DS Slams the Competition
More good news as sales figures out of Japan show Nintendo's portable tearing up the competition in Q4.
The DS and PSP may be involved in a brutal fight for victory at the tills in Europe and the US, but in Japan, things have taken a somewhat unexpected turn. Nintendo's goal of seducing casual and non-gamers seems to be working, and the DS is coming off a monstrous year in Japan.
There are 5.6 million DSs at the moment in Japan (as opposed to around 3.5 million in Europe and 4 million in the US), which in itself is impressive. More so is the startling fact that fully a quarter of all those DSs, 1.5 million, were sold in December alone.
The unexpected rush to pick up the twin-screen wonder took Nintendo by surprise and saw the company running out of stock towards the end of the year. No matter - unscrupulous resellers were quick to cash in and were selling DSs at twice their normal price.
The shortage even prompted Nintendo to apologize for the situation through its Web site.
The reason is, as always, the games. The latest Japanese charts, as determined by Media Create, list seven DS titles in the Top 10, and this has been a regular occurrence for more than a month, thanks in part to Nintendo's so-called non-games.
All eyes are now on Europe and the US, where the rollout of less traditional fare such as Brain Training and Nintendogs is starting to get underway.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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