3DS has biggest sales week ever in Japan thanks to Monster Hunter 3G

In the US and Europe Nintendo’s 3DS plans for sales dominance with the plumber-sized combo of Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land, which has paid off so far. Japan got those games too, but the third pillar of Nintendo of Japan’s strategy to win the holidays involved a series that many Western gamers have ignored. With last week’s Japanese launch of the hotly anticipated Monster Hunter 3G, the 3DS in Japan saw its highest one week sales to date, and that includes the launch week.

Announced a few months ago, this follow-up to Wii’s Monster Hunter Tri reportedly sold 471,055 copies in just one week in Japan, while 378,114 3DS systems were sold, compared to the 371,326 that sold at launch. This easily brought the system’s total Japanese install base over three million, and it's also worth noting is that these numbers best any one week sales record the PSP held in Japan.

Monster Hunter 3G was released alongside the Circle Pad Pro in Japan, though we don’t know how well that sold. Today we learned when the Circle Pad Pro will be out on February 7, but Capcom has yet to commit to any international release for 3G, despite the dedicated (if not huge) fanbase in the US.