Monster Hunter sends 3DS sales skyward in Japan

What Call of Duty is the UK and US market, Monster is to Japan – so it’s no surprise to see Capcom’s Monster Hunter 3G shoot straight to the top of the charts in Japan, boosting 3DS sales in the process.

Capcom’s title sold an impressive 521,959 in its first week, according to figures from Media Create. That’s the strongest week one 3DS game performance so far in the country, beating Mario Kart 7.

In fact, it was a 3DS top three with Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land grabbing second and third respectively.

Thanks to their success, Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was only able to debut in fourth, with weekly unit sales of 75,865 on PS3. It sold an additional 37,037 on Xbox 360.

Also helping 3DS was the release of a limited edition Legend of Zelda Anniversary 3DS hardware SKU on Nintendo’s website and the launch of the 3DS Circle Pad Pro.

The result was a record sales week for 3DS in Japan, with 350,321 machines exchanging hands.

Next week is a big one, of course, as Sony will at last be launching its PlayStation Vita.