New Nintendo 3DS Outsells 3DS XL During Launch Weekend

[Administrator]

Over the course of its first two days on sale in the United States and Europe, the New Nintendo 3DS sold significantly better than its predecessor, the Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo has announced.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata released the comparison chart above during a results briefing Tuesday. It shows that while the Nintendo 3DS XL shifted around 115,000 units across the US and Europe during its launch period in 2012, the Nintendo Nintendo 3DS moved around 325,000 combined units over the same period of time this year.
Iwata outlined a couple of reasons why the New Nintendo 3DS sales might have gotten off to such a hot start. First, he explained that when the new units were announced last year some gamers held off on buying a unit in anticipation of the New Nintendo 3DS launch.
This, coupled with the fact that new, much-anticipated games such as The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate were released day-and-date with the New Nintendo 3DS line, helped boost sales overall, he said.


Majora's Mask 3D sold around 555,000 units during its launch weekend in the US and Europe, which compares to around 335,000 for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Meanwhile, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate shifted around 110,000 units over its launch weekend, though this figure only accounts for European sales.
Iwata says Capcom has told him that Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate sales so far, including the special edition New Nintendo 3DS bundle, are outpacing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate's sales pace three times over. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate US sales were not ready yet, Nintendo said, due to Monday, February 16 being a holiday in the country.
Strong sales of the New Nintendo 3DS was particularly noteworthy, Iwata said, because February is, historically, not a major sales season.
"Our next challenge is to keep this sales momentum," Iwata said.
Part of the way Nintendo will do that, Iwata explained, is by releasing more must-have games such as Bravely Second and the Mario version of Puzzles & Dragons. Nintendo will also campaign to further promote New Nintendo 3DS features, such as local multiplayer and the unit's trademark 3D effect.
"Seeing is truly believing," Iwata said.
For everything you need to know about the New Nintendo 3DS, check out GameSpot's comprehensive launch guide, which features a review of the system itself, detailed data transfer instructions, and more.




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