DS does huge December in Japan

JaFFa · 21 Jan 2006 at 17:07

Famitsu report says more than a quarter of the country's 5.6 million DS owners picked up their system last month.

The Nintendo DS was flying off Japanese shelves during the year-end shopping season in Japan, so much so that the company started the new year by issuing a formal apology on its Japanese-language Web site. Exactly how well the system sold is starting to become clear, as the latest issue of Famitsu reports that the double-screen handheld sold 1.5 million units last month. That means more than a quarter of the 5.6 million systems sold in Japan since the system's 2004 launch came during December alone.

Famitsu didn't report December figures for the PSP, although Dengeki Online is reporting that figure to be a lot lower. Between October 31 and January 15, the site reports that Sony's widescreen handheld sold 972 thousand units during that period. By comparison, the DS sold 2.33 million units during the same period.

Despite Nintendo's efforts to increase DS supplies at retail, supplies of the system are still tight. Some secondhand shops are starting to sell the DS for over 30,000 yen ($260), or double its suggested retail price, while recent online auctions have seen the system fetching around 20,000 yen ($174).

Source

Amazing how different countries percieve different companies.

Werewolf · 21 Jan 2006 at 18:22

It sounds like Nintendo certainly know their market, and despite the naysayers can and still do make the more popular handheld systems.

Some of the games nintendo (and other companies) have been releasing for the DS have done very well at drawing in people who wouldn't normally play games let alone buy a system.
Things like Nintendogs, the various quiz/brain games and odd sims.

Bonjour · 21 Jan 2006 at 19:03

tbh I'm quite pleased to see Nintendy give Sony a stuffing in the handheld market, despite owning a PSP myself.

The DS has turned out to be so much more than the stop-gap handheld so many were claiming it to be at it's release.

fieldy · 21 Jan 2006 at 19:26

Bonjour said:
tbh I'm quite pleased to see Nintendy give Sony a stuffing in the handheld market, despite owning a PSP myself.

The DS has turned out to be so much more than the stop-gap handheld so many were claiming it to be at it's release.

quoted for truth

FeFiDoh · 21 Jan 2006 at 22:29

fantastic its great to see nintendo doing so well i feared they *** go the same way as sega but it looks like they are doing fantasticly well *tips hat* goooo nintendo!

JaFFa · 22 Jan 2006 at 04:05

Following Nintendo DS's launch in Europe in March 2005, almost three and a half million Nintendo DS units have been sold. Worldwide sales have shown a similar pattern with millions of people turning to Nintendo for their portable gaming. Approximately 13 million Nintendo DS were in the hands of people all around the world by the end of December 2005, leaving any competition standing.

Thats from nintendos website.

They just hit 1 million in the UK.

I actually am quite suprised its doing so well in the UK, I thought it would have real problems against sony.

Curio · 22 Jan 2006 at 05:17

Absolutely love the DS. The wife got one for Xmas from her parents and she hasn't been able to get it off me

MarioKart DS is the best of the series. I also love being able to have a GBA cart in at the same time as the DS cart - on holiday last week I had MK and Zelda in there and was switching between the two without all the messing around. The battery life is also fantastic. Cracking little bit of kit!

I know this has nothing to do with the OT as such.....I just needed to gush

Moonpie2 · 22 Jan 2006 at 10:08

Still a shame that the PSP outsold the DS for the last two weeks in Japan.

BUT ONLY BECAUSE JAPAN RAN OUT OF DS STOCKS AFTER SELLING OVER A MILLION ON THE RUN UP TO CRIMBO

McManicMan · 22 Jan 2006 at 11:24

DS is great, i have two, i also had 2 psp's but they are gone now. Ds the winner simply just more fun to play

fieldy · 22 Jan 2006 at 11:44

what I like about the DS (and big N as a whole) is that the DS is based on the concepts of originality and inovation and fun, whereas sony's 90% of the time is based on what will sell the most and what it looks like :rolleyes:

thats not to say ninty are not without fualts but there pretty much fualtless (unlike sonys rubbish hardware

)

D.P. · 22 Jan 2006 at 12:23

I glad that most people around the world prefer originality and fun in games rather than gfx and pushy advertising.

Kreeeee · 22 Jan 2006 at 12:28

JaFFa said:
I actually am quite suprised its doing so well in the UK, I thought it would have real problems against sony.

Not with the price of the PSP.

JaFFa · 22 Jan 2006 at 13:43

I dunno, if something is 'cool' enough people normally still buy it within reason. The price sometimes even works in more expensive things favour. People think that because its more expensive its definitely better.

sharingan_sasuk · 22 Jan 2006 at 14:03

I believe it could also be due to advertising as well. The only PSP advert I remember seeing is of some Lego-type robot in a car wash(?) lol and I had no idea it was to do with the PSP until I saw the logo at the end -.- while the Nintendo DS adverts come up almost every few hours, especially on Channel 4 and feature in-game content as well.

Plus although the PSP does offer wi-fi and online gaming itself, it hasn't exactly been highlighted as much as the DS, something which I think the gaming public is rather interested in as more people are equipped with wireless network setups these days. But then again, the DS has been out for more than a year earlier.