Nintendo: DS Tops 3 Million Sales In UK

Officials from Nintendo UK have announced that the Nintendo DS has sold over 3 million units in Britain after just two years on sale. Citing data from independent researcher Chart-Track, the figure of three million includes both DS and DS Lite models up till the week ending March 24th, 2007. The same data also shows the Nintendo DS as the leading hardware format so far in 2007. It is also claimed that combined weekly sales of both DS models now account for 68 percent of all handheld console sales so far in 2007, leaving the Game Boy Advance (which has never enjoyed a particularly strong presence in the UK) and PSP to share the remaining 32 percent. Nintendo of America announced in January that more than 10 million units of the Nintendo DS had been sold in the Americas since launch, with lifetime sales for the format put at 35.61 million worldwide at the time. The exact Americas total was put at 10.18 million, with 14.43 million in Japan and 11.00 million in Europe and the rest of the world. Moving forward, Nintendo of Europe has revealed relatively little of its future software plans for the Nintendo DS in the coming months. As of yet, there is no official European release date for Pokemon Diamond/Pearl or specific announcements of any new Touch! Generations games, though it's expected these specifics will arrive in the near future. Commenting on the news, David Yarnton, general manager of Nintendo UK said: “It’s a great testament to the strength of the DS hardware and software range available, that just as Nintendo DS has passed its second birthday here in the UK, it reaches such a landmark sales figure. With many more Touch! Generations games launching in 2007, Nintendo DS and Wii will continue to be the main driving forces behind the expansion of the video game market this year.”