“Software sells hardware” has been Nintendo’s mantra for nearly 30 years. And, when you consistently make fun, unique, exclusive games featuring the likes of Mario, Link, Donkey Kong and Pokémon, you can sell a lot of hardware! The most recent example of this phenomenon is Nintendo 3DS, which has become the eighth Nintendo system to sell at least 15 million units in the United States, according to Nintendo’s internal sales figures. Since its U.S. debut on March 27, 2011, Nintendo has supported the system with a massive lineup of AAA games such as Super Mario 3D Land, Pokémon X, Pokémon Y, Mario Kart 7 and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Each of these titles has a Metascore of 85 or higher and has sold more than 2 million total units in the United States alone.
Despite being on the market for more than 50 months in the United States, the Nintendo 3DS system continues to resonate with gaming audiences and bring new players into the Nintendo hand-held experience. Through the first six months of 2015, sales of Nintendo 3DS hardware have increased by more than 50 percent over sales in the same period in 2014. Much of this growth can be attributed to New Nintendo 3DS XL, the latest addition to the Nintendo 3DS family, which launched on Feb. 13 and introduced several new features such as face-tracking 3D, new controls and amiibo support.
“While crossing 15 million units is certainly a significant milestone, we are equally excited about the new momentum we’ve created in 2015 thanks to new hardware and an unrivaled library of software,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “With more great games on the way and a hardware system for every type of gamer, 2015 is shaping up to be one of the stronger years yet for Nintendo 3DS in the United States.”
Since the Nintendo Entertainment System first debuted in the U.S. in the fall of 1985, nearly 270 million units of Nintendo hardware have been sold in the United States. This includes nearly 145 million units of hand-held hardware and nearly 125 million home console units. By surpassing 15 million units sold in the United States, Nintendo 3DS joins an elite list that includes some of the biggest names in the history of gaming, including Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, the best-selling video game system ever in the United States.
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Nintendo is dead :)
basically, 3DS just now reached a milestone all other Nintendo platforms had already reached, so it’s not really that hot
and that’s only the US… no matter how you slice it, Nintendo is successful despite not always being the “hottest thing” of the moment
not really, they went from a 150 million handheld to a 50 million, not to mention the 100 million home consoles to 10 million, they messed up big
While it is clear that the success does not equal what happened with the Wii or DS, it doesn’t paint the full picture. Those consoles, especially the Wii were almost surprisingly good numbers and to equal that would be very hard to do… I don’t know the numbers in terms of many spent on R&D and advertisements compared to the sales, so “messed up big” is not something I can say for certain. Did it perform worse or even less than expected, probably… but I don’t think a lull in sales needs to be looked at so negatively. It is the nature of life, of all things to have the ebb and flow of it… in the long run, things are still trending up for Nintendo, and the WiiU or whatever comes NeXt
Wow, so your judging Nintendo’s success based on thier best generation? Nintendo will never be able to duplicate the success of the Wii and the DS. In fact, no other gaming company out there will ever duplicate that success.
bad week for me again. :'(
I remember when ps fanboys bashed 3ds and ps vita would destroy the 3ds Funny times … hahah
Never seen a vita in real life besides the one I own.
Last week I saw a lady in her 40s walking down the street playing a reg purple 3ds lol.
When is splatoon sales figure in Japan? I wana see sasori suffer lel
Is that guy still a thing?
When you see somebody playing with a ps vita you can ask for a wish and it will become real!
Whilst the Wii U and 3Ds are not the BIG sellers like the Wii and DS, they are profitable to NTDO.