The last two weeks have seen some amazing sales figure in Japan. Last week the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 for the fist time and this week the PS3 outsold the Wii. Super Mario Galaxy failed to be the mega-hit everyone thought it would, and apparently the new Biohazard game is doing better than expected. I find this stuff very interesting.

The current Media Create sales numbers (to compare) can be found here. If you are new to these reports please click here for a short overview.

This week I was asked to look for Wii, PS3, Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles, Super Mario Galaxy and Castlevania for the PSP. I visited the stores on Thursday, November 15th, 2007.

Jusco
Wii: 2
PS3: 14
B:UC: 4
Castlevania: Sold out
Super Mario Galaxy: 6

Youme Town
Wii: 3
PS3: 11
B:UC: 2
Castlevania: 1
Super Mario Galaxy: 8

Mr. Max
Wii: Sold Out
PS3: Sold Out
B:UC: Sold Out
Castlevania: Sold out or didn’t order (very small PSP selection)
Super Mario Galaxy: 4

Book-Net
Wii: 2
PS3: 5
B:UC: Sold Out
Castlevania: 1
Super Mario Galaxy: 5

Goody
Wii: Sold out
PS3: 0 new (8 used)
B:UC: Sold out or didn’t order it
Castlevania: Sold out or didn’t order it
Super Mario Galaxy: 1

Best Denki
Wii: 5
PS3: 13
B:UC: 3
Castlevania: Sold out
Super Mario Galaxy: 11

Wanpaku
Wii: 3
PS3: 9
B:UC: 8
Castlevania: 2
Super Mario Galaxy: 15

Famicom Dojo
Wii: 0 new (1 used)
PS3: 0 new (3 used)
B:UC: Sold out
Castlevania: Didn’t order it
Super Mario Galaxy: 1

Yamada Denki
Wii: 6
PS3: 10
B:UC: 7
Castlevania: 1
Super Mario Galaxy: 13

TOTALS:
Wii: 21*
PS3: 62*
B:UC: 24
Castlevania: 5
Super Mario Galaxy: 64

*Totals do not include used systems since I didn’t could them at all the stores.

NOTES:

1. Since about mid-August the Wii has not been supply constrained. You won’t see tall stacks of them here like you will in Osaka or Tokyo, but if you want one you can get one. There aren’t as many in stores this week as there have been recently. Either they are starting to sell better in my city or retailers just aren’t ordering as many.

2. DS is not supply constrained. You still might have to go to a few stores to find your perfect color, but in general anyone can get a DS who wants one. I don’t count individual units anymore because there is no longer a point in doing so. I will count them again around the holidays. Or earlier if something changes that would make those numbers worthwhile or interesting. Same goes for the PSP which is just as plentiful if not more.

3. Despite the lower-than-expected (at least by us) Super Mario Galaxy sales, there has been no “price collapse” or price drop at all. The retailers I spoke too are still confident that they will sell all their stock during the holidays.

4. I saw my first used copy if SMG yesterday. This is usually a bad sign that new sales will decrease. At least that what it usually means with RPGs. The same store had 8 used copies for Mario Kart DS so my theory might be slightly flawed.

5. PS3 is being pushed really hard. Stores that were kind of hiding them away started moving them to the front a few weeks back for the price cut and the new model is getting even more attention. Everywhere I go I see posters for the white model. No sell-outs of the system but they seem to be moving pretty well.

6. There might be more Wii and PS3 systems than I am reporting. I count what is on the floor, in the display cases and on the back shelves that I can see, but stores might have more systems in backrooms out of view.

7. Eye of Judgment had a price reduction at 2 of the local game stores. It seems they want to get rid of them quickly because the big boxes take up a lot of retail space. DDR Hottest Party for Wii had a 2000 yen price reduction at one of the smaller stores for probably the same reason.

8. Takarajima Z(Zack and Wiki) is still very hard to find. Most stores never ordered it and never will. But that’s not surprising. If I was a game store and I saw that the title had sold so poorly, I wouldn’t’ go out of my way to get a shipment of it either.

9. This week the local Otaku are, talking about Shin Sangoku Musou 5 and little else. Interestingly enough, I think more of them bought it for 360 than PS3. The ones who own Wii bought (and loved) Super Mario Galaxy but the ones who don’t have a Wii already were not tempted to “Jump in”.

Previous Report on 4cr:
October 25th, 2007
September 6th, 2007
August 30th,