First Year Nintendo 3DS Sales In U.S. Double That Of Nintendo DS

In January, Nintendo shared that the Nintendo 3DS had sold 15.03 million systems worldwide. Today, they revealed numbers specifically for the U.S., as the 3DS approaches its first anniversary in the territory.

In the U.S., the Nintendo 3DS has sold 4.5 million systems so far. That’s about twice the number of the original Nintendo DS, which sold 2.3 million systems in its first year in the U.S.

Dollar sales for the 3DS are over $1.2 billion, which is again, roughly double the $540 million made off the Nintendo DS’ first year in 2004. In Japan, the Nintendo 3DS recently cleared the 5 million mark, making it the fastest videogame system in the region ever to do so.

The Nintendo 3DS got off to a shaky start, but a price cut followed by the release of games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 helped in the months to follow. Whether the system be able to outperform the Nintendo DS — currently the best-selling videogame system ever — remains to be seen.

“We’re just getting started but this platform is built for the long haul,” says Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aime.