Nintendo's Next Big European Score

Many scoffed at the idea of the DS when it was announced - they're not scoffing anymore. Nintendo has announced another new sales milestone.

Nintendo was bold in its vision for the DS. Splitting the playing field and adding touch-screen support was never a sure thing, but it seems to have paid off. The company revealed on Friday that there are now a million DSs sold in the UK alone.

"It's been a phenomenal year for Nintendo handhelds and we're especially pleased with DS reaching this milestone," Nintendo's Dawn Paine told MCV.

Sales of the DS have been steady since launch and are expected to get better over the coming months as Nintendo rolls out the next batch of big-hitters, such as Animal Crossing: Wild World and the Japan-dominating Brain Training games. The handheld is still riding the success of recent online hits Mario Kart DS and Nintendogs.

This week's good news is just more for the DS's pile, which is steadily growing despite strong competition from Sony.

While the DS did have a six-month head start on the PSP, sales of the portables are running about even in Europe, with the title of Top Handheld flitting between them on an almost weekly basis. Worldwide, the DS is the clear winner, thanks to a lead over the PSP in the US and a bigger one in Japan.

In fact, sales in Japan were so strong over the Christmas season (Nintendo sold about half a million DSs in December alone) that the company was forced to post an apology on its site after stock ran out.

There are persistent rumours that Nintendo is about to announce a redesign of the clunky portable. The company has denied that it will announce a new version now, but Nintendo is expected to have something new at May's E3.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games