March 7th, 2012

The Nintendo 3DS has sold 4,500,000 units in the United States (in less than one year)

112 Comments

Nintendo has revealed that the 3DS has sold about 4.5 million units in its first year on the market, surpassing the Nintendo DS’s first year of sales in eight months. There were also about nine million units of 3DS software sold in the first year compared to the 5 million units sold in the DS’s first year. Basically, it’s selling well.

  • nick

    Many say the gaming industry has a short term memory. Less than a year ago everyone was predicting the demise of the 3ds. This situation proves my first statement. Just keep that in mind, whenever a new console comes out. You can’t predict the future of long-term hardware based on initial sales.

    • Green Reuben

      Hopefully the vita will pick up as well, not too interested in it myself but I would hate to see it lose 3rd party development and heaps of people regretting buying it. Hopefully handhelds stay for at least another generation.

  • Eragon Fowl

    Has anyone gotten The new game informer yet? If you have whats the name of the card you got? I got power of flight.

    • Squidney

      I think everyone did. It was part of the picture… Unless there were different copies…? But I don’t think so… I also got the Power of Flight

    • http://gravatar.com/elffcc Big E

      Not everyone did. I’m still waiting for mine to come in.

    • Xarreno

      ^Same

    • holonboy

      I’m still waiting for my brother’s. Let’s just say I’m going to “intercept” this issue.

    • http://www.gamesradar.com GameManiac

      Waiting for mine.

    • http://en.gravatar.com/ GameManiac

      Spoke too soon. Just got my magazine through the mail.

      It’s “Power of Flight”. Looks awesome.

    • Eragon Fowl

      i GUESS EVERYONE GOT POWER OF FLIGHT.

    • Eragon Fowl

      had caps lock on.

    • Nullster101

      Haven’t gotten my new gameinformer. I’M LIEK SAD!!!

  • http://www.nintendo3dsblog.com Izetta

    I know it had to be selling well I once got six street passes in 7hr I was at school.

    • http://images.wikia.com/croc/images/d/d5/Croc!.jpeg Mr Rex

      Thats total win! I get 3 via school but not everyday :P But as they sell it’ll only get better! :D

    • cm93

      like 2 weeks ago i got 10 in a row!!
      so far i have like 110 miis n.n
      i’m so happy to know that at least 110 people have a 3DS besides me :D

    • http://gravatar.com/elffcc Big E

      I got, like, none when I was in high school…Because almost everyone around here only cares about Call of Duty. That’s all they would talk about with game-related discussions. Only a few people (About 10-17) actually played other games like Resident Evil, Kingdom Hearts, DMC, etc…I also didn’t get any Streetpasses because I rarely brought it with me to school, ‘cuz people like to steal stuff.

    • TheGZeus

      Dammit, I live in a rural semi-hick city/town. Even if everyone owned a 3DS I’d still only get maybe 5 in a day.
      I want more mystery boxes!

    • Kct16

      @Big E that…that’s just horrible. I have you exact same situation being that I go to a ghetto school that pretty much only plays shooters and then the rare few who play god games. -_-…its just sad.

    • Kct16

      *good

    • Xarreno

      Big E, I had my original DS stolen, so I understand the stealing thing about your school. I let a friend borrow it once to use in a play or something and when I asked for it back, they told me it was stolen. :\

      Although, it wasn’t a total loss because the hinge was barely holding on and the top screen would only display random rainbow colors. My DS was in poor condition, sure, but it could still play GBA games on the bottom screen. It kinda disappointed me.

    • http://gravatar.com/elffcc Big E

      But I digress. I have over 300 streetpasses thanks to Mario Kart 7…though they can’t be used for puzzles and questing. Speaking of which, how many versions of the Streetpass main theme are there? I’m on my 5th…God I want Kingdom Hearts 3D so much.

    • holonboy

      In school, I get at least five StreetPasses a day from my friends, and I get at least three a day from people who I don’t know. Sometimes I get another two.

    • http://www.nintendo3dsblog.com Izetta

      Wow it suchs about the people stealing stuff I just carry mine in my backpack, I use to carry it in my pocket but got sick of people asking whats in my pocket. I’m also in high school where surprisingly the 3ds is popular where I attend school.

    • Xarreno

      There are 7 total streetpass themes. The last two of which you obtain once you reach 500 and 1000 Mii’s respectively, if I remember correctly. It was a while ago for me because I have over 5000 Miis… (Btw, there’s an accomplishment for reaching these Mii counts: 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000)

    • EpicLight*

      There’s a better chance that you’ll get streetpasses in college rather than highschool. Trust me :P I get at least 2-3 streetpasses a day at the college

    • GamingFan99

      @Izetta: 3DS? Popualar? HIGH SCHOOL?! Where do yuo live?! I want to transfer! People would call me a nerd/freak if they knew I had a 3DS… it’s “not cool” in high school. : (

    • http://gravatar.com/elffcc Big E

      ^ This. @EpicLight* I may try that…@Xarreno Are they as good as #5 or better? I really like the one I hear now. It’s different, but good.

    • Green Reuben

      I live in NZ, there’s no one here that has a 3ds I’ve only had one street pass and he was from the UK :(

    • http://gravatar.com/jacknzack27 JacknZack

      I’m glad i get about 2 streetpasses a day. i live in the middle of knowhere Georgia

    • Ty

      Yeah, with my 3DS, hardly anybody I’m friends with knows I have it. Don’t have a problem showing off my Vita, just my 3DS. Dunno why- I think it’s just that the 3DS stands out more and has kind of a funky, toy-like look to it, whereas the Vita looks more typical, sleek, and stylish. Not too many people I know would buy a 3DS- they’d gravitate more towards the Vita. A lot of people have DSs though.

      Dunno what to do with my 3DS at the moment. It’s kind of in limbo right now. I don’t know whether to keep it or get rid of it. I want to keep it to play any Zelda and Metroid games that come to the system, and Kingdom Hearts- maybe Kid Icarus too (not sure about it; looks alright). But I also kind of want to get rid of it, because I don’t really play it much, there’s nowhere near as many games I want for it as the Vita, and I’m still slightly disappointed with it- Nintendo has got a lot of work to do to compete and bring features they promised a while ago.

    • jdub

      Vita is for geeks. 3ds is for nerds. Geeks = dumb nerds. If your going to be unpopular might as well be smart right?=P lol. I get anywhere for 0-7 steetpasses a day in high school, everyone who has one is obssed with streetpass, lol its so addicting!

    • Ty

      Ummm… But I’m a pretty typical guy. I don’t really get along with nerds too well either. I hangout with a variety of people across several groups. A lot of the people I hang around could be described as “jocks”, but I never really think of any of them or myself that way. Also not stupid or obsessed with CoD- just trying to avoid stereotypes. Videogames aren’t really considered geeky or nerdy at my school, unless you’re into some crazy weird girlfriend sim, bizarre anime games, stuff like that. I don’t like my Vita more just because I think it’s cooler- I also like it more because of how versatile it is.

    • http://www.csfgpapercraft.com/wp Seb

      Well guess what where ever I go (school, walk, ANYWHERE) in my entire ownership I’ve never gotten 1 streetpass.

    • warwick 75

      @green reuben. I also live in NZ but I have had 98 street pass hits, but about 1/2 where from armigedin expo.

    • jdub

      It was a joke, lol. I just find it odd how many people say their preference of the vita when the site has 3ds in its url

  • http://youtube.cpm/The8Guys Dylan

    seeee haters the 3ds is beast :D

    • Ty

      Good sales don’t make it perfect. Just sayin

    • jdub

      Perfect? No. Amazing? Yes

  • LittleMofreaky

    Everyone (suddenly): Oh yeah! Nintendo released THEIR games for it. I gotta get one! I gotta get one! TAKE MY MONEY!

    • GamingFan99

      Haha lol so true! : D

    • http://www.gamesradar.com GameManiac

      Ditto.

  • GamingFan99

    “Basically, it’s selling well.”

    Yup, pretty much David! ; )

  • Reggie Fils-Aime

    We are so privileged to have made such a wonderful console for everyone’s enjoyment. Now get your bodies ready for the Wii U!

    • Luciano Fran

      Yes Reggie :) My body is ready for Wii U

    • cm93

      I can’t help but feeling stupid now. I take back all the bad things about Nintendo 3DS, please feel free to bad mouth me all you want, it is a well earned right.

    • Saturo Iwata

      hey Reggie its me

    • http://www.gamesradar.com GameManiac

      My body is ready.

      *Checks wallet*

      So is my wallet.

    • RockyTem

      YEah my body is ready for U IMEAN wii u!

    • Shigeru Miyamoto

      Iwata-san, I think you should learn to spell your own name.

    • Reggie Fils-Aime

      Miyamoto, Iwata, and I really love David’s awesome blog. We need to hire him for the Nintendo team!

    • Theo

      Your “console” had embarrassing launch titles.

      Learn from that for the Wii U. Don’t embarrass yourself again.

      Also try getting some good 3rd party Devs…

  • http://thegreatestwebsiteinhistory.wordpress.com/ Forgael

    Now, is this “3DS is doomed” blatherskite quite through?

  • Squidney

    why do people complain nintendo’s not doing well?

    • TheGZeus

      Because they lost 60 million dollars last year, and the Wii U announcement (general reaction: controller wtf) dropped their stock 10% in a day.
      Stock values are basically crap in the short term, though.
      This shows things should be turning around for them on all fronts.

    • holonboy

      Nintendo lose money for each 3DS sold ever since the price drop. They’re very dependent on software retail sales as well as downloadable title sales. Ever noticed how much emphasis the eShop is getting?

      They also lose money because of the conversion rate between US Dollars and Japanese Yen. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the economy isn’t exactly the best in the U.S., and Japan is doing great.

    • EpicLight*

      @Holonboy, good point, but all Nintendo has to do is release a well-known Nintendo franchise on the e-shop, like Pokemon, and automatically earn at least more than 1 mil. Might be over exaggerating, but it seems like Nintendo is going to use pokemon on the e-shop as a last-resort, if they can’t pull things together; for they know that people WILL buy pokemon. Pkmn is just one of the many examples. You see how much they’re getting for metroid and SMB, right?

  • MarioMaster 7

    Nintendo probably didn’t use all of thier tricks on the 3DS but they did use a LOT of there tricks to get the 3DS to sell well. Very good indeed!

  • mack

    a year ago, people doubted this would sell cause the price was high, now look at it, we are half way to 5,000,000 here in the u.s.a, i am proud to own a 3ds, and im proud to be an ambassador cause i got this when nobody wanted it

    • holonboy

      “we are half way to 5 million here in the u.s.a.”

      Umm, this post says the 3DS has already sold 4.5 million. That’s already past halfway and nearly half ten million.

    • http://www.gamesradar.com GameManiac

      @mack

      As am I. Proud to be a 3DS Ambassador.

    • Green Reuben

      @holonboy. 4.5 worldwide, the u.s.a isn’t the whole world. So he’s saying 2.5 mil sold in the states.

    • jvn1998

      @Green Reuben, it says it sold 4.5 million units in the United States.

  • PIZZA!

    now only if i had more money for the 3ds games…

  • 1-up Dude

    Wow,no one can beat the 3DS,no one! ^3^

  • miiworld2

    So… where are the haters now?

  • Nathan martinez

    Go Nintendo :D

  • tanookie

    LOL, look what i had a dream of :D
    http://oi44.tinypic.com/vhc5.jpg

    • GamingFan99

      DON’T LOOK. WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T LOOK.

      …

      Actually I didn’t look, but come on. You know it’s gonna be something disgusting/inappropriate.

    • Josh

      Don’t worry, nothing inappropriate. It’s actually something a lot of people are waiting for.

      But just some advice: watch for those typos.

    • miiworld2

      @GamingFan99 Rest assured. It’s nothing disgusting. It’s actually quite awesome! Wish that dream was posted here too :)

    • Adam

      Dude it’s just a release date of something!!! :) and didn’t this guy post this a couple of months ago???

    • GamingFan99

      Oh okay. Although I would like a release date for Animal Crossing more than one for Paper Mario.

  • Pac-Man1096

    I have 1063 Miis in my StreetPass Mii Plaza and nobody around me owns a 3DS. I went to the mall. :-)

    • GamingFan99

      …no comment…. I only have 18, but I’ve gone to malls… : (

    • cm93

      lol i’ve never tried a mall
      maybe next time

    • Xarreno

      I got 5,000 suckas!! from Mario Kart 7…

      I think I range at about 200, but it’s hard to tell when you scoll though the extras (I know they can be deleted).

    • EpicLight*

      takes too much time to delete them :P

  • Chris

    GOD DAMN.

  • ERROR: please fill the required fields (name, email).

    Yaya!

    • ERROR: please fill the required fields (name, email).

      YEAYEA

    • TOBI

      Oyeah Yah YEaH YOWH YEAAWHH

    • yeah

      yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah.

  • http://Nintendo3DSBlog jack860

    I’m sooo proud of nintendo!!! Good job!!

  • Nintendo Knight

    they told me to quit they told me to jump to sony and i told them i may play sony systems but i will never stop fully supporting nintendo because no matter what kind of troble we face we always bounce back in the end

    TEAM NINTENDO FTW

    • JD2995

      Amen, brother

    • Revolution5268

      halleluiah brother

  • OniCr0q

    And yet I still never run into anybody with a 3DS.
    feelsbatman.mp3

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/ObsidiousGamers?feature=mhee will4zoo

    Click my name for pushmos!

  • zeldahero11
    • EpicLight*

      Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh SO AWESOME

  • Marsalis

    This is great news! The 3DS has been selling so much the circle pad pros aren’t even available. I had to reserve mines lol.

    • http://gravatar.com/elffcc Big E

      When I went to Gamestop the day RE: Revelaitons came out, I got the last CPP and second-to-last copy of the game. It was about noon. I don’t think I can ever play Revelaitons without the CPP…It’s so damn comfortable for me to use.

    • CrimsonalCore

      True, of course, I ordered CPP from Nintendo Online Store because it was sold out of all Gamestops. It was well-worth the money for that sexy pad. :D

  • Zinzolin

    This is all I have to say: http://d.imagehost.org/0128/Fuck_Yea.png

  • http://hybrilynx.net/ Hybrilynx

    still wish ratings these days for anything was combined with human population.

    • My name is NOT Earl

      Agreed

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/dudesonicah22 Rummy

    i guess it prints gold and money now!

  • http://Nintendo3DSBlog jack860

    95% of the stores in the city I live are sold out of 3ds’s lol. But luckly I’ve brought one before that happen.

  • CrimsonalCore

    http://mynintendonews.com/2012/03/06/kid-icarus-uprising-scores-high-in-the-official-nintendo-magazine/ Look like Nintendo Magazine gave Kid Icarus Uprising a 91% of the score.

  • tubbystheman
  • Manny

    check out my concept of the 3DS Pro, im pretty sure this can sell more then 4.5 million http://whyiseverythingsocrazy.weebly.com/nintendo-3ds-pro.html

    • Raxhas

      That looks completely pathetic. /SimonCowell

    • Belinni

      It’s a nice idea but the bottom being bigger was a problem for the original DS. Dust got into the system easily and the bottom screen would be damaged faster (dead pixels, incorrect inputs, etc.).

      Also did you make the Home, Start and Select buttons into actual buttons on your version?

  • yesname

    Brian had *** with a really dumb girl now hes taking his friend Stewie to get some ice cream in his car.

    • Brain

      Cuts off tape. Stewie: ohh poor sport.

  • Castle

    WOW!!!! NICE!!!!!!!

  • Alex

    Where are the people who said it wouldn’t sell? That it was just a gimmick? That it would never do even half as well as the DS? I’d like to print this out and show it to them so I can laugh at how wrong they were.

  • reggie fils-aime’s back up clone

    *pats self on back*

  • Christian Duncan

    So that figures :p no wonder why every time I go to the mall I get like 10 streetpasses. and not by gamestop…I get them in journeys xD

  • Joe

    So why am I not ever streetpassing anyone?

  • Zetger

    and 3DS WAS doomed?!?!

  • the weekend

    i love the 3ds i think its better then the ps vita