Nintendo Updates U.S. Sales, Following June NPD

Following the release of the newly redesigned Nintendo DS Lite in North America in June and the subsequent NPD stats on sales for the month, Nintendo of America has confirmed that the handheld outsold all other video game hardware, also updating on software and Wi-Fi Connection stats. The DS Lite boosted total sales to nearly 600,000 units, almost double that for any other hardware platform. In addition, sales of the Nintendo DS accounted for more than a third of total industry system purchases for the month. Two days after the launch of the Nintendo DS Lite in North America, the handheld had sold 136,500 units, according to the company with many major retailers reporting having sold out. Nintendo also reported that initial sales of the redesigned handheld have outperformed the 2003 launch of the Game Boy Advance SP by 12 percent. The company also noted that New Super Mario Bros. was the top-selling game for the second month in a row, with purchases of more than 450,000 units. Touch Generations-branded titles Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day and Big Brain Academy combined to sell nearly 350,000 units. In addition, sales of the DS virtual pet simulation Nintendogs for the month totaled more than 100,000 units, 10 months after its release. Nintendo also confirmed that its Wi-Fi Connection, the wireless gaming network used on Nintendo DS, has seen use by 1.7 million discreet users worldwide in its first eight months. The company noted that, were the Wi-Fi Connection community a city, it would be the fifth largest in the United States, larger even than Philadelphia, Phoenix or San Diego. "Nintendo DS is the only game system available a year ago that showed growth over the same period, and it did so in overwhelming fashion, with a leap of 426 percent," said George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "What we're seeing is realization of our promise that Nintendo will bring gaming to the masses -- whatever your taste or level of experience, we've got a system and a game for you."