Good news comes for Nintendo in Japan, as the 3DS console is now past the 15 million units sold mark in Japan life to date. This accounts for sales of both their 3DS and 3DS XL units, but not the 2DS, which has yet to be officially released in the region.
Sales are still down for the console year on year, however, and if Nintendo is to reach the 13.5 million units goal for the financial year ending March 31, 2014, they still have some time to catch up.
This report comes in line with the latest estimates from Media Create and Famitsu, who as of the week of January 13 to 19, had life to date sales pegged at 14,946,067 units and 14,997,632 units, respectively. The two also peg 2013 sales at 4,882,040 units and 4,931,509 units. Thus far, they believe the console has sold 284,147 units and 303,621 units.
These sales numbers tower over those of other consoles in Japan. However, they also represent a drop in numbers compared to the year before. Overall, the 3DS is still a healthy seller for Nintendo, and is arguably the only console in the market propping up Japan industry numbers. Many expect the number to prop up further when the Playstation 4 is finally released. Knowing that the market is no longer as relevant to Playstation as it used to be, there is some skepticism that it will really have sustainable good performance.
Japan is literally an afterthought to Microsoft and the Xbox One, but still, all things considered, 3DS’ consistent performance shows there is still money to be made in the country a lot of gaming companies call home.
