Driven
by Fast-Selling Software Nintendo 3DS Sells More in Its First Nine Months Than
Wii Did
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," 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.