Britons Help DS to Hardware Sales Record

More hardware sales in a week in the UK than any system at any time - ever.

If you live in the UK and watch TV or pay attention to billboards as you stroll around town, you'll have noticed that Nintendo is pushing the DS in a big way this Christmas. It's paying off.

Last week the DS had the best single week that any video game system has ever had in the UK, selling 191,104 units in the week running up to Saturday, 24 November, according to figures from research firm Chart Track.

Not only is that better than the DS managed when it re-launched as the DS Lite in June of last year, but it's better than the best hardware launch to date, that of the PSP, which sold 187,751 units during its opening week in September 2005. The DS's one-week showing also tops the best the PlayStation 2 managed, which was 184,360 units during the pre-Christmas week in 2001.

What's driving sales? The answer likely won't surprise you. It's those grey-matter-flexing Brain Training games.

The latest software sales charts from Chart Track show Dr Kawashima's Brain Training as the second-best selling game during the previous week - a remarkable performance for a game that's been out for almost 18 months already. Also among the Top 5 games last week was that game's successor, More Brain Training From Dr Kawashima.

In recent weeks, Nintendo has stepped up its advertising for the game, bringing in big names in entertainment from home and abroad, a list that includes Nicole Kidman, Patrick Stewart and This Morning's Fern Britton and Phil Schofield.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo