Amazon: 3DS pre-orders 71% higher than PS3's

After saying last week that 3DS was its most pre-ordered hardware of all time, Amazon UK's confirmed that the Nintendo handheld is 71 percent ahead of the previous record holder, PS3.

3DS, which launches in Europe on Friday and in the US on Sunday, has 71 percent more pre-orders placed at Amazon UK than PS3 PS3 did prior to its launch in early 2007, MCV reports.

The console is a giant 407 percent ahead of predecessor DSi in 2009.

“It’s unusual for a handheld console to attract this amount of excitement in the run up to launch," said Amazon UK's Chris Poad.

"Such high levels of interest are normally reserved for the play-at-home hardware like the ground-breaking Nintendo Wii and last year’s Microsoft Kinect."

Hit this for full details of 3DS's western launch this weekend.