Nintendo expects to sell 5 million 3DS units in Japan during the firm's fiscal year

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said the company plans to sell 5 million 3DS units in Japan during the firm's fiscal year, and a global target of 18 million units is the goal.

Iwata announced this during a Capcom event in Tokyo, and stated that 5.5 million 3DS consoles were moved in the region in 2012 bring in the total to 13.95 million consoles worldwide.

“There are more and more media reports suggesting that things aren’t going very well for the dedicated gaming hardware business,” Iwata said, reports Bloomberg. “But that’s not true, at least for the 3DS in Japan.”

Iwata said the only other system to top 5 million annual units in Japan was 3DS' predecessor.

Nintendo sold 1.4 million 3DS units globally in the three months ended June 2013, down from 1.86 million the year prior.

In comparison, Sony sold 600,000 units of PSP and Vita in the same period.

Thanks Nintendo Life.