When the 3DS launched, Nintendo said 1.5 million of the 4 million shipped handhelds were headed for Japan by the end of March. According to respected Japanese sales tracker Media Create, there are still leftovers. Lots of them.
Media Create reports that there have been only 836,000 units sold, meaning that the 3DS still hasn't broken the one million mark in Japan. That means 664,000 units from the initial push are unsold.
There are a number of factors for this, such as the earthquake in Sendai as well as a lack of appealing titles. For the entire Western half of the country, the quake's impact has been minimal, but no doubt, it's cut into sales. Unfortunate timing for Nintendo. But like with any launch, the shortage of games is being felt everywhere.
What's more, the 3DS is currently being outsold by the PSP and keeps popping up used in shops.
As Japanese blogs point out, 664,000 of 1.5 million is just less than half. And with few 3DS games coming out this month, it's going to be a long push to break that million mark. It'll happen, no doubt, as will the games, just not anytime soon.
ニンテンドー3DS、発売1ヵ月の国内販売台数は83万6000台 [インサイド] [Pic: Getty]