Ah yes, our little folding friend the DS. When it was first announced the concept was met with widespread ridicule, but it has shown them all, answering back with record-breaking sales. Nintendo has announced that the DS (both the original and the Lite) has sold over 10 million units in Europe since the handheld was released back in March of 2005. That's over 14,000 sold a day, becoming the fastest console in European history to hit the 10 million mark. The numbers are actual sell-thru to customers even, so this isn't one of those shipping announcements I'm so fond of. Nice!

Now if everyone can just stop buying them long enough for me to be able to find one outside of eBay, that would be great. I need something to do during the awkward moments meeting my fellow Kotaku editors in New York later this week, and my PSP can only handle 2-3 hours looking busy time tops. I technically own a DS, but my girlfriend hasn't let me touch it since I got her Hamsterz for Christmas. Damn hamsters. Michael Fahey

Nintendo DS Breaks Records To Become The Fastest Selling Console To Reach 10 Million In Europe!

22 January 2007 - The Nintendo DS has gone from strength to strength since its launch in March 2005, with sales dwarfing those of all other consoles as Nintendo attracts all-new audiences to the gaming industry. Now after just one year and ten months on sale, Nintendo DS has become the fastest games console in European history to sell 10 million (sell-thru to customers) and with 1.7 million units selling in December 2006 alone it is also by far the best selling handheld games console across Europe.

The success of Nintendo DS has been driven by Nintendo's range of innovative Touch! Generations games, targeted at non-traditional audiences. Nintendogs which launched in October 2005, is now being enjoyed by over five million Europeans, whilst titles like Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How old is your brain? have been enjoying similar success with over two million copies sold to consumers to date in Europe. What's more six months after its launch sales are still going strong and it's maintaining a high position in sales charts across Europe!

Traditional gaming titles are also achieving significant growth with total sales of New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart DS, Pok mon Mystery Dungeon and Animal Crossing: Wild World all surpassing the million sold mark in Europe. The success doesn't end there with dozens of third party games such as The Sims 2 Pets (Electronic Arts), Sonic Rush (SEGA) and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista Games) selling at a significant rate in Europe.

Laurent Fischer, European Marketing Director said:

"Nintendo DS topped the six million mark in September and has continued to go from strength to strength with thousands of new people being introduced to gaming through the Nintendo DS. Its appeal to both gamers and non-gamers means it has expanded the gaming population significantly. This landmark figure of 10 million Nintendo DS gamers cements the console's position as undisputed leader of the handheld market, bringing gaming to a whole new audience - something that was unimaginable a few years ago! The innovative Nintendo DS is now helping to shape the whole market with sales of the Nintendo DS console and games being the main drivers behind recent market growth all across Europe."

Nintendo is continuing to build on this momentum with a dynamic range of exciting, new games including Mario Slam Basketball, Star Fox Command, Actionloop, and the highly anticipated legendary Final Fantasy III from Square-Enix, all scheduled for launch in 2007.

The Nintendo DS Lite is now available in black, white and pink, priced around at 150 Euros ( 99 UK). The Nintendo DS is available across Europe in blue, silver and pink at around 130 Euros ( 89 UK).

Click onto www.nintendo-europe -media.com for all of the most up to date official information on Nintendo.

About Nintendo
Nintendo Co., Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 2.2 billion video games worldwide and more than 387 million hardware units globally, creating such industry icons as Mario and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Pok mon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular video game systems, including home console units such as the Nintendo 64, NINTENDO GAMECUBE, and the forthcoming revolutionary new console Wii, as well as portable handheld gaming systems such as, Nintendo DS. Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy - the world's best-selling video game system which has sold over 193 million units. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.

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