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Wii sees lowest ever monthly US sales

Steep decline for 3DS too.

The Wii sold 172,000 units in the US during April – its lowest ever monthly total.

According to MarketWatch, sales of Nintendo's home console were down 40 per cent on March and 38 per cent on April 2010.

While the DS continues to hold up well, finishing second to the Xbox 360 in the monthly NPD charts, the 3DS had a rough time of it. The new handheld sold 194,000 units it its first full month on sale, well down on the 400,000 it managed in its debut week at the end of March.

In comparison, the Xbox 360 sold 297,000 last month, while the PlayStation 3 moved 203,000. DS and PSP tallies have not yet been revealed.

Last month Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata admitted that 3DS sales were lower than anticipated. He insisted that the demand for the system was high but consumers were just waiting for the right software to launch before opening their wallets.

As for the Wii, Nintendo will no doubt be hoping that a recently announced price cut will give it a much-needed boost in May.