Tuesday, 27 December 2005

Nintendo DS Sells 5 Million Units in Japan

Domestic sales of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s DS portable game machine reached 5 million units in less than 13 months after its launch in early December 2004, the fastest-ever pace in Japan's video game market. Nintendo's Game Boy Advance took 14 months to hit the 5 million mark in Japan, and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 took 17 months, the Kyoto-based company said.

"Selling 5 million units in less than 14 months means DS is the fastest among any game machines ever launched in Japan to hit that level," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference. Besides advanced video games with sophisticated graphics and realistic actions, Nintendo focuses on games for women, adults and seniors -- traditionally non-core segments for game makers -- in a bid to expand the overall game-playing population. Domestic shipments of one such game, nintendogs, which lets players interact with virtual pets in the console, have so far totalled 1.08 million units, clearing the 1 million benchmark for a hit game.