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Those of us who have been watching Nintendo slowly flush their profits down the toilet were a little surprised today when they released a statement claiming that 3DS sales thus far have already surpassed those of the DS in it’s first year. The 3DS has only been out for eight months, and was met with a great deal of pessimism on the part of developers and players alike. This negativity forced Nintendo shave 80 dollars off of their original asking price, which seems to have turned things around. In an interview with Time Magazine , Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime boasted about the 3DS’s success. “In sales through this past Saturday—8 months—it has outsold the full 12 months of the original DS,” he said. “During that 12 months time, the original DS sold 2.37 million and we just surpassed that this past Saturday, so we’ve got real good momentum going into the holidays.” 
This is a pretty staggering number, but it really shouldn’t be too surprising since Nintendo past the 500,000 mark on their newly released Super Mario 3D Land largely thanks to Black Friday. “So for us, we think what we’re seeing with 3DS and Super Mario 3D Land is a validation of our strategy,” Reggie told Time , “which says ‘We’re going to make great content, we’re going to make it uniquely for our platform’ and through that combination we’re going to drive the install base and compel consumers to make room in their pocketbooks for this dedicated technology.” Just for the record, Nintendo is also expecting to post its first annual loss in 30 years. So, hearing Fils-Aime say that this is “a validation of our strategy” might not be what Nintendo’s investors want to hear. By Josh Engen |