3DS sells more units than Wii did in its first nine months

Nintendo’s newest handled has already broken the benchmark that the Wii set for its first 9 months. The 3DS sold more than four million units in the US, Nintendo announced in a press release. In addition to the impressive hardware sales, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 were announced as the fastest-selling games in their respective franchises. Initially when the 3DS released, there was rampant concern on whether it would be able to sell as well as its predecessor after it failed to reach Nintendo’s projected first month numbers. Fast forward eight months and the 3DS looks like a burgeoning powerhouse.

Nintendo hardware sales, in the US, totaled more than 12 million units, the Wii sold over 4.5 million units, the aforementioned 3DS sold over 4 million units and the family of DS units sold over 3.4 million units. With these numbers, the Wii’s install base increased to over 39 million units and the DS increased to over 51 million units.

Nintendo software sales numbers have also been very impressive as Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 sold over one million copies each. They were also the first 3DS games to sell over the million dollar mark. An impressive feat considering that the marquee game early on was the 3D remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

For all the negative publicity the Wii received last year, the Wii displayed that with such a large install base, it can still produce commercially successful titles. The critically acclaimed, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, became the 45^th Wii game to sell more than one million units in the US.

The 3DS sales were greatly aided by a strong holiday season line-up and the consoles' library will only get stronger as several titles such as Kid Icarus, Resident Evil: Revelations, Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater and a new Pokemon and Mario Party games are still to come in 2012. With these titles and more, the 3DS will only go from strength to strength.

"One of the strongest software line-ups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam," noted Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America sales and marketing executive.

“Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.”

 Sources: My Nintendo News, EuroGamer

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