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[Kifimbo]

PR:

Nintendo 3DS Crosses 4 Million Mark
Driven by Fast-Selling Software Nintendo 3DS Sells More in Its First Nine Months Than Wii Did

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Whether they were on the go or at home, whether they played in 2D on the TV or in glasses-free 3D in their hands, gamers of all ages celebrated the holidays with Mario™ and Zelda™. Super Mario 3D Land™ and Mario Kart™ 7 for the Nintendo 3DS™ system not only became the fastest-selling titles in the history of their respective franchises when they launched, but they are now also the first Nintendo 3DS titles to sell 1 million units each in the United States. On the console side, The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword, which also broke launch records, became the 45th Wii™ title to sell more than 1 million units in the United States.

“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam”
.“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.”

Nintendo sold more than 12 million total hardware units in the United States in 2011, marking the fifth year in a row that the company has accomplished that feat. This includes more than 4.5 million units of Wii, more than 4 million Nintendo 3DS systems, and more than 3.4 million units of the Nintendo DS™ family of systems. This brings the installed base for Wii and Nintendo DS to 39 million and more than 51 million, respectively.

With a strong lineup of software on the horizon, including new installments in the Mario Party™, Pokémon™ and Kid Icarus™ franchises, as well as third-party games such as Resident Evil® Revelations from Capcom and METAL GEAR SOLID® 3D Snake Eater from Konami for Nintendo 3DS, that momentum should continue into the first quarter of 2012 and beyond.

In addition to the milestones reached by new software, two evergreen Nintendo titles celebrated milestones as 2011 drew to a close. Mario Kart Wii™ passed 11 million units sold and New Super Mario Bros.™ for the Nintendo DS family crossed 10 million total units sold.

Remember that Wii and Nintendo 3DS feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wii or http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.

 

[StuBurns]

Is that good? It seems very respectable to me.

 

[AceBandage]

Well at least SS is doing well in one region.

 

[Penguin]

I didn't see anything about this, and was just in my inbox, but Nintendo has confirmed that 3DS has crossed 4 million in the States. As well as Wii selling more than 4.5 million for the year and other sales figures.

Whether they were on the go or at home, whether they played in 2D on the TV or in glasses-free 3D in their hands, gamers of all ages celebrated the holidays with Mario™ and Zelda™. Super Mario 3D Land™ and Mario Kart™ 7 for the Nintendo 3DS™ system not only became the fastest-selling titles in the history of their respective franchises when they launched, but they are now also the first Nintendo 3DS titles to sell 1 million units each in the United States. On the console side, The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword, which also broke launch records, became the 45th Wii™ title to sell more than 1 million units in the United States.

And old favorites keep trucking along

In addition to the milestones reached by new software, two evergreen Nintendo titles celebrated milestones as 2011 drew to a close. Mario Kart Wii™ passed 11 million units sold and New Super Mario Bros.™ for the Nintendo DS family crossed 10 million total units sold.

 

[Monty Mole]

3DS is only going to get better and stronger. 2012's line-up is luscious and Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 are fantastic. Its current success in Japan will also guarantee some Japanese goodness on the way too.

I just hope they sort out the shoddy hardware with a revision.

 

[Log4Girlz]

Is that good? It seems very respectable to me.

 

[Jokab]

This thread was 1 minute earlier: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=457579

 

[Kolgar]

Good to hear. Ninty's righted the ship.

 

[cvxfreak]

Can anyone guess December NPD sales using this information?

 

[Gianni Merryman]

Hence we have to take 3DS has already passed 10 million mark worldwide.

 

[Monty Mole]

Is that good? It seems very respectable to me.

Is that good? It seems very respectable to me.

Is this some kind of meme I'm unaware of?

 

[Goodlife]

I got both SS and a 3DS for Xmas.

Got Mario Kart and Mario Land for my 3ds (Mrs Goodlife is a massive Mario fan....)
Anyone recommend any other games? Was looking at Starfox (loved the N64 version) but was sold out.

 

[Why would you do that?]

Nice all around. Happy about Skyward Sword, too. For some reason, NeoGAF put the fear of it failing in me.

Is that good? It seems very respectable to me.

lol I see what you did before the merge.

 

[Freezie KO]

Two very deserving titles. The system is picking up, and I'm a pretty happy owner recently. All the free games didn't hurt either. I'm glad Nintendo turned the ship around. Hopefully they learn from their several missteps at launch. Pushmo for the next million seller! Nikki from Swapnote for president!

 

[waicol]

Well deserved.

 

[StuBurns]

Is that good? It seems very respectable to me.

Good question.

 

[Michan]

So that's 8 million in the US + Japan. With the rest of the world still to report and three months to go, that 15 million number isn't looking completely unrealistic at this point.

 

[eBay Huckster]

Can anyone guess December NPD sales using this information?

I was looking through the NPD articles on Gamasutra on Sunday, IIRC the 3DS had to have sold at least 1.3 million units to have crossed 4 million LTD

So that's 8 million in the US + Japan. With the rest of the world still to report and three months to go, that 15 million number isn't looking completely unrealistic at this point.

Depending on week 52 MC numbers + more exact numbers in December NPD it might be above 8.5m.

 

[ShinNL]

There's something very interesting about this. You know how third parties have a hard time competing with Nintendo franchises on Nintendo platforms? I don't think Nintendo was planning to release so many of their best Nintendo titles so early, but with their press releases they mentioned that they have to step up, because the third parties weren't filling the gaps they left open. So in the end, it ends up as the same Nintendo cycle as always: except people can't blame Nintendo for it this time how third party games don't sell.

 

[Spiegel]

Can anyone guess December NPD sales using this information?

November

3DS - 2462k
Wii - 3474k

 

[AceBandage]

I was looking through the NPD articles on Gamasutra on Sunday, IIRC the 3DS had to have sold at least 1.3 million units to have crossed 4 million LTD

1.34 abouts, yeah.

 

[test_account]

Insert "people dont want dedicated handheld systems" articles etc. here Nice to see that dedicated handheld sales are still relevant

Can anyone guess December NPD sales using this information?

I think that the 3DS was around 2.45 million by November NPD. So it probably sold over 1.5 million units in December.

EDIT: Already mentioned.

 

[Nirolak]

Can anyone guess December NPD sales using this information?

Assuming I did my math correctly: www.vg247.com/2011/11/11/npd-october-2011-nintendo-3ds-moved-1-65-million-units-ltd-in-the-us/

4,000,000 - (1,650,000 + 795,000) = 1,555,000

December 2010 NPD:

Hardware
Nintendo DS - 2.5 Million (-24%)
Wii - 2.36 Million (-38%)
Xbox 360 - 1.86 Million (+42%, best ever sales by 420k units)
PS3 - 1.21 Million (-11%)

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Can anyone guess December NPD sales using this information?

We should be able to get numbers for all 3 Nintendo systems.

 

[DGRE]

Great numbers. 3DS has surely (and easily) passed 10 million WW. The numbers for MKWii and NSMB DS are unreal. I know it's easy to just look at those numbers and brush them off because it's Nintendo, but those are nearly untouchable in terms of sales. And legs...man those legs...

 

[FreeMufasa]

So that's 8 million in the US + Japan. With the rest of the world still to report and three months to go, that 15 million number isn't looking completely unrealistic at this point.

Can't believe I went back on 10 million by the time Vita releases world wide.

 

[Mpl90]

Can anyone guess December NPD sales using this information?

YTD until November 3DS 2.46

Considering it crossed the 4 millions mark, it did 1.54 millions at least.

LTD until November WII: 37.75

So, at least 1.25 millions.

 

[Graphics Horse]

So that's 8 million in the US + Japan. With the rest of the world still to report and three months to go, that 15 million number isn't looking completely unrealistic at this point.

What 15 million number?
Unless I've been wrong all this time, they're expecting 16million this financial year, plus the ~3.6 they sold the previous financial year.
So assuming it's 12 million total right now, they'd still have almost over 7 million to sell.
Still not completely unrealistic, but the whole world needs to go 3DS crazy for this quarter for it to happen.

 

[Javier]

3DS is certainly gaining momentum. 2012 is going to be a blast.

 

[Kifimbo]

By the way, this means Mario Kart 7 sold more than one million copies in less than a month.

 

[marc^o^]

I predicted 3Ds would reach a 15 millions userbase by the time Vita reaches its 1st million, and it seems likely to happen. Quite a head start.

 

[frankie_baby]

What 15 million number?
Unless I've been wrong all this time, they're expecting 16million this financial year, plus the ~3.6 they sold the previous financial year.
So assuming it's 12 million total right now, they'd still have almost 7 million to sell.

Bit of channel stuffing and they won't be far off

 

[M3d10n]

Insert "people dont want dedicated handheld systems" articles etc. here Nice to see that dedicated handheld sales are still relevant

Don't count them out yet: the DS sold 8.5 million in 2010, while 3DS + DS sold 7.4 million in 2011. If it ain't growing, it's dying!

 

[Nirolak]

What 15 million number?
Unless I've been wrong all this time, they're expecting 16million this financial year, plus the ~3.6 they sold the previous financial year.
So assuming it's 12 million total right now, they'd still have almost 7 million to sell.
Still not completely unrealistic, but the whole world needs to go 3DS crazy for this quarter for it to happen.

Bit of channel stuffing and they won't be far off

We should find out how they feel at the end of the month when they have their fiscal report, based on whether they change the number or not.

 

[Sadist]

So, I guess 12 million + units sold before the end of March is a given?

 

[Michan]

What 15 million number?
Unless I've been wrong all this time, they're expecting 16million this financial year, plus the ~3.6 they sold the previous financial year.
So assuming it's 12 million total right now, they'd still have almost 7 million to sell.

They sold 3.6 million in less than a week in most regions and a month in Japan?

It could be 16 million that they were expecting, though. I can't dig up the original projections easily as I'm out and about, but if somebody could I would appreciate that.

 

[Gianni Merryman]

By the way, this means Mario Kart 7 sold more than one million copies in less than a month.

I dare say much more than just 1 million, more like 3 millions worldwide.

 

[Nirolak]

They sold 3.6 million in less than a week in most regions and a month in Japan?

It could be 16 million that they were expecting, though. I can't dig up the original projections easily as I'm out and about, but if somebody could I would appreciate that.

FY 2011/12 Forecast (Unit:Million)

                    NDS        Wii        3DS

Hardware Sales      6.0        12.0       16.0

Software Sales      62.0       100.0      50.0

Original Forecast (Unit:Million) [Note: These were their expectations prior to the price cut.]

                    NDS         Wii        3DS

Hardware Sales      11.0        13.0       16.0

Software Sales      67.0        120.0      62.0

As a general note, their fiscal year is April 2011-March 2012.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

They sold 3.6 million in less than a week in most regions and a month in Japan?

It could be 16 million that they were expecting, though. I can't dig up the original projections easily as I'm out and about, but if somebody could I would appreciate that.

The launch shipment (before April 2010) was 3.6 million.

 

[Graphics Horse]

They sold 3.6 million in less than a week in most regions and a month in Japan?

Well it's what we'd say is shipped, not sold. Sold to retailers are the numbers they report in their financials.

As a general note, their fiscal year is April 2011-March 2012.

Thanks, I still don't understand why they dropped their software forecast but not the hardware. Can they make up the difference with special edition 3DS designs?!

 

[Gianni Merryman]

So, I guess 12 million + units sold befire the end of March is a given?

They actually may have already sold 12 millions by now, anyway they should be nearly there.

 

[Nirolak]

The launch shipment (before April 2010) was 3.6 million.

Yeah, so we'd have to total up all regions so far and then subtract that, then measure the difference versus the 16 million.

If we take the 12 million people are listing here, that would be 7.6 million they have to sell in Q1?

 

[Michan]

Well it's what we'd say is shipped, not sold. Sold to retailers are the numbers they report in their financials.

Ah, I see. Didn't realise the launch shipment was quite that large.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

There's something very interesting about this. You know how third parties have a hard time competing with Nintendo franchises on Nintendo platforms? I don't think Nintendo was planning to release so many of their best Nintendo titles so early, but with their press releases they mentioned that they have to step up, because the third parties weren't filling the gaps they left open. So in the end, it ends up as the same Nintendo cycle as always: except people can't blame Nintendo for it this time how third party games don't sell.

Where are you reading this? They explicitly mention to Q1 3rd party games (RE and MGS) that they project will do well.

 

[FoxSpirit]

NSMBS doesn't deserve those sales, I always end up with the mediocre Marios. Not have a Wii?? Oh, we release our good ones there. But had a GameCube? Mario Sunshine.

I feel like some evil celestial Bowser spirit is laughing his ass off >:<

 

[Neo C.]

The 3DS still needs a few surprise hits. The DS rose to heaven with new IPs.

 

[BurntPork]

lol @ everyone who thought it would sell less than 1 million! Things are looking up, and the smaller games in Q1 should let it keep that momentum.

But still, they won't reach their shipment target. They'll probably cut it to 13 million later this month.

 

[waicol]

As discussed before and in this thread the 16 million mark for it's second fiscal year isn't happening even on the very healthy state the 3DS is right now. So expect whiny investors in this year's meeting.

 

[AceBandage]

As discussed before and in this thread the 16 million mark for it's second fiscal year isn't happening even on the very healthy state the 3DS is right now. So expect whiny investors in this year's meeting.

"Should have given WiiFits to Earthquake victims like I said! Then you wouldn't be in this mess!

 

[BurntPork]

As discussed before and in this thread the 16 million mark for it's second fiscal year isn't happening even on the very healthy state the 3DS is right now. So expect whiny investors in this year's meeting.

The investors would have been whiny if it had sold 30 million. Less than iPhone+iPad+iPod touch = failure to them.