How far the Nintendo 3DS has come since it’s abysmal launch in early 2011. As of yesterday, the Nintendo 3DS has outsold the lifetime sales of the Playstation 3 in Japan, which released in November 2006. The 3DS total Japanese sales numbers equal to 8,728,515 units compared to the PS3’s total of 8,593,899 units. At this rate, the 3DS would be on pace to outsell the original Nintendo DS in a shorter time frame. The total Nintendo DS sales equal over 32 million units sold, which could be a surmountable number for Nintendo’s current handheld.
Juja
In Japan it might be able to keep up or get close to DS, but they really need to do something about the U.S. That something being that they really need to release more software that people in the U.S. want. Japan gets pretty much every game, including Japan-centric games like Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter, so it’s no wonder that 3DS is dominating Japan.
Henryk
Nice one, makes me even happier that i got the Pikachu 3DS XL. Its such a great machine 🙂
J@]{O
Also, the original DS is the best selling console of all time now, beating the ps2, thats even more awesome if you ask me.
The Adza
Nintendo needs to up its game outside of Japan. Western devs not interested in making games for it? Publish more Japanese games. Surely with the money they are making in Japan, Nintendo themselves could subsidize the publishing of more games overseas. They are doing it with Monster Hunter, and have done it with Dragon Quest IX. They are publishing Scribblenauts in Europe for some reason. More and more western developers and publishers will be turning away from Nintendo’s consoles, and their only hope is to go it largely alone. Something I think they are totally capable of doing, especially when there are lots of games being made in Japan for the 3DS, translate them, and publish them in the west. More money spent of course, but much much more to be gained, and of course, a library of exclusive games by japanese companies that truly understand what Nintendo are all about and the fun that can only be had on their consoles.
Waiting around every 6 months or so for a 1st party game to be released is just so hard. Yet that’s what we mainly have to do because there just isn’t many western 3rd party games released that aren’t shovelware.
My perfect Nintendo would be out there buying up devs. Buy Sega out. Buy Level 5. Buy Platinum games. Expand Retro Studios and EAD so we aren’t limited to one or two games from them in a generation.
This is my Christmas wish. (I know it won’t happen but omg can you imagine)
We all want the 3DS to succeed over here, and it’s great news that it is selling exceptionally well in its homeland. But it’s simple to see why it’s going so well. Lots and lots of great games. As soon as that happens here we will see it take off in the same way. And the only way it’s going to happen is for Nintendo themselves to get behind some of the biggest and best 3rd party Japanese games and get them on shelves over here.