Sales of the PlayStation 3 have just hit what looks to be an all-time low in Japan...

Latest Media Create figures paint what appears to be a very gloomy picture for Sony, with the PS3 taking a second spin around the toilet bowl and sales barely registering above the 1K mark. Blimey!

It’s all down to the PS3 Slim, of course. These figures are for the week-ending August 30th, while the Slim only launched in Japan yesterday. In other words the ‘Slim effect’ has yet to be felt. Assuming Japanese gamers go for the newly-cheap model, that is – they weren’t exactly over-keen on its predecessor, as recent history has demonstrated repeatedly.

Anyway, let’s see what’s developed a week from now. Until then, read this and weep for Sony (last week’s figures in brackets):

DSi – 59,881 (59,578)
PSP – 26,081 (27,187)
Wii – 25,038 (26,972)
DS Lite – 7,304 (5,735)
Xbox 360 – 7,254 (8,979)
PS2 – 3,179 (3,295)
PS3 – 1,040 (2,052)

Meanwhile the Japanese software top 10 is the usual heady mix of hilarity, Monster Hunter variants and games we’ll likely never ever see on these shores. Check out entry number eight and revel in the mind-boggling dominance of handheld formats:

1. Tomodachi Collection (DS) – 80,000
2. Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Starry Sky (DS) – 71,000
3. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) – 46,000
4. Dream C Club (Xbox 360) – 46,000
5. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii) – 34,000
6. Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny (PSP) – 29,000
7. Super Robot Gakuen (DS) – 28,000
8. You’ll Incur Losses if You Remain Ignorant: How Money and Things Work (DS) – 21,000
9. Monster Hunter Portable 2 G (PSP) – 18,000
10. Hakuouki: Zuisouroku (PS2) – 17,000