It's that time again, where Japanese sales tracker Media Create has released their hardware and software sales rankings for the week of August 4, 2008, ending on August 10, 2008.  Four new releases make their way into the top ten, amidst some familiar looking titles.  On the hardware side, two sales streams have crossed once again, with the Nintendo DS overtaking Sony's PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft's Xbox 360 outselling Sony's PlayStation 3 for only the second week in their lifetimes.

The top seller this week is last week's top seller, Sega's Phantasy Star Portable for the PlayStation Portable, leading the way with 148k copies sold.  The runner-up is Nintendo's new release, Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Sword of Light, for the Nintendo DS, clocking in at 145k copies sold.  Rounding out the top five are Nintendo's rhythm game Rhythm Tengoku Gold (NDS - #3 - 130k), the latest game from Namco Bandai, Tales of Vesperia (360 - #4 - 108k) and new million-seller Dragon Quest V (NDS - #5 - 73k).

Looking at the hardware, two of the streams have crossed: the DS and PSP, and the PS3 and 360.  The drop in PSP sales may be a result of a dropping off with no significant new games released this week.  The DS did see Fire Emblem DS enter the fray, but with the install base the DS has, its ability to push handhelds could not have been high, with the amount of hardware sold essentially the same as last week.  Thanks to NBGI's Tales of Vesperia and its bundle, the 360 has one of its best weeks in the nation, and outsells the PS3.  It was reported that the 360 Vesperia bundle saw some shortages, and that in all probability prevented Microsoft's console from overtaking the Wii this week.

Looking at the software, Sega's Phantasy Star Portable continues to sell, reaching roughly 490k in total sales for the two weeks it has been on the market, closing in on that 500k copies shipped figure earlier reported by the publisher.  Last week's #2, Nintendo's Rhythm Tengoku Gold, also continues impressive sales, with roughly 367k copies sold, and is still aiming to do better than its GBA predecessor.  The developer/publisher's Fire Emblem DS also sold well in its opening week, but is still unknown whether it will keep pace with others in the top ten.  As always, Nintendo's Wii Fit (WII - #8 - 27k) and Mario Kart Wii (WII - #9 - 23k) still continue to sell.  Square Enix's Dragon Quest V has finally passed the million mark, becoming the latest million seller for the DS.  Whether it will surpass Dragon Quest IV DS's sales will remain to be seen.  Namco Bandai's latest RPG in the longstanding Tales series, Tales of Vesperia, single-handedly pushed sales for the consoles, with an opening week of 108k, which includes sales of the 360 bundle.  With its opening of 108k, it is now the owner of the best opening week for the Xbox 360, besting Blue Dragon's 80k opening.  Next week should see the PS3 version of Soul Calibur IV (PS3 - #10 - 23k) break the 100k mark.

For the games/consoles breakdown, there are 25 Nintendo DS games in the top fifty, 12 Wii games, 5 PSP, 3 games each for both the PlayStation 2 and 3, and the 360 bringing up the rear with 2.

Nintendo's Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Sword of Light and Namco Bandai's Tales of Vesperia headlined the new releases this week with their respective strong sales.  The other new games to break into the top ten were Sega's Sangokushi Taisen Heaven (NDS - #6 - 33k), which also released with a limited edition, and NBGI's Summon Night 2 (NDS - #7 - 30k), both for the Nintendo DS.  Only three of the DS's new releases didn't chart, while both of the new Wii releases did to low numbers.  The PSP's new releases were mostly budget priced rereleases.
 

What to look for next week:

• With a weak list of new releases, the top ten should look to be mostly the same, with the only differences being sales numbers and positions
• Expect the 360 to already be coming down to Earth, and should match up with PS3 numbers