Nintendo caused a huge splash in the video gaming world earlier this year, when it announced a drastic price cut for the 3DS (which was meant to be an answer to disappointing sales). But it looks like pushing down the price from 25,000 to 15,000 Yen helped, at least in Nintendo’s home market of Japan.
According to big N’s president Satoru Iwata, the 3DS has sold a solid 3 million times so far, a number it reached two weeks earlier than the predecessor of the console, the DS. In an interview with Japanese business daily The Nikkei, Iwata said the device has “regained its momentum” and that sales started picking up (in Japan) around October.
Nintendo now expects to pass the four million unit mark in February next year, fueled by the launch of first-party hit titles and higher sales during the holiday season.
In fact, Japan’s biggest video game magazine Famitsu is reporting that between December 1 and 4, Mario Kart 7 was sold a whopping 450,000 times, making it the fastest-selling 3DS title so far. In the same week, Nintendo Japan sold 216.350 3DS consoles.
For the US and Europe, Iwata said he expects improved numbers in the near future, too, and added that the Mario series is actually selling better in these regions than in Japan.
Nintendo hasn’t revised its (pretty negative) financial forecast for the current fiscal year, however.