Grand Theft Auto IV, DSi top Media Create charts
PS3 sees sales surge following 80 gigabyte release.
Grand Theft Auto IV topped Media Create's software charts for the week covering 11/27 to 11/2, selling 160,000 copies between its Xbox 360 and PS3 releases. In hardware, PS3 and DS both saw surges thanks to the release of new models.
The PS3 version of GTAIV was the better selling of the two, at 132,676 units. The 360 version placed 8th for the week, with 33,648 units.
While not selling the millions of units seen in other territories, the GTA series tends to perform well domestically. For part IV, Capcom staged a large marketing push with television commercials and billboards, and also had a launch promotion in which Rockstar president Sam Houser appeared at a late night club event the day before release.
Media Create reports a high sell-through rate of 78.77% for the PS3 version. Regarding the 360 version, the firm notes that the ratio between the PS3 and 360 versions of multi-platform games appears to be shrinking. 2007's Dynasty Warriors 6 saw the PS3 version outsell the 360 version 9 to 1. That dropped to 5 to 1 for Devil May Cry 4, and now 4 to 1 for GTAIV.
GTAIV managed to beat out a mix of some high profile titles of both domestic and international origin. Valkyrie Profile (Square Enix, DS) debuted at 2, with 79,760 units. Following a television marketing push, LittleBigPlanet (Sony, PS3) debuted at 3 with 51,705 units.
Closing out the top five were two older titles, Pokemon Platinum (Pokemon, DS) with 47,243 units, and Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode (Nintendo, DS) with 40,380 units.
The rest of the top ten had Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo, DS) in 6th with 38,558 units, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III (SCE, PS3) in 7th with 34,965 units, Walk to Know: Lifestyle Rhythm DS (Nintendo, DS) in 9th with 26,191 units, and Cid & Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon (DS, Square Enix) in 10th with 26,190 units.
Of these, all but Rhythm Heaven were new. GT5 Prologue Spec III is a repackaging of the latest version of GT5 Prologue that's bundled for free with the 80 gigabyte PS3 (owners of the older versions of the game can upgrade via a free download). The Media Create numbers include both solo and bundle sales.
A number of games debuted outside the top 10. The PSP the Best version of the 2.5 million selling Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G debuted at 11. Avalon Code (Marvelous Entertainment, DS) was released opposite the DSi on 11/1 and managed placement at 13.
Other newcomers this week included Harvest Moon Waku Waku Animal March (Marvelous Entertainment, Wii) at 17, Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Go Go! (Bandai Namco, DS) at 18, SOCOM: Confrontation (Sony, PS3) at 19, VitaminY (D3 Publisher, DS) at 22, Thunder Force VI (Sega, PS2) at 23, Dr. Slump (Bandai Namco, DS) at 29, and Boku to Sim no Machi Kingdom (Electronic Arts, Wii) at 46.
In hardware, DSi say its big debut over the week, and managed 171,925 units over a two day period. The standard DS Lite hardware, reported separately by Media Create, managed 16,369 units.
PSP took second place with 50,358, maintaining the momentum from its 3000 series revision. PS3 saw a ten times spike to 39,587 units following the release of the 80 gigabyte Grand Theft Auto IV bundle. The system is also now available as a LittleBigPlanet bundle. As another option, buyers can still purchase the 40 gigabyte system, which is being discounted at some retailers.
Closing out the hardware chart was the Wii at 23,123 units, the PS2 at 6,714 units, and the Xbox 360 at 6,119 units.
Both Wii and Xbox 360 could see surges shortly. For the Wii, Nintendo will be releasing Animal Crossing on 11/20. The DS version of that title sold over four million units. For the 360, next week's charts will account for this week's release of a new software bundle pack. The 360 will also be getting a big Square Enix title on the 20th through Last Remnant.
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