According to a Nintendo press release, the 100 millionth DS was shipped out on March 6, 2009. This figure includes all sales worldwide of the original DS, the DS Lite and the DSi, soon to launch in the United States. “Consumers have shown their love for Nintendo DS – 100 million times over,” Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America, said. With already 100 million units sold in only 4 years and 3 months, the DS seems to be well on its way to outselling the PlayStation2, which has sold 102 million to date, and the Game Boy, which has sold 118 million to date. The DSi sold 1.28 million units during its first two months in Japan and Nintendo is confident it boost sales even further when it launches in the US and Europe. Already the fastest selling handheld, the DS has also surpassed the PS2, the fastest console to ship 100 million units. It took the PS2 nearly 6 years to do what the DS has done in a little over 4 years.
Nintendo also announced that the DS has 83 titles that have shipped over 1 million units worldwide. And 7 games have had sales of more than 10 million. These 7 games were Animal Crossing: Wild World, Brain Age, Brain Age 2, Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros., Nintendogs, and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl. Nintendo attributes their success to expanding their audience beyond the stereotypical young male gamer to those who might not have been interested in gaming in the past, including girls, adults and seniors.
