Portable Sales Surge in Japan

Last week, while the Tokyo Game Show was on the minds of many, Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo released new variations of their portable game systems to Japan. Early reports from retailers indicate that both systems managed impressive numbers in their first week, with the big N in particular scoring big.

Game Boy Micro caused the biggest sensation, with sales of around 150,000 units in its first week, despite earlier complaints about a high price tag. The Famicom-themed unit (a version of the Micro made to look like a controller for the Japanese version of the NES) sold out in most locations within days of the 9/13 release and ended up grabbing 60% of overall sales. Following this in order of popularity were silver, black, purple and blue.

In news that's sure to please Nintendo's management, sales of the Game Boy Micro did not adversely affect sales of the company's two other portable systems, Game Boy Advance SP and the DS. We should have specific numbers shortly.

Lining up closely with the Micro's strong sales was Nintendo's unstoppable Super Mario Brother's Famicom Mini series (Japanese version of the NES Classics series) edition. The most popular of the Famicom Mini titles was re-released to coincide with the Game Boy Micro's 9/13 release (and also Mario's 20th anniversary) and ended up selling over 150,000 units.

Other big portable Nintendo titles, including Capcom's Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Wright in America) and Bandai's Tamagotchi for the DS and Bandai's Super Robot Taisen J for the Game Boy Advance, also performed well. Many older Game Boy Advance titles saw a sales spike with the influx of new owners.

Less is known at this point about sales of the PSP. Sony released a white-colored version of the system to coincide with the 9/15 release of Konami's Winning Eleven 9. While the system did see a sales surge, early reports indicate that it didn't even manage to top DS sales.

Article by IGN.com