3DS Set To Best Year One DS Sales

The past year has been somewhat turbulent for Nintendo. 2011 has seen Wii sales slump, a brand-new console announced to a somewhat muted reception and some of the poorest financial results in recent memory (Nintendo reported a loss of £578m last month).

In part due to the underperformance of the 3DS at retail – we previously reported on the handheld’s grinding sales and subsequent price drops – Nintendo has been picking up the pace ever since; slashing the device’s RRP even lower and bolstering the 3D line-up of games with the likes of Super Mario 3D Land, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D and Star Fox 64 3D. The usual complaints about Nintendo re-packaging old titles aside, the heavy-handed tactics has guided the 3DS towards achieving year one sales that surpass that of the money-spinning Nintendo DS.

This comes in follow-up to NPD figures released by Nintendo reporting the 3DS has sold a commendable 1.65m units to date in the 8 months since launch. In comparison, the DS drew sales of 2.37m over the same time period, with 50% of that total accumulated during the winter period. We think it’s time to wish a very happy Christmas to Nintendo.