Nintendo sells 100 million DS consoles

March 12, 2009

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Nintendo said sales of its handheld DS have topped 100 million machines less than five years since its launch, reaching the milestone faster than any other game console. Worldwide sales of the dual-screen DS reportedly passed 100 million on March 6, including the original model -- which was launched in November 2004 -- as well as the DS Lite and DSi.

Nintendo said sales of its handheld DS have topped 100 million machines less than five years since its launch, reaching the milestone faster than any other game console.

Worldwide sales of the dual-screen DS passed 100 million on March 6, including the original model -- which was launched in November 2004 -- as well as the DS Lite and DSi, Nintendo said in a statement Wednesday.

The success of Nintendo DS consoles has been helped by the popularity of "brain-training" and other games titles that have broadened the customer base from core gamers to women and older people.

"We aim to shift from one machine for one family to one machine for one person," the Kyoto-based company said.

The latest model with built-in cameras, the DSi, went on sale in Japan in November and is due to be released in the United States in April.

The DS trumped Sony's PlayStation 2, which took five years and nine months to achieve the 100 million mark.

Nintendo has also enjoyed strong sales of its Wii home console, helping it to weather the economic downturn better than other electronics makers.

(c) 2009 AFP