Dom

Konami's Silent Hill 3 has topped the Japanese charts this week, selling some 58,000 units in its first three days on sale - but with few major new releases during the week, the market has slowed down significantly again.

Aside from Silent Hill 3 (which was launched in Europe ahead of Japan and the USA, in case you're wondering why it's only topping the charts now), the other two new releases in the top ten are Konami's rhythm action title Pop 'n Music 8 at number five, and Sony's Mister Mosquito 2 (Ka 2) at number nine.

The rest of the chart looks pretty similar to last week really. Initial D Special Stage is at number two, displaced by Silent Hill 3, with Animal Crossing e+ and Hanjyuku Hero VS 3D making up the rest of the top five.

After several months which were dominated utterly by GBA titles, the chart is now moving back into more familiar territory, with PS2 games making up the bulk of the top ten. Seven of the games in the ranking are on the PS2, with two GameCube titles and only one GBA game (Nintendo's RPG remake, Mother 1 + 2) making the listing.

Aside from last week's major flood of new releases, the slow sales that have marked the start of this summer in Japan continue, with the marketplace once again dipping below half a million units in total this week.