Japan Charts: Capcom crushes the competition

Capcom has secured a number one debut for its highly anticipated PS2 title, Monster Hunter 2, which sold in excess of 320,000 units and toppled Nintendo's DS titles from their lead position in the Japanese sales charts.

Nintendo's trio of previous chart toppers for the DS - Train Your Brain 2, DS English Training, which previously held the number one spot, and Animal Crossing - retain key positions in the sales chart, nestling in at second, third and fourth place respectively.

A new entry for Sony claims fifth place as Bleach: Hanatareshi Yabou displaces the original Train Your Brain, which has enjoyed continued sales success since its launch last May, from fifth to sixth position.

Capcom claims another top ten spot as sales of Monster Hunter Portable on the PSP climb one place to number seven, whilst Mario Kart DS enjoys a small boost, rising from tenth place last week to this week's number eight.

Spooky survival horror title Siren 2 fairs worse this week, dropping from fourth to ninth place. Konami's long-running football franchise sneaks into the bottom of the top ten once again with Winning Eleven 9 Bonus Pack on PS2.

The Nintendo DS remains the most popular hardware platform, accounting for half of the software titles in the Japanese charts and followed closely by Sony's PS2 (with four titles) and a single entry for the PSP. Interestingly, there is no sign of Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the software charts, almost three months after the console's release.

Microsoft has traditionally struggled to make an impact in the region, and in spite of its market lead with the early release of the Xbox 360, the next-generation race could prove equally difficult as Sony prepares for the hugely anticipated launch of its PS3 console and Nintendo readies the Revolution for a Japanese debut.