Japanese Nintendo DS Orders Top 2m
According to a newspaper, possibly sourced from a Japanese Nintendo press release.
With all the hoopla surrounding the recent releases of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Halo 2 and their ensuing success, it's easy to forget that Nintendo is just weeks away from launching a new hardware platform. It seems that Japanese retailers have not forgotten.
More than two million units of the Nintendo DS have been ordered by retailers ahead of the Japanese release of the hardware on 2 December, according to a report on Thursday in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Pre-order campaigns started at Japanese electronics retailers and convenience stores on 3 November.
The two million pre-order figure is significantly more than even Nintendo's own expectations. The company previously stated that it will have one million Nintendo DSes available for Japan by the end of 2004.
To handle this extra demand, Nintendo has announced that it will increase its production outsourcing to China.
Nintendo DP? It takes cartridges both ways, you know.Taking these most recent reports into consideration, Nintendo has increased its expected shipment figures by March 2004 from 3.5 million units to 4 million.
The Nintendo DS is set for release in North America on 21 November and Japan on 2 December.
There are no firm release details available for Europe yet, but the portable should see release in the UK by March 2005.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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