3DS breaks Japanese sales records

By Fred Dutton Published 6 January, 2012

Racks up best monthly sales total ever.

No games console has ever sold more units in Japan during a single month than the 3DS managed in December 2011, according to new data released by Enterbrain.

As detailed by Andriasang, Nintendo's new handheld sold 1,492,931 last month - the highest single month sales total recorded since Enterbrain started tracking sales back in 1997.

The PlayStation Vita finished second for December, managing 402,794 in its first fortnight on shelves.

The 3DS has posted a strong finish to 2011 following its faltering launch at the beginning of the year. It has topped the monthly Japan charts for seven months in a row and recently passed the four million mark in the US.

Earlier this week leading industry analysts opined that the device had successfully "turned the corner".

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • sfp_noodle #1 5 months ago

    Those are incredible numbers. Just under 1.5 million in a month? Wow. Just shows that a high price point and lack of software was holding it back at launch.

  • Daeltaja #2 5 months ago

    I've zero interest in this myself, but christ those are impressive numbers, having earlier written it off.

  • gillri #3 5 months ago

    When both an original Zelda game and Metroid game is released then I will buy one

    and buy then there should be a 3DS lite out also

  • wizlon #4 5 months ago

    Wow.... imagine the streetpass hits!

  • caesar_ #5 5 months ago

    If you told me this was going to happen 6 months ago, I would've laughed and made a snide remark about how 3D is shit. Good lord.

  • RoOhDaMite #6 5 months ago

    Still Michael Pachter is taking a piss at Nintendo this very moment.

    That guy will never get it. Or maybe he is just pissed because Nintendo keeps proving him wrong.

    Never underestimate Nintendo.

  • JeroenZM #7 5 months ago

    I love it whenever someone mentions the "Wii HD" in Michael Pachter's presence. 'In a way, the Wii U is a Wii in HD so I predicted that right', or so he backpedals.

  • damoxuk #8 5 months ago

    Handheld gaming is clearly dead...

  • Restart #9 5 months ago

    Good news! I got the Zelda edition for Xmas, together with SSFIV & Mario Kart, & it really is a lovely bit of kit.

  • chasejamie #10 5 months ago

    Adore my little 3DS, and am delighted (and relieved!) that's it's doing so well after a slow start. Can't imagine how many numbers it would of racked up throughout the year if it launched at it's current price.

  • chessboxer #11 5 months ago

    So it almost beat the lifetime sales of the 360 in one month in Japan? Holy shit!

  • Muddtallica #12 5 months ago

    Really glad to hear news like this. :D

    I know people say cheering about sales stats is strictly fanboyism, but let's face it; console owners DO have a genuine personal stake in the future of the systems they invest in, and the fact of the matter is that just five months ago, I was seriously concerned that the machine I'd spent £180 on was just going to die on the vine within a year and a half. With things turning around and people realising what a nice little machine 3DS is (despite its flaws), I'm hoping we can start seeing Japanese third-parties at least really committing to the platform like they did with DS, and we can start seeing the same sorts of waves of quirky mid-range titles (the Ouendans, Solatorobos, Phoenix Wrights of the world) coming to the platform...

    (On a tangential note: I say "at least" Japanese third-parties, but on reflection, don't they still seem to really be the main players when it comes to handheld games? I'm drawing a blank on genuinely classic handheld titles from Western devs. Anyone help me out?)

  • mr_shoe_uk #13 5 months ago

    I'm drawing a blank on too many classic console games from western devs too...

    After dabbling in PS3 and 360, the Wii is still my favourite console this generation, because it has the most game I love, and they're mainly Japanese.

    Pretty much anything western I prefer on PC (shooters, RPGs), and it's only a few console titles (and especially bayonetta) that have pushed the other consoles for me.

  • ShiroBen #14 5 months ago

    This utterly baffles me, it has such a terrible reputation and yet it's flying off the shelves. I think I'll wait for the inevitable second iteration, the one that fixes all the problems with the first version but introduces a dozen new ones.

  • Mister-Wario #15 5 months ago

    @ShiroBen Wait, what problems did the DS Lite, or even the DSi introduce?

  • Kami #16 5 months ago

    Nintendo wobbles on release, gamers and analysts cry doom, machine picks up, Nintendo make lots of money.

    Seriously, I know perhaps I may be better at pattern recognition than most, but why oh why oh why-de-why-de-why do we still sodding well do this?! I mean, this happens every sodding time. Every sodding machine. Every sodding generation.

    It baffles me how short peoples memories are. Wii... DS... GBA... Gamecube... N64...

    Perhaps its time some people let the anger go. Saying Nintendo are doomed hasn't worked for the past 15 years. It will never work. You will never make it true by constantly rinse and repeating the same tired lines.

    Time to let it go. You do not have the psychic power required to bend reality to your will. Until such a time as you do, stubborn old Nintendo will continue to pull the same stunt, time and time and time again.

    But then, when has any console had a smooth release? Oh wait... umm... err... ahh... mmm... hmm.

    Point. It is made.

    edited for typo-typo-TYPOS!
    Edited by Kami at 07/01/12 @ 03:00

  • sfp_noodle #17 5 months ago

    @Kami

    I agree. The same has already started to happen with the Vita and that hasn't even been out a full month in one country yet. It launched in a country still struggling to rebuild itself after the devestating earthquake/tsunami and people are expecting them to be going out and buying a Vita. Out of all the doom and gloom articles I have read, not one has factored in the disaster that took place early last year.

    The software line-up for the Vita clearly shows that Sony intends to capture Western audiences first as the original PSP is still selling very very well in Japan when you consider just how old it is. There will be even more doom and gloom stories once the Vita is released worldwide and no doubt Michael Twatter will have something incredibly positive to say about it, but 6-8 months down the line once it picks up all will be forgotten. The very same thing has happened to the 3DS, although that desperately needed a price cut when you consider how underpowered it is when compared to the Vita.

    I hope both succeed, because I don't care how many websites try and convince me, I will never ever substitute dedicated handheld experiences for rubbish like Angry Birds on my smartphone. The only way that will stay true is if dedicated handheld devices such as these remain successful.
    Edited by sfp_noodle at 07/01/12 @ 05:41

  • Kami #18 5 months ago

    @sfp_noodle; The Vita, like the 3DS, and pretty much every console released in the last 15/16 years, will have a rocky start. It may even see a price cut; who knows? Are Sony prepared to sit it out, or do they want fast market penetration?

    Either way, after a while there will be games people want, and people will start to buy it.

    Games sell systems.

    It's obvious, but it's true; there's no substitute for games to sell a games machine. People can get so tied up to their machines; personally, I think they should be getting tied up in the games.

    Games make consoles work. Figuratively and literally.

    Which is why all the tech talk is nice, but rather misses the point if you have no games to back it up. Which Nintendo didn't earlier this year with the 3DS release, and like Sony did with the Vita release.

    It's like the industry is incapable of grasping basic economic and sociological lessons.

  • geox30 #19 5 months ago

    Nintendo gets the most hate,then PCs,then handhelds in general,then gaming as a whole.I think some people consider themselves gamers,but they seem to have no idea what they are talking about.

  • Raiko101 #20 5 months ago

    Nintendo has turned me into a fanboy this year. Having spent £200 on a 3DS and Pilotwings, I didn't realise they'd eventually throw 23 free 3DS games at me. That and the points i've got from the console, and the 3DS games i've bought, have earnt me a further two free Wiiware downloads. It's actually been a great year to invest in Nintendo.

  • Pwnsweet #21 5 months ago

    still waiting for the real 3DS to be released before I buy one

  • DurzoBlint #22 5 months ago

    I am amused by the possibility that games journalists have yet again generated a narrative for the industry that contradicts reality - like the Wii beating the 360, 3DS not dying to iOS seems like it would be a fun shock to a group so convinced of their roles as kingmakers.

  • Devox #23 5 months ago

    never underestimate the japanese love of Monster Hunter

  • miseryguts #24 5 months ago

    Those are some pretty astonishing sales figures & that is with a rather small selection of games so far.. all the doom mongers (myself incl) look pretty damn stupid now.. god only knows how well it's going to do when the inevitable dual analogue redesign arrives, along with the really big games, & eShop gathering critical mass.. i can't help but think that the powers that be at the big N just smiled and nodded to each other when they read all the Nintendo is finished/3DS is a disaster articles that flooded the interweb for a while.. when are we ever going to learn!

  • TheEarlOfZinger #25 5 months ago

    Enjoy your crow.

  • alcides #26 5 months ago

    Pachter is an arrogant cretin and he hates Nintendo because they don't listen to him and make the most money in the industry. If it wasn't for tendo though, Pachter would look so much smarter.

  • super_monty #27 5 months ago

    I hated hand held gaming after buying a psp, I just couldn't play it because of the buttons and most of games never interested me.

    I bought the limited Zelda Edition with zelda game and mario kart yesterday instead of a vita - I love it!!!!!