Japan’s games market suffered a significant dip in October, with the total market value 21.6 per cent down on the same month in 2007 according to figures from Famitsu owner Enterbrain.

Hardware sales dropped by 29.1 per cent, and software by 14.9 per cent.

Sony’s PSP was the strongest performer, thanks to the release of the redesigned PSP 3000 on October 16th, selling 267,000 units throughout October. DS Lite, meanwhile, saw hardware sales fall in anticipation of the upcoming DSi.

However, Microsoft’s resurgence was cemented with another monthly victory over PS3, with Xbox 360 selling 27,000 units throughout the month and PS3 22,000.

Standout software sellers for the period included Nintendo’s Pokemon Monster Platinum, which topped the ranking for the second month on the trot with sales of 311,000. Nintendo’s Rhythm Tengoku Gold also excelled, with its 163,000 sales taking it very close to the one million sales mark.

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Wii Music also enjoyed a strong debut month, selling 140,000 copies