Japan Gaming Guide

The launch for the standard PSP slim built on the sales of the first week limited edition to keep Sony well in the lead this week. The Xbox 360 sold a few extra units in anticipation of the Halo 3 launch, maybe we’ll see a bigger jump next week.

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Some great news for Sony this week! The PSP has reached the top spot! After months of dominance by Nintendo the chart finally shows a bit of movement. Naturally the increase in sales was spurred by the release of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, and the limited edition FFVII PSP. The standard PSP slim went on sale a couple of days ago. It will be very interesting to see if Sony can maintain their momentum. Tune in next week to find out!

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Here are the latest figures. Nintendo’s sales have fallen quite sharply in recent weeks. Is this the beginning of the end? We doubt it somehow, although with the PSP Slim launching soon, could we see it taking the number two spot from the Wii?

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Holiday week in Japan saw record breaking temperatures, but that didn’t stop people buying consoles. No change in the running order, the DS is still on top and the 360 on the bottom:

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The new weekly hardware sales figures are out. A bit of a slump this week as the summer heat kicks in. It’s just crazy hot at the moment – not the weather for lugging a games console back from the shops. Still, it’s holiday week now, maybe things will pick up..

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Still ahead: the DS of course. A good week for the PS3, which doubled it’s sales off the back of Hot Shots Golf 5. That said, the Nintendo double act are still a long long way in the lead.

Here’s how the major consoles fared this week:

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The DS Lite continues to tower over the Japanese gaming landscape, like a big dual-screened tower. Sales for the DS are up over last week, most of the other top sellers saw slight dips. So what will happen next week? What sane bookmaker would take money on the DS retaining the top spot?

Guess who’s winning? You probably guessed right..

The Japanese hardware sales for May have just been published on Advanced Media Network. No prizes for guessing that the Nintendo DS is still top of the pile, with a massive 600000 monthly sales. Things look a lot less rosy for Sony, the PS3 was outsold by the PS2. The PSP is doing reasonably well though, it’s just unfortunate that the huge DS figures make it look bad. The 360 plods steadily onwards with 11000 units shifted in Japan. Trusty Bell, anyone?

Its been a long time coming, but here, finally is our top 10:

10. System Shock 2 (PC)

One of gaming’s darkest visions is of the crazed computer trying to exterminate its creators. The vision is realized perfectly here, the star of the show being the audio narrative, both from Shodan, an evil hybrid of HAL and Anne Robinson, and the audio logs of her victims.

9. Ico (PS2)

A haunting and memorable trip through a dream like castle, populated by dark spirits and a mysterious girl. Protect the girl, escape the castle. Brilliant. Short, but that’s a good thing.

8. Monkey Island II (PC/Amiga)

Laugh so hard milk will come out of your nose – and we did. Pirates of the Caribbean’s distant videogame cousin is an outstanding piece of entertainment – wicked humour, graphics that ooze artistry from every pixel, and vicious puzzles. These puzzles are probably what killed the graphic adventure, the problem being that unless you know how the designers minds work, you probably wont solve all the puzzles without getting stuck a lot. Once it clicks however, you get to play games like this, so its worth it.

7. Battlefield II: Modern Combat (360)

An online game for the modern era, free of cheating, lag and 12 year old Beavis and Butthead clones? No, but its a great experience due to its accessibility and the satisfaction of working as a team.

The game provides the toys and the playground, the toys being a selection of weaponry and combat vehicles, the playground being a range of warfare scenarios. Playing this is filled with so many great “Yeeesss!” type moments – taking down your first chopper, owning everybody in a tank, jumping a bridge in a humvee and the vehicular combat is backed up by solid FPS multiplayer gunplay.

6. Metal Gear Solid (PS)

The playstation metal gear solid was a real masterpiece of a game, endlessly creative it really pushed the bar in terms of interaction and cinematography. Free of the filler that most games put in between the good bits, this was short, but very sweet to play.

5. Half Life II (PC)

Valve revolutionised the FPS genre with classic shooter Half-Life, so making a sequel that lived up to its legacy was never going to be easy. But they managed it. Keeping the elements that made the original so successful – and drawing on the lessons of recent genre classics makes a game of such awesome genius as to defy description. Half-life II has a fantastic understanding of drama and how to draw the player into its world. Combining an epic plot with little touches of humour and human interest, and constantly reinventing itself as gameplay progresses its a genuine roller coaster ride.

4. Civilization II (PC)

The monstrously huge godfather of the strategy genre, civilization lets you take your tribe from humble stone age beginnings through to the space race and nuclear age. A megalomaniac fantasy come true, if you want to rule the world, this is the place to start.

3. Super Mario World (SNES)

96 level that beg to be explored, a control system that begs to be mastered – this game feels so complete, so perfectly crafted that you’ll want to play it over and over until you’ve squeezed every last gameplay possibility out of it. Mario is one of the few games where jumping around a completely empty room is entertaining – and there are no empty rooms in Mario World.

2. Zelda a link to the past (SNES)

Links greatest adventure? Its a close thing with this and Ocarina of Time, but we’ll remain forever charmed by this game. Woven between the worlds of darkness and light, A link to the past is designed so the player is always juggling multiple things in their head – exploring the possibilities of a new item, searching a new dungeon, figuring out a puzzle, and this journey is so full of invention and sparkle that it deserves it place as one of the greats of videogame history.

1. Final Fantasy VII (PS)

Where were you when it happened? There are so many memorable moments in this game, aside from THAT one, but we’re not going to spoil a single one of them. We cried when it was over. Play it and see for yourself, you know you want to.