New Nintendo 3DS Sells 335,000 Units Within A Week

The sales gap between the 3DS and its closest competitor, the PlayStation Vita, is even wider now thanks to a stellar opening sales week of the new Nintendo 3DS XL. The updated version of its bestselling handheld consoles has sold 335,000 units in Europe and the U.S. during its opening week, according to a Eurogamer report.

The console recorded close sales figures in U.S. (around 175,000 units) and Europe (around 160,000 units), with the former edging out the latter with around 15,ooo units. However, it must be noted that European consumers could choose between the regular and larger XL versions of the New Nintedo 3DS, whereas Americans were restricted only to buying the XL, according to VG247.

"At the end of last year, some video game enthusiasts, who actively gather information on video games, held off on buying Nintendo 3DS hardware in anticipation of the New Nintendo 3DS launch," said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, explaining the reason behind the sales surge. "Thanks to these consumers, and some highly anticipated titles being released simultaneously, we had a good launch despite it not being the usual sales season. Our next challenge is to keep this sales momentum."

Incredibly enough, both territories began selling the handheld device only on Feb. 13, but the sales numbers don't reflect a full seven days of sales. Nintendo was quick to record the figures and was only enthusiastic to point out the updated version of the 3DS sold 50,000 units in just the first two days since its release.

Dubbed rather unimaginatively as the New Nintendo 3DS XL, the console brings a number of improvements for the same sticker price as the outgoing model. This includes better battery life, more powerful processor and an additional analogue stick for better camera control with third-person games.

However, the main reason why most 3DS owners have been upgrading to the updated version is the core 3D functionality. One of the major bone of contention against the older 3DS was its poor viewing angles. The 3D effect is correctly achieved only when the device is viewed from dead centre. The updated hardware solves that issue by tracking the user's face for better 3D implementation.

The 3DS has been an important console for Nintendo, which has otherwise been side-tracked in the console race with dominant players Microsoft and Sony. The Nintendo 3DS was one of its most successful offerings in the recent past after the Wii. This is especially true after the Wii U couldn't hold its own against the PS4 and Xbox One.

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(Credit: YouTube/Nintendo)