Wii Fit Plus was definitely going to sell. But will it draw new players to the Wii?

Wii Fit Plus is probably the cheapest sequel ever to a game that sold multiple millions of copies. With a ¥2,000 price point, discounted below that by a couple of hundred yen at most retailers, it was a safe bet to top the charts, and it appears that this is just what happened.

Tsutaya merchandizer Taketo Matsuo, in the latest installment of his weekly game sales column at Mainichi.jp, says that Wii Fit Plus is selling "better than expected." Contributing to the game's success are the low price and the use of Nanako Matsushima (a Nintendo advertising veteran) in the game's commercials, says Matsuo.

In addition to the low priced software-only version, Wii Fit Plus was also released as part of a Balance Wii Board bundle. Matsuo says that most of the game's buyers appear to be current Wii Fit owners. Media Create will hopefully provide a more specific breakdown in its Friday analysis.

Wii Fit Plus beat some heavy hitters. The PSP version of Gran Turismo came in second, beating out Inazuma Eleven in third. For GT, Matsuo feels Sony's special car download bonus promotion helped push sales.

Different from the Media Create and Famitsu charts, Tsutaya's chart split multi-version games up by version, allowing us to see which colors and elements Japanese gamers prefer. The version of Inazuma Eleven that placed third was the Blizzard version. Fire placed fifth, below Pokemon Soul Silver. Pokemon Heart Gold placed 6th.

Also placing in the Tsutaya top ten this week were Macross Ultimate Frontier for the PSP in 7th, Friend Collection for the DS in 8th, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 for the PS3 in 9th, and Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce Special for the PS3 in 10th. These were all new -- except for Friend Collection, of course.

For next week, Matsuo expects Shin Megamitensei Strange Journey to capture the top spot. He notes that pre-orders for the game have been high.