Nintendo DS sells 500,000 in US launch week News

DS News by Games Industry.biz

1 December, 2004

The first sales figures from Nintendo's latest hardware launch are expected to be announced today, with half a million units of the Nintendo DS handheld sold in North America in the launch week.

That represents around 90 per cent of the stock which Nintendo shipped to retail stores across North America for the launch, and indeed many retailers have reported that the console has sold out at their stores.

Online auction site eBay has seen an upside from the early popularity of the console, with some bidders paying over twice the standard retail price of the DS in order to get their hands on one last week.

The 500,000 unit launch week puts Nintendo well on track to meet its target of selling a million units of the console in North America by the end of the calendar year, along with two million units in Japan - where the DS launches this week.

For the full calendar year, which runs through to March, the firm recently raised its shipment target for the DS to five million units worldwide, a figure which includes the European launch in Q1 2005.

According to the Seattle Times, which reported the half-million sell through figure this morning, Nintendo also sold some 800,000 units of the Game Boy Advance SP hardware last week, making it into the single biggest sales week for handheld consoles ever.

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steven

01/12/04 @ 11:24

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Great news for nintendo i'd say. Dispels the 'DS will overshadow' the GBAsp too 800,000 units for the SP is MAD. But is that the record? I remember the GBA selling 1 M units during thanksgiving week of 2003???

ssuellid

01/12/04 @ 11:29

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Thats is impressive. I still think the second screen is mostly a waste of time but the games are looking good and I'll probably get one as an upgrade from the non sp GBA I have.

Kiigan

01/12/04 @ 11:30

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And of those 500,000, only a mere 499,999 of them were bought for the purposes of being put on eBay for 200 quid (plus 20 quid shipping of course).

steven

01/12/04 @ 11:35

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"Are these "Actual" consumer slaes figures or the amount Nintendo has managed to shift to retailers? "

Didn't you hear that most shipments were sold out??? Ninty sold out 90% of what they shipped its in the article.

Shinji [mod]

01/12/04 @ 11:38

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But is that the record? I remember the GBA selling 1 M units during thanksgiving week of 2003???

Yeah - but GBA and DS combined have now sold 1.3 million in a week, so that's the record...

steven

01/12/04 @ 11:42

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"Yeah - but GBA and DS combined have now sold 1.3 million in a week, so that's the record..."

Ok. Funny that despite the DS fever, the GBA SP was in fact outselling the DS but we all know it's due to shipments.

Edited 1 times, most recently on 01/12/04 @ 11:43

kincaide

01/12/04 @ 11:51

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Finally got mine today. Must admit I am impressed with the Metroid demo - graphics are better than I thought, and the touch pad is rather responsive.
Screens are good, and the general impression among my work friends is one of surprised positivity

ImportMadness have yet to deliver Mario 64DS, so can't comment on that yet.... BOOOO

Shinji [mod]

01/12/04 @ 12:08

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Thanksgiving, I guess.

martynmac

01/12/04 @ 12:09

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kincaide wrote:
"ImportMadness have yet to deliver Mario 64DS, so can't comment on that yet.... BOOOO "

After a couple of email complaints to ImportMadness, I finally got mine delivered today too. I also never received Mario 64DS even though it was part of the order I made in early november; bit of a coincidence that. Grrrrr!

steven

01/12/04 @ 12:21

#10

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"That GBA SP figure seems very large - what suddenly triggered the uptake in the US?"

The GBA sp has outsold everything throughout this year so its sales have been good (They were 70% up from last year since the price cut) but yes the thanksgiving always lifts up sales of every console around in the US.

Royal Fool

01/12/04 @ 12:50

#11

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So, about that PSP thing, eh...?

Blerk

01/12/04 @ 12:52

#12

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Well.... well done, Nintendo! Still can't figure out why people are buying them given the miniscule range of very unexciting software so far, but there you go.

/sits on the fence
/waits
/sings about gold

steven

01/12/04 @ 13:13

#13

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"Well.... well done, Nintendo! Still can't figure out why people are buying them given the miniscule range of very unexciting software so far, but there you go. "

Probably the unique hardware is proving to good to resist? Super Mario 64 DS? Free Demo of Metroid Prime Hunters? and the instant messaging? The US love gadgets regardless of the mediocre line-up so far i'd say.

Blerk

01/12/04 @ 13:18

#14

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Unique hardware's no good whatsoever if there's nothing good to use it with.

Ignore me - I'm anti-early-adopter. :-)

gizmo

01/12/04 @ 13:20

#15

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And 3 of the 500,000 purchasers have reported that they have finally got used to the control scheme.

Machiavel

01/12/04 @ 13:48

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I'm looking forward to the discount SPs when it comes out here.

/dreams on

Heck, might even be able to afford to play Crystal Chronicles properly...

Edited 1 times, most recently on 01/12/04 @ 13:49

Ted Cuntablast

01/12/04 @ 14:58

#17

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Blerk stop spreading your hate propaganda!

Blerk

01/12/04 @ 15:04

#18

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Blerk stop spreading your hate propaganda!

/distributes Spectrum leaflets

dadrester

01/12/04 @ 15:07

#19

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If they made Elite for it I'd have one like a shot. Yep. Elite, Animal Crossing and Mario Kart is what it'll take.

do you have a gba. get one of these, then go here and get this. also. dear moderators i'm not linking to illegal roms or rom sites just a homebrew project site. please don't be angry.

Blerk

01/12/04 @ 15:11

#20

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Bear in mind that although it looks the business, controlling Elite via the GBA controls is akin to tying your fingers in knots and asking someone to whack them with a hammer.

dadrester

01/12/04 @ 15:16

#21

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i think the bloke who's rebuilt it has done a pretty good job on the controls. they're even configurable. but that aside. imagine it on sp. perfect. i think frontier developments are working on a handheld version of elite four anyway, and they have said they are keen on exploiting the gba so if the ds shifts enough units (as it is at the moment) we might well see a next gen elite game on the little blighter. possibly even a multiplayer one.
/wanks

Blerk

01/12/04 @ 15:41

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Curiously it's the Nintendo D-pad which I find completely unweildy for Elite rather than the dozens of other controls (which end up on a nice menu thing). I just don't seem to be able to get the hang of it, which is a shame 'cos otherwise it's really nice.

dadrester

01/12/04 @ 16:26

#23

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i think you can map the pitch buttons to [L] and [R] so it doesn't interfere with the up down motion, but don't quote me on it, my gba has been bust for a while.

ruttyboy

01/12/04 @ 16:59

#24

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Wow! A broken GBA? 0_o I thought those things were indestructable! I've done thing to my (original) GBA that should have completely stopped it in its tracks but it just keeps on trucking! \o/

dadrester

01/12/04 @ 17:25

#25

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well i installed an afterburner which put a bit of pressure on the lcd but it was fine for ages. until i got very drunk and rowdy with my mates one night when it was in my back pocket. i don't think the concrete on my back and pile-on on top didn't help it one bit. no siree. not a bit.

deathgibbon

01/12/04 @ 17:29

#26

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Same here, rutty. I dropped my SP at an angle that the screen hinge whacked off the edge of the table. It almost seperated the screen and the pad, but it still worked. A little bit of glue sorted it out though \o/

dadrester

01/12/04 @ 17:34

#27

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functionally it's fine. it just 90% of the screen is black and cracked. but i do have to say it must have taken a real battering. just like i did at that particular moment.

Pirotic

01/12/04 @ 18:03

#28

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the second screen is useless, the main reason they have it is because having only one touch-screen means the screen would be obscured to much by your hand.

01/12/04 @ 18:13

#29

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I'm sure I've heard someone else say that the 2nd screen is useless. Surely on a handheld console doing 3D games, the 2nd screen is essential? Otherwise, you're squinting at a tiny map on the main screen?

What do other EG readers think?

Dagon

01/12/04 @ 18:14

#30

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Those are nice sales. I remember the GBA debuting at 500,000 units in the first week, and that was a sales record then. For the DS, the next few weeks will be a bit more crucial.

Destria

01/12/04 @ 19:03

#31

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I think the second screen justifies itself purely by virtue of it being able to be used as a touch-pad as an analogue control method. Plus it can be used as a touch-screen directly for menu/game manipulation (WarioWare DS!). Plus it can display information without interfering with the top screen

So what if you can't look at both at the same time? If you can't see the bottom screen, the chances are you're using it as control for the top screen!

I've probably explained myself badly... but lets just say I don't think having the second screen is *bad*, but can only be *good*

Dagon

01/12/04 @ 20:12

#32

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Haven't you heard? Good is the new bad!

Pirotic

12/12/04 @ 10:44

#33

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Balfa, the screen and the touch-screen are two seperate components, having a screen on the bottom is simply to make the touch screen easier to use, as you can underlay interfaces and buttons so you know where to press.

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