Japan Seeing Red - PSP Sales Double

According to the Japanese research firm Media Create, Sony's PSP sales doubled in the week ending December 16th with almost 185,000 units flying off the shelves. Many in the industry believe that the recently released red version of the handheld console was the driving force behind the sales jump.

The DS is still the number one portable in Japan with incredible sales of nearly a quarter million in the same time period. The Wii is selling as strong as ever with a surprising sales spurt going to the PS3, up 25,000 units over the previous week with stunning 63,720 units sold. The PlayStation 2 refuses to die and the Xbox 360's sales slowed making it the only next-gen consul to suffer a sales loss over the week long period.

System Sales for the Week Ending December 16th

1. Nintendo DS Lite - 222,132
2. PSP - 184,610
3. Wii - 170,558
4. PlayStation 3 - 63,720
5. PlayStation 2 - 18,025
6. Xbox 360 - 8,561

Nintendo software is ruling Japan at the moment owning nine of the top ten spots.

System Sales Week Ending Decmber 16th

1. Mario Party DS – Nintendo DS – 180,000
2. Wii Fit – Wii – 124,000
3. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue – PS3 – 116,000
4. Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box – Nintendo DS – 74,000
5. Super Mario Galaxy – Wii – 74,000
6. Dragon Quest IV – Nintendo DS – 73,000
7. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Wii – 64,000
8. Wii Sports – Wii – 55,000
9. Wii Play – Wii – 54,696
10. Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon – Nintendo DS – 40,580