Mario Kart 7 got its second wind at Japanese retailers for the week of December 19-25, as sales tracking firm Media Create reports that Nintendo's latest kart racer surged ahead of the pack in its fourth week of release to finish atop the charts.

　　Mario Kart 7 sales hit the nitro boosters this week. Mario Kart 7 sold 260,836 copies, up 43 percent over the prior week and its best outing since its launch week of November 28 to December 4. Nintendo's other new 3DS game featuring the mustachioed mascot also placed in the top 10, as Super Mario 3D Land finished the week with 174,566 copies sold.

　　Sandwiched in between the plumber's one-two punch was the week's best-selling new release, Koei Tecmo's Musou Orochi 2. Other new releases to make the charts included Namco Bandai's super-deformed 3DS mech game SD Gundam G Generation 3D in eighth place with 90,873 copies sold, and Level-5's Wii launch of Inazuma Eleven Strikers Xtreme.

　　Conspicuous by their absence from the top 10 list were games for Sony's PlayStation Vita, which launched the week before in Japan. After debuting on the charts in the seventh and eighth spot, the PS Vita duo of Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational and Uncharted: Golden Abyss dropped to 37th place and 40th place, respectively.

　　PS Vita hardware suffered a slide as well. The handheld debuted the previous week in second place with nearly 325,000 systems sold. However, for the week ended December 25, the portable only posted sales of 72,479 systems and finished fifth among hardware platforms. Its predecessor the PSP fared better, taking second place by selling 101,121 systems. Despite that, the 3DS handily took home the hardware crown for the week, more than quadrupling the next best-selling system with 482,200 handhelds sold.

　　JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF DECEMBER 19-25

　　Software

　　Rank/Title/Publisher/Platform/Unit sales

　　1. Mario Kart 7 / Nintendo / 3DS / 260,836

　　2. Musou Orochi 2 / Koei Tecmo / PS3 / 200,526

　　3. Super Mario 3D Land / Nintendo / 3DS / 174,566

　　4. Monster Hunter 3G / Capcom / 3DS / 155,069

　　5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 / Square Enix / PS3 / 118,816

　　6. Kirby's Return to Dream Land / Nintendo / Wii / 114,545

　　7. Just Dance Wii / Nintendo / Wii / 96,771

　　8. SD Gundam G Generation 3D / Namco Bandai / 3DS / 90,873

　　9. Inazuma Eleven Go / Level-5 / 3DS / 86,026

　　10. Inazuma Eleven Strikers Xtreme / Level-5 / Wii / 85,117

　　Hardware

　　3DS - 482,200

　　PSP - 101,121

　　Wii - 91,176

　　PS3 - 75,943

　　PS Vita - 72,479

　　DSi XL - 8,470

　　DSi - 5,894

　　Xbox 360 - 4,245

　　PS2 - 1,052

　　DS Lite - 32

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　Mario Kart 7 Video Review

　　Resident Evil 4 Is A Perfect Remake

　　How Alan Wake II Made Me Face My Fear of Horror GamesGameSpot's Top 10 Games of 2023Thompson: The Pop Culture Icon’s Strange Legacy - LoadoutFirearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerHow Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Saeko Mukoda Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight Trailer

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto HD High Low

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter