Game Boy Micro Sales; Nintendogs Bundle For U.S.

Initial figures on the launch of Nintendo's Game Boy Micro handheld in Japan suggest that the backlit mini-handheld has sold around 148,000 units in its first six days on sale in that territory. According to reports from Japanese website Dengeki Online, this not unimpressive figure represents 55 percent of the entire first shipment, with 40 percent (approximately 59,200) of the units sold being the special Famicom-designed versions meant to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. These versions were the first to be sold out in many Japanese retail stores, with the black Game Boy Micro also proving extremely popular. The Game Boy Micro had been expected to sell less than the Game Boy Advance SP in its first week, based on its number of pre-orders, but in the end it surpassed the previous iteration, which managed around 114,000 sales in its debut week. The full Japanese hardware and software sales figures should be available tomorrow, and in those charts, classic re-issue Super Mario Bros. is expected to take the number one spot for the second time this year, after its initial re-release as part of the Famicom Mini (aka NES Classics) series. In related news, and following the revelation of a new version of the Game Boy Advance SP with a brighter screen, Nintendo of America has also announced two new colors for the Nintendo DS, in the form of 'Pearl Pink' and 'Teal' (greenish-blue). These color variations join the normal and 'Electric Blue' colors in North America, and continue Nintendo's habit of regional differences for hardware coloration, with other colors including white and the particularly sought-after bright red available only in Asia. These new North American colors will go on sale on October 24th, bundled with a “Best Friends” edition of extremely popular 'puppy simulator' Nintendogs, which features a different mix of breeds (but not new breeds entirely) from the three versions already available. The bundle also includes a Nintendogs branded Nintendo DS skin and a bone-shaped screen cleaner.