Strong Sales of Nintendo Handhelds Reported During Holiday Season

More good news for Nintendo as holiday retail reports for December show strong sales of Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance products. Nintendo is going against the wave of some game industry downturns regarding video game business. Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo vice president of sales commented, "At a time when some sectors of the video game industry are softening, Nintendo DS and the Game Boy Advance line remain shining stars because of their fun experiences and innovative game play. It’s important to note that these strong figures represent Nintendo hand-held units and games that consumers have purchased and are now enjoying at home or wherever they like to play." In the U.S., combined game sales of MarioKart DS and Nintendogs have sold well over 2.5 million copies since their release in November and August of last year, respectively. Super Mario 64 DS, has also joined the elite of selling over 1 million copies. Just how much market share does Nintendo have in the handheld game console market? According to Nintendo, if you count all the handhelds in all its forms (Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, GBA SP, and DS) that have been manufactured by Mario and Company, it adds up to about 78%. Nintendo is laughing all the way to the bank. Why? Throughout the years, in a game industry where full sized game consoles and PCs rule, the Game Boy machines have often been declared dead or obsolete. Obviously, some industry experts were dead wrong. No wonder Yoshi is smiling all the time.