In addition to September's 38% NPD growth announcement today, Nintendo is claiming responsibility for 85% of the year-to-date industry growth in a somewhat backwards way. From the company's press release regarding newly announced NPD data: "Through September's end, the U.S. industry overall shows revenue growth of 11 percent when compared with the same period in 2005. Nearly all of the growth comes from the portable DS – without it, the industry would report a mere 1.6 percent growth over the past nine months."In the same press release, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime states the data "sets the stage" for Wii's ability to succeed this next-generation. While there's no denying the DS has sold well being the snazzy lil' handheld it is (6.2M US units to date), hypothetically removing the system from industry sales to prove a point seems a bit irregular because the alternative doesn't exist. Assuming DS didn't exist, gamers could still buy other hardware and software to fill the entertainment void and potentially grow the industry.
But alas, the DS is doing very well. Claim 85% of the growth, throw confetti in the air, and be done with it.
Read Nintendo's prior math skills:
