Nintendo Claims European Sales Boost For DS

Officials from Nintendo of Europe have revealed that over 160,000 units of its DS 'puppy simulator' Nintendogs have been sold in Europe in its first weekend on sale. At the same time, according to the firm, Nintendo DS hardware sales have risen by between 400 to 700 percent across Europe. All three versions of Nintendogs launched in Europe on Friday, October 7th, alongside a minor price drop for the console and two new bundles featuring newly colored versions of the console and copies of Nintendogs. Prominent strategy game Advance Wars: Dual Strike was also launched on the same day, as well as Konami’s Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. The European weekend figure of 160,000 units for Nintendogs compares well with U.S. figures of 250,000 copies in the first week on sale, although the North American release reportedly suffered from some stock shortages. Overall, the new franchise has sold over 1.5 million copies in North America and Japan, where it has also had a significant impact on hardware sales. However, as the recent UK sales chart revealed, Nintendogs has made a relatively minor impact on the official UK top ten due to its three variant versions. The Lab & Friends version debuted at number nine, with the second most popular Nintendogs title being Dachshund & Friends at number thirteen, with Chihuahua & Friends at number twenty. Nonetheless, sales for all three titles combined would have reached number three in its limited time on release in the busy holiday period, showing the game's impact.