Big in Japan Oct. 18-24: Super Mario All-Stars

After five straight weeks atop Media Create's Japanese game sales charts, Pokemon Black and White were finally bested during the October 18-24 period. Fans of the pocket monster hunting franchise can take some solace in the knowledge that it took a budget-priced release celebrating the 25th anniversary of an even bigger Nintendo icon to push Pokemon down the podium.

The Wii release of Super Mario All-Stars sold 307,755 copies in its debut week to take the top spot on the charts. The anniversary package includes all four Super Mario games from the NES (including the entirely different American and Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2), as well as a retrospective booklet and soundtrack CD. The game sells for ¥2,500 ($31) in Japan and will launch in North America for $30 on December 12.

The Super Mario retrospective led a cavalry charge of new releases on the Japanese charts. The next-best-selling new game was Namco Bandai's Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, which came in third with 63,675 copies sold, trailing Pokemon Black and White in second with 81,915 sold. A third new release also managed to make the top five, as Shinji Mikami's sci-fi shooter Vanquish debuted in the fourth spot, selling 48,318 copies.

Another three new releases took up residence in the back half of the top 10, starting with Electronic Arts' Medal of Honor. The modern-day Afghanistan-set shooter came in sixth place with 25,265 sold, and the publisher scored another new game on the charts with FIFA Soccer 11's ninth-place finish (18,995 sold).

The PlayStation Move motion-sensing controller was also released during the week, though it managed to place only one game in the top 10. The audio-driven art game Beat Sketcher finished in eighth place with 22,165 copies sold. Time Crisis: Razing Storm, the Resident Evil 5 Move Edition bundle, and Sports Champions also managed to make it into the top 20.

On the hardware chart, sales were down across the board. The consoles and handhelds finished in the same order as they did the previous week, with the PSP and PlayStation 3 on top, followed by Nintendo's DS family and Wii. After several weeks of relatively high sales, the PSP Go also saw its sales backslide for the week, as it dipped below 1,000 units sold after two weeks above that threshold.

JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF OCTOBER 18-24, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. Super Mario All-Stars / Nintendo / Wii / 307,755
2. Pokemon Black and White / The Pokemon Company / DS / 81,915
3. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 63,675
4. Vanquish / Sega / PS3 / 48,318
5. Kirby's Epic Yarn / Nintendo / Wii / 35,633
6. Medal of Honor / Electronic Arts / PS3 / 25,365
7. Lord of Arcana / Square Enix / PSP / 24,939
8. Beat Sketcher / Sony Computer Entertainment / PS3 / 22,165
9. FIFA Soccer 11 / Electronic Arts / PS3 / 18,995
10. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 15,895

Hardware:
PSP - 32,591
PS3 - 20,128
DSi LL - 15,819
DSi - 14,703
Wii - 11,971
DS Lite - 3,887
Xbox 360 - 2,162
PS2 - 1,222
PSP Go - 924