X

Nintendo 3DS game sales shot up by 45% in 2013, company says

The tail end of 2013 may have been all about Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, but Nintendo's handheld consoles performed pretty well too.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
See full bio
Joe Svetlik
2 min read

The tail end of 2013 may have been all about Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, but Nintendo's handheld consoles performed pretty well too. The company is keen to shout about its numbers in a press release, saying that sales of 3DS games were up by more than 45 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012. That includes both packaged and digital games.

Nintendo's handheld portfolio -- including the 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS -- has also sold more than 11.5 million units in its lifetime in the US alone. Sadly, Nintendo is strangely quiet when it comes to talking about its struggling Wii U console… 

"Nintendo 3DS is a powerhouse with games and experiences that appeal to all kinds of players," Scott Moffit, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing said in a statement. "We're not slowing down in 2014. With more games featuring fan-favourite franchises on the way, the best days of Nintendo 3DS are still to come."

Upcoming games include Yoshi's New Island, Disney Magical World, Bravely Default, and Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy.

There's no word on how well the Wii U performed over the festive season. Nintendo targeted Tesco customers in the run up to Christmas, with in-store demos to show off the console's powers. But I fear it may have been eclipsed by the hype surrounding the Xbox One and PS4.

At CES this week, Sony announced it had sold 4.2 million PS4s around the world. It's winning the console war on these shores, too. In the UK, the PS4 sold 160,000 units more than the Xbox One, making it the fastest-selling console in UK history. But it wasn't the bestselling console of the year. That honour goes to the 3DS. Which maybe isn't that surprising, given that the PS4 and Xbox One only launched at the end of the year. But it's still an impressive feat for Ninty's three-year-old handheld.

Can Nintendo turn around the Wii U's fortunes? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.