DS overtakes 3DS in March sales

Posted April 16, 2011 by Mark Ankucic in News.

She’s still got some fight in her yet! March sales of the Nintendo DS have overtaken sales of the 3DS, however there are multiple factors to why this may be so.

Considering how late in the month the 3DS sold, the DS consoles bought off the back of the release of the latest Pokemon games, as well as the price difference between them are all being taken into consideration when discerning this turn of events.

Anita Frazier of the NDP group has stated that

“The 3DS launch compares quite favorably to that of the best selling dedicated handheld gaming platform of all time, the Nintendo DS…This is fairly siginificant considering that the 3DS launched at a much higher entry price point than the DS did years ago…”

Frazier also clarified that in comparison the 3DS only sold

“about 100k units less than the DS did in its launch month.”

As stated previously, I firmly believe that the 3DS does not have the same appeal as its predecessors and that its target audience will need more reason to purchase the system.

Reggie Fils-Aime from Nintendo America is keeping a positive outlook on the events and for the future of the 3DS:

“We are very satisfied with this start and we look forward to the momentum that we will build on Nintendo 3DS with the launch of the E-Shop, the launch of the 3D trailers for Hollywood movies and the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in mid-June,”

While the E-Shop and 3D trailers will be undoubtedly good for current holders of the handheld, it is Ocarina of Time that will have this hardware flying off the shelves.

Hell, I might even buy one for Zelda.

Tagged as 3DS, Anita Frazier, DS, NDP, Nintendo, Reggie Fils-Aime, Sales