Japan Charts: Hudson's railway sim on top as Dragon Quest VIII looms

The Japanese software market continued to climb out of its autumn slump this week, with Hudson's PS2 title Momotaro Railway USA topping the chart ahead of a pair of new GameCube titles.

The railway simulation title, which is a seasonal favourite in the Japanese market, did better than the previous title in the series, selling around 122,000 units compared with 101,000 units for Momotaro Railway 12 last year.

It came in just ahead of Tomy's Naruto 3 title on the GameCube, with the anime-based beat 'em up title debuting at number two, while Nintendo's own Mario Party 6 for the Cube came in at number three.

Mario Party 6 is another title selling better than its predecessor, with the compilation of party games - which is the first title to support a microphone accessory for the Cube - shifting around 99,000 units compared to 83,000 for Mario Party 5.

New releases dominate the top ten this week, with no fewer than six of them in the ranking. Outside of the top three, Banpresto's Dragon Ball Advance Adventure, which brings Akira Toriyama's hugely popular franchise to the GBA, is at number four, while Konami's J-League Winning Eleven 8: Asia Championship comes in at number five.

Square Enix' GBA title Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories slides five places to number six this week, while Nintendo gets a third GBA title in at number nine (The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap) and a third Cube title at number ten (Mario Tennis GC).

In hardware terms, the PS2 is still riding high thanks to sales of the redesigned PStwo slimline version, with nearly 65 per cent market share compared to 29 per cent for the GBA and just over 5 per cent for the GameCube.

Next week should see another boost for the PS2 along with a major boost in overall sales, thanks to the arrival of Square Enix' hugely anticipated Dragon Quest VIII - the latest title in the company's second-largest franchise, which is almost as popular in Japan as the immense Final Fantasy series.