Zelda: Skyward Sword Drops off Japan Top 20

The latest Legend of Zelda adventure maybe holding up in the West, but over in Japan sales for Skyward Sword have dipped slightly.

According to Gamasutra the holiday season didn't do too well to invigorate sales for what had expected to be the Wii's big send-off. In its first month on sale the game sold less than 320,000 copies since debuting at the top of the charts at the end of November, and has failed to Japan top 20.

Other games that did make the cut this week included Mario Kart Wii, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Wii Party.

Two 3DS titles released around the same time Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land have fared far better, dominating the Japan top 10 and both breezing past the 1 million mark with ease.

By comparison DS The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks sold close to 500,000 during the first five weeks and Phantom Hourglass claimed 631,100 new owners in the same opening weeks. Wii launch title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess gained between 280,000 - 350,000 sales in its opening week of sales.

Western gamers have been more accommodating with Skyward Sword - it is the fastest selling game in the series in North America, topping the million mark and performing solidly in Europe also with over half a million sold so far.

Have you picked up your copy of Skyward Sword yet? What do you think has prevented the game from igniting Japan?