Gundam Musou, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd make PlayStation very happy

Someone tell Corporate to take notes. Gamasutra did a little commentary on this recent week’s Japanese software sales (from Media Create), and it looks like Sony can be very, very satisfied with the PS3’s Gundam Musou (Koei/Namco Bandai), and Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom). Gundam Musou gives the PS3 its second #1-in-Japan title, while the record-breaking Monster Hunter continues to drive PSP sales at #3 on the list.

Gamasutra observed that Gundam was the only PS3 title in the top fifty, while Monster Hunter Portable 2nd was the only PSP title in the top thirty – “illustrating the increasing gulf between the bestselling titles on each format and the majority of other games.” Setting aside for the moment the release schedule of other awaited PS3 and PSP games, developers ought to take this as a challenge: make their games rock the charts.

Easier said for some titles – say, almost anything with “Final Fantasy” in the title – than for others, but if it wasn’t a challenge, then why the heck are they in the business, anyway? Hey, two English studios made one racer each for the PS3 that also sold like hotcakes in Japan. Great games can be made – it’s only a question of doing the job right.

On the hardware front, thanks to Gundam Musou, PS3 sales for the week had more than doubled. Now, PSP sales had gone down from last week’s high, but Gamasutra observed that Monster Hunter helped keep PSP sales above that of the Wii: 111,926 units for the PSP, 66,156 for the Wii.

One last revelation from Gamasutra about Gundam Musou: seems that Gundam was the second IP preference for Koei. Gamasutra talks of a rejected deal to use the Star Wars license. A Star Wars/Dynasty Warriors crossover? What will they think of next?

Someone tell Corporate to take notes. Gamasutra did a little commentary on this recent week’s Japanese software sales (from Media Create), and it looks like Sony can be very, very satisfied with the PS3’s Gundam Musou (Koei/Namco Bandai), and Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom). Gundam Musou gives the PS3 its second #1-in-Japan title, while the record-breaking Monster Hunter continues to drive PSP sales at #3 on the list.

Gamasutra observed that Gundam was the only PS3 title in the top fifty, while Monster Hunter Portable 2nd was the only PSP title in the top thirty – “illustrating the increasing gulf between the bestselling titles on each format and the majority of other games.” Setting aside for the moment the release schedule of other awaited PS3 and PSP games, developers ought to take this as a challenge: make their games rock the charts.

Easier said for some titles – say, almost anything with “Final Fantasy” in the title – than for others, but if it wasn’t a challenge, then why the heck are they in the business, anyway? Hey, two English studios made one racer each for the PS3 that also sold like hotcakes in Japan. Great games can be made – it’s only a question of doing the job right.

On the hardware front, thanks to Gundam Musou, PS3 sales for the week had more than doubled. Now, PSP sales had gone down from last week’s high, but Gamasutra observed that Monster Hunter helped keep PSP sales above that of the Wii: 111,926 units for the PSP, 66,156 for the Wii.

One last revelation from Gamasutra about Gundam Musou: seems that Gundam was the second IP preference for Koei. Gamasutra talks of a rejected deal to use the Star Wars license. A Star Wars/Dynasty Warriors crossover? What will they think of next?