Nintendo DS sells 10 million in Europe

22 January 2007

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Posted by:Ferry

After just one year and ten months on sale, Nintendo DS has become the fastest games console in European history to sell 10 million (sell-thru to customers) and with 1.7 million units selling in December 2006 alone it is also by far the best selling handheld games console across Europe. By comparison: estimates put the DS at 10.54 million sold in the Americas and 14.68 million sold in Japan.

The success of Nintendo DS in Europe has been driven by Nintendo’s range of Touch! Generations games, targeted at non-traditional audiences. Nintendogs which launched in October 2005 sold over five million copies to Europeans, whilst titles like Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? sold over two million copies sold to consumers to date in Europe.

Traditional gaming titles are also achieving significant growth with total sales of New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart DS, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Animal Crossing: Wild World all surpassing the million sold mark in Europe. The success doesn’t end there with dozens of third party games such as The Sims 2 Pets (Electronic Arts), Sonic Rush (SEGA) and Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Buena Vista Games) selling at a significant rate in Europe.

Nintendo is continuing to build on this momentum with a dynamic range of new games this year for Europe including: Star Fox Command (due 26 January), Actionloop (due 26 January), Magical Starsign (due 9 February), Mario Slam Basketball (due 16 February), Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin by Konami sometime in February, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (due 9 March), and the highly anticipated legendary Final Fantasy III from Square-Enix (due sometime April-June?).

Laurent Fischer, European Marketing Director said:

“Nintendo DS topped the six million mark in September and has continued to go from strength to strength with thousands of new people being introduced to gaming through the Nintendo DS. Its appeal to both gamers and non-gamers means it has expanded the gaming population significantly. This landmark figure of 10 million Nintendo DS gamers cements the console’s position as undisputed leader of the handheld market, bringing gaming to a whole new audience – something that was unimaginable a few years ago!

The innovative Nintendo DS is now helping to shape the whole market with sales of the Nintendo DS console and games being the main drivers behind recent market growth all across Europe.”

The Nintendo DS Lite is now available in black, white and pink, priced around at 150 Euros (£99 UK). The Nintendo DS is available across Europe in blue, silver and pink at around 130 Euros (£89 UK).