Namco Bandai has announced it’s shipped 500,000 copies of Tales of Xillia for PlayStation 3, which launched yesterday in Japan.

The publisher believes its success is due to it celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the series, which began on NES with Tales of Phantasia in December 1995. Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Progress” theme song is also to thank, said the company in today’s press release.

Late last month, Tales series producer Makoto Yoshizumi revealed Xillia to be the most pre-ordered Tales game ever.

Tales of Xillia Shipments Exceed 500,00 on First Day of Sales [Namco Bandai, PDF]