While Nintendo confirmed the US day-one sales numbers for its 3DS console bested all its previous handheld debuts in the region, the opening week’s figures didn’t quite make history.

In an interview with USA Today, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime revealed a sell-through of 400,000 3DS units in his home territory in the week commencing 27th March.

This tally compares slightly unfavourably with the original DS’s launch in November 2004, when just over half a million were sold in the first week.

Good Friday

As the Nintendo boss asserts, though, the DS hit retailers on Black Friday, otherwise known as the largest shopping day in the US, so "from a pure timing seasonality, you are not going to be able to compare the two launches."

One of the other reasons cited for the 3DS not selling out in North America is the improved stage management of supply, into which the Japanese gaming behemoth had funnelled knowledge from past experience:

"I would characterize it as a launch where we learned significant lessons from the launch of Wii and we made sure to have not only ample supply in the marketplace, but we staged supply so it would not sell out," Fils-Aime explained.

"We had product going direct to store and we also had product in retailers (distribution centers), so they could easily replenish when they had stores running low on inventory."

Future growth

Regarding both the introduction and future of its glasses-free 3D portable console, the Nintendo head remains in bullish mood:

"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 eShop, the launch of the 3-D trailers for Hollywood movies, and the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in mid-June, as well as the launch of Netflix later on in the summer."