After a disappointing launch and months of sluggish sales, the Nintendo 3DS managed to end the year on a high note.
According to Nintendo, the flagship glasses-free 3D handheld managed to reach 4 million unit sales in the US last year.
And as the company pointed out, that’s more than the DS, DSi, and DSi XL combined. So consumers are indeed finally starting to convert into the newest system.
At the forefront of the push were stellar titles like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, along with a price cut that put the system at a much more affordable range. It was this perfect cavalcade of efforts that allowed the 3DS to get a nice jump.
“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 Nintendo marketing VP Scott Moffitt in a statement.
This comes after the 3DS had a very poor launch, with a staggering $250 price point and for many, not a single launch title worth buying. The system was also essentially released as an incomplete device, as key features that had been touted from the outset were rolled out via downloadable software updates instead of being available on day one.
Fortunately for Nintendo, it did manage to turn that around and make the 3DS a much more viable system and worthy of all the clout that a Nintendo handheld should have.
In the same breath, Nintendo also mentioned that 4.5 million Wii consoles were sold in 2011, along with 3.4 million DS units, which includes every iteration of the 3DS’s predecessor.
