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Big in Japan Oct. 11-17: Kirby's Epic Yarn

Pokemon Black and White cling to top spot for fifth straight week, and Wii string-themed installment for Nintendo's pink puffball mascot takes second as Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, Red Dead Redemption slip slightly.

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Media Create's Japanese sales charts showed that Nintendo mascot cuteness could not be overcome by Rockstar's trademark tough and gritty open-world approach, as Pokemon Black and White retained the top spot on the charts despite a challenge from Red Dead Redemption. The week of October 11-17 showed that fighting Nintendo mascot cuteness with Nintendo mascot cuteness was no more effective, as Pokemon Black and White bested Kirby's Epic Yarn to top the Media Create chart for the fifth consecutive week.

Kirby was kawaii, but not kawaii enough.
Kirby was kawaii, but not kawaii enough.

Black and White combined to sell 168,541 copies for the week, with Kirby's Epic Yarn solidly claiming second place with 92,280 sold. Things got decidedly less cute on the charts after that, as Square Enix's PSP fantasy action game Lord of Arcana managed to make third place with 69,932 sold in its debut week. Like Monster Hunter, God Eater, and other Japanese chart toppers, the multiplayer-focused online-compatible title sees gamers gather in groups of up to four to track down a variety of fearsome creatures.

The drop-off in sales was pretty steep after the top three titles, with Kingdom Hearts Re:coded taking fourth place with 31,247 sold, less than half what Lord of Arcana sold. Much like Re:coded, Red Dead Redemption slipped a single spot on the charts in its second week, rounding out the top five with 26,293 copies sold. The back half of the top 10 was populated exclusively with previously released games, notable Wii Party (sixth place with 23,304 sold), Yakuza for the PSP (eighth place with 11,263 sold), and Dead Rising 2 (10th place with 9,761 sold).

Judging from the hardware charts, the bump in DS sales experienced since the launch of Pokemon Black and White is wearing off. Sales of all DS platforms declined for the week, and the PS3 leapfrogged the DSi and the DSi XL for second place on the charts behind the PSP. The Xbox 360 was the only other platform to see week-over-week sales declines, with even the cellar-dwelling PSP Go improving on its October 4-10 performance, when it topped 1,000 units sold for the first time in months.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF OCTOBER 11-17, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. Pokemon Black and White / The Pokemon Company / DS / 168,541
2. Kirby's Epic Yarn / Nintendo / Wii / 92,280
3. Lord of Arcana / Square Enix / PSP / 69,932
4. Kingdom Hearts Re:coded / Square Enix / DS / 31,247
5. Red Dead Redemption / Take-Two Interactive / PS3 / 26,293
6. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 23,304
7. Gekijouban Macross F: Itsuwarino Utahime - Hybrid Pack / Namco / PS3 / 18,071
8. Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou / Sega / PSP / 11,263
9. Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono. 3 / Acquire / PSP / 9,848
10. Dead Rising 2 / Capcom / PS3 / 9,761

Hardware:
PSP - 37,127
PS3 - 22,201
DSi LL - 21,084
DSi - 20,749
Wii - 12,810
DS Lite - 5,268
Xbox 360 - 2,342
PS2 - 1,715
PSP Go - 1,590

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