3DS sales spike in Japan thanks to Yokai Watch 2 release

The original Nintendo 3DS has seen sales sharply rise this week in Japan, according to the latest sales data from Famitsu.

The spike may be due to the release of Japanese 3DS exclusive Yokai Watch 2, which separately claimed the number one spot in the software Top Ten, selling more than a million copies in its first week – easily beating out last week’s chart-topper Freedom Wars.

The game was released in two different editions – Ganso and Honke – on July 10th and so far the two titles combined have sold more copies in four days than the first game has sold in total to date.

Sony’s PS3 console continued to outsell the PS4, with the PS Vita, PS Vita TV micro-console and PSP handheld’s inclusion meaning the firm had the lion’s share of SKUs in the Top Ten.

However, it was the Nintendo 3DS XL that remained the most popular console in Japan, sticking at first place in the hardware chart. Nintendo’s three consoles in total sold more units than Sony’s five.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 continues to cling onto ninth place, despite sales more than halving to only reach 74 units sold between July 7th and 13th.

Back in the software rankings, the PS4 edition of Ubisoft’s open-world hacking game Watch Dogs slipped down the chart, ending up behind fellow open-world crime title Grand Theft Auto V, while the PS3 version of the game maintained a solid sixth place – despite sales dropping by almost 3,000 units.

Here’s the software Top Ten for the week ending July 13th:

1. Yokai Watch 2: Ganso/Honke (Level Five) 3DS – 1,281,096

2. Freedom Wars (SCE) Vita – 20,568

3. Taiko no Tatsujin: Don to Katsu no Jiku Daiboken (Bandai Namco) 3DS – 17,921

4. Yokai Watch (Level Five) 3DS – 16,883

5. Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo) Wii U – 14,130

6. Watch Dogs (Ubisoft) PS3 – 8,382

7. Pokemon Art Academy (Nintendo) 3DS – 8,331

8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2014: Aoki Samurai no Chosen (Konami) PS3 – 6,317

9. Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar) PS3 – 5,418

10. Watch Dogs (Ubisoft) PS4 – 5,054

And here’s the hardware chart:

1. Nintendo 3DS XL – 50,245

2. PS Vita – 33,880

3. Wii U – 8,034

4. PS3 – 7,454

5. PS4 – 6,731

6. Nintendo 3DS – 6,728

7. PS Vita TV – 1,558

8. PSP – 275

9. Xbox 360 – 74