Nintendo says 3DS handheld system sets sales records

Nintendo released its new 3D-enabled 3DS handheld in North America on March 27th for $249.99. While reviews for the initial software line-up haven't exactly been glowing and some outlets docked points due to the system's  limited battery life, the 3DS' hardware launch was still ostensibly a success says the Japan-based company, which also released the handheld in Japan and Europe recently.

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"U.S. day-one sales numbers for Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo hand-held system in our history," read a statement from Nintendo.

The hardware manufacturer first entered the handheld gaming market in 1989 with the Game Boy. After several revisions to the progenitor system and a new rendition that brought color into the formerly puke green palette, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in 2001 -- a true follow-up that featured enhanced graphics and linking capabilities which allowed it to connect to other GBA systems and even Nintendo's Gamecube console.

The company's true mainstream breakthrough in handheld gaming, however, came in 2004 with the DS.

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Featuring two screens (one of which boasted touch capabilities), a stylus and backed by a concerted effort to appeal to non-traditional gamers via non-traditional software, the DS quickly became a best-seller. Current figures place the unit's worldwide sales at over 125 million.

Though the NPD recently added more restrictions concerning the release of video game software  and hardware sales figures to members of the press, Nintendo just may end up tooting its own horn if the 3DS truly performed so well. Solid numbers are set to be released April 14th.

Another issue that made the online rounds following the hardware launch was a so-called "black screen of death" error message afflicting some early adopters' machines. While reports are sporadic, detailing random error messages popping up under various conditions, the problem is real.

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Nintendo, however, quickly pointed out that "the number of calls and emails received by our customer support center is well below the rate experienced during past hardware launches, and there are no widespread issues."

The Nintendo 3DS is just breaking records all over the place, it seems.

Did you pick up a 3DS this weekend? Let us know what you think of it so far in the comment section.

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