Nintendo Sales of DS System Tops 50 Million

By Elton Jones, Christian Post Reporter Friday, October 14, 2011

Video game company Nintendo has recently announced that its "DS" portable entertainment system has now accumulated 50 million total sales in the U.S.

This announcement was made in conjunction with research firm NPD Group's monthly tally of video game sales. Also according to the NPD Group, Nintendo has sold 273 million video games in the U.S. since the "DS" launched in 2004.

In September, Nintendo sold 145,000 "DS" devices and an additional 260,000 of the Nintendo "3DS." The company sold more than 260,000 Nintendo "3DS" units in the U.S., an increase of more than 10 percent from the previous month, following a price drop on Aug. 12.

The monthly sales figures for the 3-D device were up 10 percent compared to August, when Nintendo unveiled the significant price drop for customers.

The NPD Group made this report on Nintendo and its systems through its monthly video game tallies. They also reported on software sales for the month of September were helped out by the newly released "Madden NFL '12" by Electronic Arts.

EA's title was the top selling-game during the entire month.

NPD also said spending on hardware and software in September totaled $1.16 billion, falling 6 percent from the same period a year earlier, when consumers spent $1.23 billion. These sales only represent physical retail sales and do not include digital sales, which are now becoming a video game industry standard.

Nintendo's competition for the portable gaming market has come from Sony's "PlayStation Portable" and even Apple's "iPod Touch" devices. Apple has even made claims that its device is the No. 1 portable game player, since the company sold more than 60 million "iPod Touch" devices worldwide since late 2007.

Sony's upcoming "PlayStation Vita" will also provide stiff competition for the Nintendo "3DS."

Nintendo will be sure to acquire even more sales from its upcoming game releases.

"Mario Kart 7" and "Super Mario 3D Land" for the "3DS" is set to hit stores later this year. "Kid Icarus: Uprising" may also be releasing next year.