Killer is Dead is Selling Quite Badly in Japan According to Major Retailer’s Weekly Charts

Giuseppe Nelva August 5, 2013 10:43 AM EST

Every week the prominent Japanese retail and rental chain Tsutaya releases its own weekly sales charts giving a good glimpse on what the situtuation in the country may look like. Since they’re released before the more accurate Media Create Charts, they’re often looked at to get an earlier indication of the market trends.

Today Tsutaya released the top twenty for the week between July the 29th and August the 4th, and it comes packed with a rather sad surprise for the fans of Grasshopper Manufacture and Goichi Suda. Here’s the top ten for your perusal.

Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life – 3DS Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies – 3DS Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – 3DS The Witch and the Hundred Knights – PS3 MIND ≒ 0 – PS Vita Youkai Watch – 3DS Killer is Dead <Premium Edition> – PS3 Dragon’s Crown – PS Vita Fantasy Life Link! – 3DS Dragon’s Crown – PS3

As you can see Killer is Dead is debuting in a rather dreadful 7th place for a game on its first week of sale, beaten by a few games on their second week like Ace Attorney 5, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and The Witch and the Hundred Knights. It’s even behind

While the version of Killer is Dead listed above is the PS3 one, the Xbox 360 version didn’t even make the top 20. If you’re wondering about the “Premium Edition” part, all the first print sales of Killer is Dead are automatically upgraded to premium.

This definitely doesn’t paint a good picture for the debut of Goichi Suda’s latest game, especially considering that the game was heavily promoted. As for the reason for such a weak performance, your guess is as good as mine, but possibly the peculiar art style of the game didn’t click with the picky Japanese audience.

Of course the chart quoted above belongs only to a single retailer, even if a very prominent one, so we’ll have to wait for Wednesday’s Media Create charts for a more precise outlook on the situation, but things aren’t likely to change too much. In this case the old adage “sex sells” may have failed to deliver.