Special Report: Nintendo Storms Japan with DSi; PS3 Topples Wii

The big week everyone was waiting for has finally arrived, with the release of the DSi, plus new PS3 bundles, as well as key software launches. The DSi has sold through its entire first shipment of 200,000 units, although only 171,925 were counted by the time Media Create updated this week's list. But this still places the new DS version over three times the number of PSP-3000 units sold. The PS3 benefitted from Gran Turismo 5 and DualShock 3 software/hardware bundles, plus the heavy-hitting duo of Grand Theft Auto IV and the massively hyped LittleBigPlanet, boosting the previously struggling platform up to just shy of 40,000 and above the Wii this week.

The DSi launched last Saturday (1st November) alongside Square Enix and tri-Ace's third Valkyrie Profile game, and the first on a Nintendo system, Nintendo's own Personal Trainer: Walking, which comes with a wireless Pedometer, as well as Marvelous Entertainment and Matrix Software's highly anticipated RPG 'Avalon Code'. Valkyrie Profile was unable to claim the top spot, but considering GTAIV launched on the usual Thursday new release day compared to the Saturday launch of S-E's venerable Strategy RPG experience, the ~80,000 units sold is quite impressive and certainly in-line with the PSP remake of the original PSone game's first week. LittleBigPlanet will be seen as a slow-starter considering SCE has expectations of 250,000 sales before the year is out, whilst Pokémon Platinum continues to go strong, nearing the two million mark and easily surpassing Pokémon Emerald from the GBA. In its second week, Girls Mode holds very well, showing signs of a long-term seller, now at nearly 120,000 units, whilst Rhythm Tengoku on DS goes from strength-to-strength, with a renewed advertising campaign taking place in Japan right now that will ensure more sales throughout the impending festive period.

Sales of the gorgeous-looking Avalon Code from the team that created the Final Fantasy III and IV DS remakes for Square Enix may well look poor, but Marvelous Entertainment only had moderate expectations of the game, hoping it would selling between 50,000 and 60,000 copies in total for the Japanese market. With 20,000 from a Saturday launch, the company could well be very satisfied with its performance so far. There are worrying signs for the latest Wii Harvest Moon, though, which only scraped in at No.17 with about 16,000, starting a little weaker than its predecessor 'Tree of Tranquility'. However, as the DS showed, the fanbase takes a while to warm up, with early DS editions scraping to 100,000 in their lifetime, before the third game really took off and hit around 300,000 units instead.

Finally, Tenchu 4 has dropped like a rock to No.36, whilst Dragon Ball Origins on DS is still hanging around, along with Culdcept DS from SEGA and Bandai Namco's second Taiko no Tatsujin DS game.

Be sure to check out the full list below, which includes a budget release of the fantastic RPG 'Tales of Innocence' for DS:

Media Create Top 50 - 27th October-2nd November, 2008
1.) Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, Capcom) - 132,676 | NEW
2.) Valkyrie Profile: Toga o Seoumono (NDS, Square Enix) - 79,760 | NEW
3.) LittleBigPlanet (PS3, SCE) - 51,705 | NEW
4.) Pokémon Platinum (NDS, The Pokémon Company) - 47,243 | 1,853,400
5.) Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode (NDS, Nintendo) - 40,380 | 117,000
6.) Rhythm Tengoku Gold (NDS, Nintendo) - 38,558 | 1,089,000
7.) Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III (PS3, SCE) - 34,965 | NEW
8.) Grand Theft Auto IV (360, Capcom) - 33,648 | NEW
9.) Personal Trainer: Walking (w/ Pedometer) (NDS, Nintendo) - 26,191 | NEW
10.) Cid to Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon: Toki Wasure no Meikyuu + (NDS, Square Enix) - 26,190 | NEW
11.) Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) (PSP, Capcom) - 26,000 | NEW
12.) Wii Music (Wii, Nintendo) - 23,000 | 164,000
13.) Avalon Code (NDS, Marvelous) - 20,000 | NEW
14.) Shape Boxing: Wii de Enjoy! Diet (Wii, Imagine) - 17,000 | NEW
15.) Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 (PSP, SCE) - 16,000 | 107,000
16.) Wii Fit (Wii, Nintendo) - 16,000 | 2,681,000
17.) Bokujou Monogatari: Waku Waku Animal March (Wii, Marvelous) - 16,000 | NEW
18.) Yes! Precure 5 Go Go Zenin Shu Go! Dream Festival (NDS, Namco Bandai) - 16,000 | NEW
19.) SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation (PS3, SCE) - 11,000 | NEW
20.) Mario Kart Wii (Wii, Nintendo) - 11,000 | 1,800,000
21.) Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special (PS2, KOEI) - 9,800 | 203,000
22.) Vitamin Y (NDS, D3) - 9,800 | NEW
23.) Thunder Force VI (PS2, SEGA) - 9,800 | NEW
24.) Inazuma Eleven (NDS, Level 5) - 6,500 | 133,000
25.) Bleach: Soul Carnival (PSP, SCE) - 6,400 | 24,000

With Nintendo reportedly shipping a further 100,000 units of the DSi to Japan this week, along with the ~30,000 units that did not make the Media Create count this time round, Nintendo's revised format will likely easily maintain its No.1 spot. The question is, though, just how well will the PS3 hold on - can it keep above Wii for another week?