Nintendo claims best first-day US handheld sales ever for 3DS

by JC Fletcher on Mar 29th 2011 1:28PM

Nintendo is staring at some three-dimensional stacks of cash today. Nintendo of America issued a press release claiming that "U.S. day-one sales numbers for Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo hand-held system in our history." Update: that's unit sales, according to Nintendo.

The publisher declined to comment on exact numbers, saying only that more information will be available when the NPD releases its report on the first-week sales. We guess that $250 price point wasn't much of a deterrent after all. Find the full statement after the break.

U.S. day-one sales numbers for Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo hand-held system in our history. More details about U.S. sales numbers will be made public on April 14, when first-week U.S. sales figures will be tallied by the independent NPD Group. Nintendo worked hard to get as much product as possible to retailers on day one to meet demand, and we will continue with these efforts moving forward.

-Nintendo of America

Tags: 3ds, ds, launch-day, nintendo, sales

Reader Comments (91)

I'm a little irked they held off on all the good stuff, but I'm more than sure the 3DS will be worth the investment.

Not surprising given how great the hardware is.

@VeeDeeVee

But given how lousy the software is...

@baby sea tuna

The great software will come.

@baby sea tuna

I blame Ubi Soft.

@baby sea tuna

Agreed, the launch line up if you don't like fighting games is a bunch of "well... I guess this looks fun..." titles. But honestly with all the packed-in software, you almost don't even need to pick up launch software. I had a blast with the AR games. Not sure if that can last you until Zelda and Shin Megami drop in June... But still, I think those are the best bits of code you can run on the 3DS at the moment.

I will be interested to see the sell through for games on this. My guess is on average less than one (maybe 0.8 games/system average).

@Punkrawk Bbob

The AR games are the only thing I'm remotely interested in right now. Even Kid Icarus and Zelda aren't really jumping out at me (I've played OoT at least 3 times now and Kid Icarus had less than stellar preview reception.) I think it's Resident Evil and MGS that I'm most curious about right now, but that's when, summer?

@baby sea tuna

Summer is like... 3 months away. In gaming terms that's nothing.

I've only played Ocarina of Time once, and that was back in 1998. I'm eager to go back and check it out. I've always heard people say its one of the greatest games of all time, but it never sunk that deep with me. I look forward to going back and seeing if there's something I just didn't get the first time through.

But yes, games are dry for a bit. Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor should be sweet (missed the DS release), and Pinball Williams Collection / Pacman&Galaga should be fun portables. I really wish they launched with StarFox64 instead of Pilotwings.

@baby sea tuna

Johnny #5 recommended Ghost Recon and I've been having a blast with it. I've never played XCOM, but it reminds me of Fire Emblem with guns. Also, the 3D in that game is done really well, especially after you check the time on your phone and wonder why the screen looks so flat. But this is all beside the point, I've been gaming for a long time and I can't remember a single decent launch lineup. The 3DS' is better than most. That being said, I would kill for Mario 3DS. The ability to see depth is going to be a game-changer for 3D platformers.

@baby sea tuna

everyone and their dog says it's lousy because others are saying it's lousy. Truth be told Ridge Racer is a blast w/ no online being a deterrent; Musou revolutionized the game in a way w/ touch switching to add gameplay elements; ghost recon ended up being a fantastic SRPG. the only people that are calling out 'lousy software' are the people that haven't played any of them, along with reviewers that seems to have been called upon to rate everything down to mediocrity by pointing out minor flaws. I've seen it done elsewhere, and it's why I never trust those jokers anymore. Not like I ever trusted uninformed 'journalists' to get anything correct elsewhere in life.

Wow, that surprises me, I knew it would sell like cup cakes but with a bit of a mediocre launch list and high price I thought it would sell relatively less,

good job nintendo.

@Qehb

Pft it's Nintendo. Plus almost every new system has a mediocre launch.

@Cleric Yup. Nintendo 64, two games.

@Cleric

Yeah but usually they have the one flagship game,

I remember being really exited for Mario 64 DS (though I had the original) for the first DS,
but with the 3DS none of the launch titles interest enough to pick it up on day one, though as soon as the OOT or new 3DS mario are released I'll definately get it.

@Qehb
I know I'm coming across as a douche here, but... it's excited. Not exited.

@Ellimem Nintendo used to have only a couple titles at launch, but they were amazing. I'd rather have one Super Mario 64 (IMO still the best 3D platformer ever created) than 10-20 "okay" titles. If memory serves me right, the SNES only had what, Pilotwings, Super Mario World and F-Zero? F-Zero and SMW we're enough to hold you over for months =)

Why can't they just tell us now? Why wait for NPD group? Wouldn't it be better to have your stock price go up for the additional 2 weeks?

Either way, good for them!

@ilduce620

Assuming the NPD has anything to say other than "screw off, peasants!"

Transferred all my gen4 pokemon to my copy of white, and then have been messing around with Pilotwings. I will say that the depth they have in the 3DS is amazing. Can't wait till the top tier games come out in the summer.

@jph89

The pokemon only go one way, right, like from the GBA games to the DS? I'm worried about moving them since I won't be able to get them back (since I like HG so much better than White.)

@baby sea tuna

Yeah one way only. I have a lot of breeding pokemon in my HG so I only sent one of each over.

@jph89

Dang, if my HG didn't shit the bed after 300 hrs and I didn't have to start over, I'd probably do the same.

@baby sea tuna Was unaware that copies of HeartGold could shit themselves O.o Oh my god, I have to get home quick before it makes a mess all over my apartment.... *runs*

:P (I"m sorry for your loss though, losing 300hrs of progress cannot go down smooth)

I never thought the $250 Price point would ever be a deterrent, considering the last DS printed money.

@Nofriendo

Unfortunately, when your portable console now costs more than your main stationary console, there's an issue with demand.

@shadowj0

The Wii isn't as in demand anymore so the price was dropped, the 3DS is in demand.

@Raffi256 But even the DS didn't cost more than the Gamecube (please correct me if I am wrong) when it was initially released. It's unusual for a Ninty handheld to be released to be more expensive than the current home console.

But then again, the handhelds have always been a generation behind in graphic power compared to the household consoles, this is the first time that the handheld had about the same amount of graphical power.

@shadowj0

Uh ... I take issue with that logic. Besides, if that's true then the NGP is fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked.

@shadowj0
Don't understand this point. What's the issue? Demand for 3DS is extremely high (because it's new); demand for Wii less so (largely because it's old; also it's stagnating a bit in terms of big game releases, marketing, etc).

And it might be surprising to some that a new portable console costs more than a nearly-five-year-old home console, but for me? Not so surprising.

3DS price was more or less expected (not just by me), nothing odd there; but if anything, the Wii price is still surprisingly high. Shouldn't it be seeing another drop about now?

@Nofriendo
Nintendo's handhelds have always been more impressive than their consoles, especially when going up against the stronger tech companies, it made sense for them to win in areas where graphical horsepower was of minimal importance. But now they're pushing it on the price front with a device that has worse batterylife than the original PSP and a rather thin line up for at least the first 3 months. If this thing was 300 bucks you could replace all the riiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddgggggeee raaaacccceeerr PS3 videos with a 3DS.

@Ryguy226

Actually, IIRC, both the DS and the Gamecube launched at $150. By the time that the DS came out, I'm sure the Gamecube had gone through at least one price drop.

And I'm still waiting for mine to arrive from amazon. Bah humbug. My brother has his and he absolutely loves it.

I can't say I'm surprised it sold so well

@SteveoftheGods
You're not alone in waiting for your new toy to come from Amazon. I am trying to patiently wait for mine as well, but I'm not doing so well at the "patiently" part.

@SteveoftheGods I got mine from Amazon yesterday. It arrived in an unmarked white van. The guy who delivered it had a shirt that said "LaserShip". He handed me my box and left without saying a word. Creepy as hell. I thought some axe murderer was going to break down my door.

@SteveoftheGods I too am waiting for my Amazon order, I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be at my apartment office waiting for me when I get home from work.

The system is fantastic. Congrats to Nintendo for pushing the envelope in a way that caters to my needs as a core game. Anecdotally I can say the 3DS is not flying off store shelves. In fact, every store I've been to (wal mart, Gamestop & target) all have at least 20-30 3DS consoles on the shelves. I think it's due to cost of entry but since it broke sales records it's probably a local issue not a global one. I give credit where it's earned and right now that's nintendo. Can't wait for some more 3rd party titles from the big developers. I want some assassins creed & metal gear!

@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell

I'm on the fence. I went back to school for another degree so I'm not flying around or traveling for work anymore, which is pretty much the only time I touched my DS lite. I've got all 3 consoles, and I really only use the 360. Think I've played the Wii once over the last year, and I pretty much only use the PS3 as a Netflix box in the living room, so I'm thinking of selling one or two of my systems. On the cusp of beating Uncharted 2 and the only other PS3 exclusives I really get pumped about are the R&C games.

3DS is sooo tempting but I'm thinking it might just end up like my current DS, seldom used. Just can't get into a handheld if I'm not in transit :P

@MarkezJM

Get a pokemon game, dude, your DS will never leave your sight again.

@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell The Best Buy near me (I'm in Miami) had one of those midnight launch events. I went Sunday afternoon to check out the aftermath and was surprised that they had tons of systems in stock both in bundle and stand alone form.

@MarkezJM

You know Uncharted 3 is going to come out, right?

Pretty much the reason I haven't sold my PS3.

@baby sea

I feel like I missed the trolley on Pokemon, didn't get popular until I was a lil too old for it, I thinks. Dunno if I could jump into it now, but point taken! I've still got Bowser's Inside Story and GTA: CW begging to be finished in the DS lite...

@MarkezJM

I got into pokemon as a Freshman in HS. Every new generation has brought in the youth all over again. Never too old/young for pokemon if you like RPGs!

@Punkrawk Bbob

Agreed. Pokemon came out when I was a senior in college and I got back into it last year, at 33. Never too late indeed!

This surprises me, considering that my local Gamestop had systems ready to sell on launch day with no pre-order. After seeing the crazy lines for the Wii when it launched, I thought that was a bad sign for the 3DS.

@kornhornio
Yeah, I was suprised at the number of 3DSs (or is it 3DSes?) sitting on the shelves when I went to Toys R Us to pick up a few games. I guess Nintendo learned their lesson from the Wii and tried to produce more this time??

@kornhornio

Mine too. I went in there Saturday night to buy a present for somebody and asked about the 3DS supply and they said they still had a couple left. I was going to walk back over there Sunday to see if they sold them but I didn't, since the temptation was too great to buy one (even though it's probably the last thing in the world I need right now.)

Cue people talking about NGP because they think people care that they didn't get a 3DS.

@Typhonic I got a 3DS, and its awesome, and still want an NGP more

@Typhonic Let's just call it PSP2 and be done with it. This NGP crap is just nonsense :).

That said, this could end up being a tight race. I can see a market for both devices (assuming that Sony doesn't price the thing into oblivion, I mean), as they do seem to offer substantially different feature sets.

@JasonGW
Everytime I see the NGP I think of it less as a PSP2 and more like a Sony phone that plays games. While I'm not a Sony guy, it kind of disappoints me because I see it less as an actual portable gaming device and more of a phone, which translates into a lack of competition from an actual dedicated gaming platform. That's my personal perspective on it anyway.

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Nintendo claims best first-day US handheld sales ever for 3DS

Reader Comments (91)

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:29PM DelTrigger said

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Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:47PM baby sea tuna said

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Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:39PM Nofriendo said

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Posted: Mar 29th 2011 3:47PM A Sandwich said

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Posted: Mar 29th 2011 2:01PM Fuzunga said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 3:35PM Ryguy226 said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:42PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 1:50PM MarkezJM said

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Posted: Mar 29th 2011 2:04PM Fuzunga said

Posted: Mar 29th 2011 2:27PM CaramelZappa said

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