Driven by Fast-Selling Software Nintendo 3DS Sells More in Its First Nine Months Than Wii Did. Nintendo sold more than 12 million total hardware units in the United States in 2011, marking the fifth year in a row that the company has accomplished that feat. This includes more than 4.5 million units of Wii, more than 4 million Nintendo 3DS systems, and more than 3.4 million units of the Nintendo DS family of systems. This brings the installed base for Wii and Nintendo DS to 39 million and more than 51 million, respectively.
"One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising."
Two Nintendo 3DS titles not only became the fastest-selling titles in the history of their respective franchises when they launched, but they are also the first Nintendo 3DS titles to sell 1 million units each in the United States. So what were the big titles for the holidays? For Nintendo 3DS it was Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which also broke launch records, became the 45th Wii title to sell more than 1 million units in the United States.