Tsutaya Rep Expects a Million For Monster Hunter 3

This was the first screenshot of Monster Hunter 3, released back when the game's platform was changed to the Wii.

Tsutaya video game merchandiser Taketo Matsuo, in the latest entry of his weekly sales analysis column at Mainichi.jp, said that Monster Hunter 3 could top the million sold mark some time in August. This would be the first time the console entries in the series have reached the platinum figure.

A bit less official, a usually reliable gaming blog called Game no Urabanashi made a post yesterday indicating that initial shipments for the game are at the million level. This includes the standard version, the white and black Classic Controller Pro bundles, and the black Wii bundle.

Monster Hunter 3 hits on August 1 -- a Saturday release, usually limited to just the biggest releases. Nintendo will be launching its black Wii color variation alongside the game.

Also in this week's Mainichi report, Matsuno predicted that next week's second best seller after Monster Hunter 3 will be Dragon Quest 9, with either newcomer Puyo Puyo 7 (DS) or long seller Friend Collection (DS) coming in at third.

This week, DQIX stayed at the top of the charts according to Tsutaya sales data. Friend Collection and Wii Sports Resort followed in second and third, beating out three newcomers: Penguin no Mondai X (DS) in fourth, Katamari Forever (PS3) in fifth and Chibi Robo! Happy Rich Daisouji (DS) in sixth.