The hottest GameCube game in Japan right now is, of course, Smash Brothers. What's next on the list? It isn't Sonic, nor is it Animal Forest +. Of late, Nintendo's own Pikmin has been seeing quite the sales surge in Japan, with, according to the latest Famitsu, a total of 102,902 units sold over the two week period between 12/24 and 1/6. What's the cause for these strong continued sales? There are probably a number of factors, including a growing GameCube installed base (thanks to Smash Brothers) and word of mouth, but would you believe that a music CD may have something to do with it? The Pikmin music CD, titled which features the Ai no Uta, the catchy song used in the commercials for the game in Japan, is one of the hottest CD singles in Japan right now, and the game's sales seem to be following the trend of the CDs' sales.

Pikmin debuted in the beginning of October with 101,299 units sold, according to Famitsu. It slowly dropped down to the ten and fifteen thousand range, and remained so until the first week of December, when the Pikmin CD was released. The CD sold, in its first week, 80,640 units, followed by 100,240 units in its next week, 107,740 units the week after, and 127,290 units in the last week of December/first week of January. Pikmin's sales have actually followed the CD sales trend, rising from 10,629 units in the first week of Decembeer to 21,770 units the next week, 53,421 units the week afer that, and, as mentioned, 102,902 units in the last week of December/first week of January.

Coincidence? Or does the charming music on the CD have enough impact over people to get them to buy the game? We'll have to see how sales continue over the next few weeks. Currently, Japan is seeing numerous ads for the Pikmin CD, all of which feature footage and screenshots from the game. Famitsu actually asked real live Japanese people about the CD and got many to admit that they first learned of Pikmin after hearing the song.

source IGN Cube