The bigger console enjoys brisk launch day sales in its native country.
Excuse me, I have to get this off my chest: The 3DS XL is big in Japan. Okay, whew.
If you remember, the first 3DS wasn’t exactly a smash hit. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata apologized for the “failure”, took a pay cut, and slashed the 3DS’ price by $70. Since then, sales of the 3DS rebounded to put it on par with Nintendo’s other handhelds, but the company remains lukewarm on 3D, saying the larger 3DS XL will be its last 3D console. After the opening weekend, Nintendo may reconsider because the 3DS XL with a 90% bigger screen seems to be extremely popular. According to data released by Famitsu – the Japanese gaming magazine – the 3DS XL sold 193,441 units since it became available on July 28.
Even though the original 3DS also sold well at launch in Japan, nearly 200,000 units in two days is nothing to sneeze at for an update to an already available console. Perhaps that’s due to a game that fans can leap onto – New Super Mario Bros. 2 also debuting at the same time. Famitsu reports sales of that title at 430,185, and it’s reasonable to suggest many of those sales were made in concert with the 3DS XL.
Both the 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bros. 2 will come to North America on August 19 for $199.99.
