Famitsu has posted a report on the domestic industry sales totals for the first half of 2012. The data was collected through parent company Enterbrain.

Between December 26 and June 24, total hardware/software sales hit 193.4 billion yen. That’s a 0.7% increase from last year’s 191.98 billion. Year-over-year gains have been made for the first time in two years.

Hardware sales dropped from 79.81 billion yen in 2011 to 70.73 billion in 2012, but software sales increased from 112.17 billion yen to 122.67 billion yen.

Read on below for hardware data and a listing of the best-selling games in Japan in the first half of 2012.

Hardware

Nintendo 3DS: 2,219,548 (total 6,355,287)
PlayStation 3: 695,465 (total 8,112,613)
PlayStation Portable: 500,333 (total 18,737,441)
PlayStation Vita: 353,657 (total 756,451)
Nintendo Wii: 265,578 (total 12,433,321)
Xbox 360: 33,809 (total 1,554,547)
Nintendo DS: 20,239 (total 32,855,741)

Software

Pokemon Black & White 2 (3DS, Pokemon, 06.23.2012): 1,618,621
One Piece Pirate Musou (PS3, Namco Bandai, 03.01.2012): 806,578
Dragon Quest Monsters Terry’s Wonderland 3D (3DS, Squenix, 05.31.2012): 743,967
Mario Kart 7 (3DS, Nintendo, 12.01.2011): 665,573 (total 1,747,964)
Monster Hunter 3G (3DS, Capcom, 12.10.2011): 665,394 (1,474,716)

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The following Virtual Console games will be releasing on the Japanese Wii Shop Channel next month:

Super Famicom

Ky?yaku Megami Tensei: Megami Tensei I – II – 900 points (releases July 3)

Neo Geo

Metal Slug X – 900 points
Stakes Winner – 900 points

Virtual Console Arcade

Riot – 800 points

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Sabarasa announced Protocol over two years ago. The company didn’t provide a whole lot of details about the project, but it was intended to be an online/offline shooter for WiiWare.

A couple of years later, Sabarasa has confirmed that Protocol won’t be releasing no the Wii Shop Channel. It’s now planned for a “new to-be-confirmed platform.” Maybe it’ll head to the Wii U eShop?

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The latest EDGE review scores are as follows:

Lollipop Chainsaw – 7
Steel Battalion Heavy Armor – 6
Spec Ops: The Line – 7
Game of Thrones – 5
Inversion – 6
Heroes of Ruin – 6
Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown – 9
Beat The Beat: Rythm Paradise – 8
Babel Rising – 3
Art of Balance TOUCH! – 8
Gauge – Game – 9

Nintendo has updated the official Japanese Pandora’s Tower site with some pretty art from the game. The illustrations highlight Aeron and Elena, the two main characters.

You can find all of the artwork in the gallery above.

Salaries tracker Nensyu Labo has ranked the Japanese employee compensation averages of various companies. Square Enix tops the chart with an average salary of 21,680,000 yen. Other companies with high positions include Nintendo (9,140,000 yen), Konami (6.78 million yen), and Capcom (5.71 million yen).

A partial ranking has been posted below.

1. Square-Enix: 21,680,000 yen
2. Sony: 9,230,000 yen
3. Nintendo: 9,140,000 yen
5. Konami: 6.78 million
6. Namco Bandai Holdings: 6.40 million
7. Tecmo Koei Holdings: 6.15 million
9. Capcom: 5.71 million
11. Marvelous AQL: 5.56 million
14. Gung Ho Online Entertainment: 5.04 million
15. Falcom: 4.68 million
20: Nippon Ichi: 3.70 million
21: Tose: 3.50 million

It should be noted that these rankings and figures shouldn’t be considered final. They’re not concrete, official numbers. Keep in mind that Nensyu Labo compiled its data through public filings.

Source 1, Source 2

Which recent Pokemon game sold better in Japan? That would be Black 2, according to Media Create. The sales company reports that 817,000 units of Black 2 were sold in its first week while White 2 came in at 745,000 copies.

In total, Media Create’s data puts Pokemon Black/White 2 at 1.56 million units sold through the first week of sales. The two titles sold through 80.17% of stock. This is slightly lower than the original games, which saw a 87.65% sell-through rate. Media Create believes that the lack of an early buyer bonus for Black/White 2 led to the small decrease.

Black/White 2 achieved 1.29 million sales through pre-orders. That stat is as impressive as it sounds. It’s the second highest pre-order figure in the series’ history. The first Black/White titles earned the top spot with 1.88 million pre-orders.

Thanks to 4Him for the tip.

Source 1, Source 2