3DS is now Nintendo's fastest-selling console worldwide
Nintendo president and CEO Satoru iwata had good news at Nintendo's dire quarterly briefing; the 3DS has smashed records globally to become the company's fastest-selling hardware.
"When we held our last Financial Results Briefing, the sales of the Nintendo 3DS had not accelerated worldwide; however, since last November, because strong titles were launched and the year-end sales season developed favorably the proliferation speed of the Nintendo 3DS accelerated around the world," the executive told investors as part of Nintendo's latest financial results briefing.
Iwata showed Japanese sales results first, admitting to early "unsatisfactory" results and then a sharp acceleration towards the end of the year. Nintendo made an announcement that the system had overtaken the DS's sales growth when it apssed 4 million sales, but Iwata revealed the handheld had topped another rival - the Game Boy Advance.
"The Nintendo 3DS did not lose its momentum even after the new year, and two weeks ago it broke the record of the fastest sales pace," he said.
In the US and Europe, the sales charts again showed a sudden acceleration, which Iwata attributed to the release of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 in both territories. The 3DS had also nabbed the fastest-selling console title in both territories, passing the Wii and the DS, previous record-holders in the US and Europe respectively.
US sales have also passed 4 million, and while European figures were not discussed, the chart shows something in the region of 3.5 million, putting sales at around 11.5 million for the three major territories.
"In December, the Nintendo 3DS took the top share of hardware unit sales in Europe," Iwata added.
The turn around of the console "brought a pleasant surprise to the video game industry", the president added, and resulted in a surge of third-party interest. While Iwata could not reveal details, he said Nintendo is "expecting a strong line-up for the platform".
"I can say, however, that there will be more and more highly-anticipated titles for the Nintendo 3DS even in the U.S. and Europe where home console game systems lead the market," he added, somewhat mysteriously.
Iwata then showed an image of major titles expected to release in the current fiscal year - which ends in March, including Kid Icarus: Uprising, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Tekken 3D Prime Edition, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Metal gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater, Love Plus, Hatsune Miku, and Harvest Moon titles.
In the fiscal year beginning April 2012, Nintendo highlighted Heroes of Ruin, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, Fire Emblem, Luigi's Mansion 2, Paper Mario, Mario Tennis, Girls Mode, Friend Collection, Guild01, Rune Factory 4, and Dragon Quest Monsters, among others.