The 3DS‘s future looks rosier every day, with major releases and positive sales news from Japan. Now Nintendo of America released its own positive update on the platform after receiving sales data for this past October. The 3DS (along with the Wii and DS) had a good month, with 3DS selling 250,000 units, the Wii moving 250K also, and the DS clearing 180K. But the most interesting takeaway from this data: the 3DS is poised to sell more systems in its first year than the DS did.
Above: Confused what a 3DS is? Let Mario explain
When the DS first appeared in 2004, it sold 2.37 million handhelds from November 2004 and October 2005 in the US. Comparatively the 3DS in the months since its March launch, including last October, has sold 1.65 million, and should it keep doing well in November and December, it could actually outperform the DS’s first year (in the US anyway). And it seems pretty possible, as Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 are hitting stores then and those are easily the biggest releases of the year for the system.
Of course some perspective is needed here, as the DS didn’t truly take off as a system until after Nintendogs and Brain Age came out late its first year. And 3DS still has a long way to go before reaching the DS’s record-setting 149 million sold. But at least things are looking up after a rocky start for Nintendo’s newest console.
