DS performs well in Europe

Nintendo has announced that more than 3.5 million Nintendo DS units have been sold in Europe - bringing the total for worldwide sales up to more than 13 million.

The figures, which refer to units actually sold rather than just shipments, reveal that the DS is most popular in Japan, where more than 5 million units flew off the shelves by the end of 2005. A further 4 million handhelds were sold in North America, and an extra few hundred thousand units were shifted in territories like Australia and Latin America.

Nintendogs was the most successful DS title in Europe, selling some 1.6 million units since its launch in October, while more than 800,000 copies of Mario Kart DS have been sold since November.

Some key titles have yet to arrive in Europe, however - look out for DS Training for Adults: Work Your Brain, for starters. It's the most popular DS game in Japan, and we very much enjoyed the demo we got to play recently. The game will be titled Prof. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in Europe, which is excellent, frankly.

Nintendo has another surefire hit lined up in the shape of Animal Crossing: Wild World, which allows you to visit other players' home towns via the Wi-Fi Connection service. More than a million copies of the game were sold in Japan during the fortnight following release, and it should reach European shores soon.