3DS XL doubles sales in stagnant Japanese market

NIntendo's 3DS XL doubled its sales performance in Japan last week, reclaiming the top spot in the process.

According to data released by Media Create, the 3DS XL sold nearly 28,000 units in Japan, up from a shade over 14,000 last week. It was no doubt aided by the release of Square Enix's Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, which entered the charts in second place with 80,000 sales.

The PlayStation Vita was also given a boost by a new release: Bandai Namco's Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment, which eased in at number one with 145,000 sales. However, having the number one game did not equate to being the number one platform, and Vita fell behind the 3DS XL after selling just over 22,000.

In general, though, these relatively small increases in unit sales do not mask a difficult time for hardware manufacturers in Japan. Despite two console launches in the last 18 months - Wii U in December 2012 and PlayStation 4 in February 2014 - Media Create's data suggests that hardware sales were at a five year low in the seven day period from April 14 to 20.

The software top ten is below, with lifetime sales in parentheses:

• 1. [PSV] Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment (Bandai Namco, 04/24/14) - 145,029 (New)
• 2. [3DS] Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (Square Enix, 04/24/14) - 80,523 (New)
• 3. [3DS] Yokai Watch (Level-5, 07/11/13) - 43,136 (798,046)
• 4. [3DS] Mario Party: Island Tour (Nintendo, 03/20/14) - 15,654 (320,489)
• 5. [PS3] 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku Hen (Bandai Namco, 04/10/14) - 12,240 (186,396)
• 6. [Wii U] Famicom Remix 1+2 (04/24/14) - 11,079 (New)
• 7. [PSV] BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma (04/24/14) - 10,709 (New)
• 8. [PSV] 3rd Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku Hen (Bandai Namco, 04/10/14) - 8,678 (154,669)
• 9. [3DS] Ace Attorney 123: Wright Selection (04/17/14, Capcom) - 6,473 (33,398)
• 10. [PS3] Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Konami, 03/20/14) - 6,444 (204,498)

The hardware chart is below, with the previous week's sales in parentheses:

• 1. 3DS LL - 27,914 (14,023)
• 2. PlayStation Vita - 22,394 (17,905)
• 3. PlayStation 4 - 12,712 (14,396)
• 4. PlayStation 3 - 6,726 (6,468)
• 5. 3DS - 6,073 (5,920)
• 6. Wii U - 5,710 (5,204)
• 7. PSP - 1,957 (2,094)
• 8. PlayStation Vita TV - 1,548 (1,133)
• 9. Xbox 360 - 242 (240)

Thanks Gematsu and Siliconera.