To mark the first week of release for the Nintendo 3DS, the console giant has started to unveil details of just how well the hand-held device's launch went.
In the UK, the 3DS sold 113,000 units within the first two days of release, making it (as this article's title states) the fastest selling Nintendo console in the territory. This was 8,000 more than the reported figure that the Wii managed in the same period of time (although it should be remembered that the Wii launch was plagued by shortages) and 26,000 more than the estimated figures for the original DS.
Despite breaking their own records, the 3DS figure failed to eclipse the record of 185,000 units that remains with, would you believe it, the PSP. In addition, the numbers also fell short of the 140,000 pre-orders that were confirmed for the device. James Honeywell, who is the marketing manager at Nintendo UK, may well be regretting his boastful quote that the 3DS would sell "comfortably over 150,000, if not more like 200,000".
The total European sales over the two day period reached 303,000, breaking all previous hand-held records for Nintendo in the continent, while US figures have yet to be revealed, despite the confirmation that are greater than those for the first DS model.