) 36,090 / 879,432
4. More Brain Age (DS) 32,800 / 3,963,712
5. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) 29,026 / 4,118,078
6. GTA: San Andreas (PS2) 27,519 / 304,113
7. Wario: Master of Disguise (DS) 26,815 / 185,695
8. Harvest Moon: The Island I Grew Up On (DS) 26,804 / 106,212
9. Luminous Arc (DS) 25,676 / new
10. J-League Pro Soccer 5 (PS2) 24,468 / 131,541
As you can see, VF5 is also the only PlayStation 3 title to crack the top ten this week. This is not only good news for Japanese PS3 owners, but for all PS3 owners, since system sales will now likely pick up in Japan. With more systems being sold overseas, it will become more and more likely that games like Metal Gear Solid 4 will remain exclusive to the PS3 platform. We will have more on this story as it becomes available.
Of course, all these reports left many North American gamers wondering 'what the heck had happened' to one of Japan's most antipicated titles. Certainly if there were ever a PlayStation 3 system seller to come out overseas, Virtua Fighter 5 would be it.
As it turns out, perhaps those early sales predictions were, well, too early. For the week of February 5th to February 11th, Virtua Fighter 5 actually lead in sales, selling 48,346 copies. The second highest game in the list; Wii Sports, came in at 45,897 copies (which really isn't bad for a game that is a pack-in title here in North America).
Here is a rundown of the other titles on the list:
# GAME TITLE WEEKLY SALES / TOTAL SALES
1. Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3) 48,346 / new
2. Wii Sports (Wii) 45,897 / 1,004,555
3. Wii Play (Wii) 36,090 / 879,432
4. More Brain Age (DS) 32,800 / 3,963,712
5. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) 29,026 / 4,118,078
6. GTA: San Andreas (PS2) 27,519 / 304,113
7. Wario: Master of Disguise (DS) 26,815 / 185,695
8. Harvest Moon: The Island I Grew Up On (DS) 26,804 / 106,212
9. Luminous Arc (DS) 25,676 / new
10. J-League Pro Soccer 5 (PS2) 24,468 / 131,541
As you can see, VF5 is also the only PlayStation 3 title to crack the top ten this week. This is not only good news for Japanese PS3 owners, but for all PS3 owners, since system sales will now likely pick up in Japan. With more systems being sold overseas, it will become more and more likely that games like Metal Gear Solid 4 will remain exclusive to the PS3 platform. We will have more on this story as it becomes available.
