The store manager of the popular independent game store Games Ma-Ya in the Edogawa district of Tokyo, gave over two posts of her own blog an interesting look at the local situation in the days around the crucial Christmas shopping period.

While the data is related to a particular store, the insight it provides is still definitely interesting.

According to her, the following games are those who pushed PS4, Wii U, 3DS and PS Vita console sales lately:

  • Wii U: Super Mario Maker, Splatoon.
  • 3DS: Monster Hunter X.
  • PS4: Fallout 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
  • PS Vita: Minecraft: PS Vita Edition.

We also learn a few interesting piece of information:

  • For the PS Vita, the Aqua Blue color is the most popular among males, while Neon Orange leads among females.
  • Disney Magical World 2 for 3DS has sold out at the store. It had a slow start, but now it's accelerating thanks to the popularity of Disney.
  • There has been a surge in requests of Pro Baseball Famista Returns for 3DS, even if the manager doesn't know exactly why.
  • Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam has been quietly continuing to sell, alongside Sumikko Gurashi Koko Ga Ochitsukundesu among girls (both titles are for 3DS).
  • Yo-Kai Watch Busters (both versions) for 3DS is also at the center of many requests to Santa.
  • Monster Strike for 3DS has also been selling consistently every day.

Additionally, the manager of another store reported on his own blog that first day sales of Genei Ibun Roku #FE for Wii U have been unexpectedly weak, with only 21% of the first shipment sold at his store. He mentions that the game, which is more aimed towards core gamers reminiscent of Persona 4, is less in line with the target of the Wii U, in fact  Super Mario Maker and Splatoon keep selling solidly.

He also mentions that major releases for 2015 have now ended, and the next big one is Odin Sphere Leifthrasir on January 14th, that has good pre-orders, with the PS Vita version getting most of them over the PS4 version.

For the moment it seems that Nintendo has beat Sony in the Japanese holidays, both on home consoles (mostly thanks to the super popular Super Mario Maker and Splatoon bundles) and portables (no one is surprised here). Sony has a chance of turning things around with the shopping-heavy Otoshidama week following January 1st, but the lack of big releases means that the final result probably won't change.