Nintendo 3DS Beats First-Year DS Sales In 8 Months

The Nintendo 3DS has now surpassed the first year sales of the original DS in just eight months, Nintendo has confirmed. The company had originally stated that the 3DS was on track to at least match the first year sales of its DS handheld. Sales for the system were originally well below expectations for a time, though a dramatic price cut in July -- as well as the announcement of a Holiday release for franchise titles Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land -- improved its performance. Talking to Time Magazine, NoA president Reggie Fils-Aimes said that over the past weekend, sales of the 3DS passed those for the first twelve months of the original DS. "In sales through this past Saturday - 8 months - [the 3DS] has outsold the full 12 months of the original DS," he confirmed. "During that 12 months time, the original DS sold 2.37 million and we just surpassed that this past Saturday, so we've got real good momentum going into the holidays." The good news for Nintendo comes in the same week that both Super Mario 3D Land and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword sold over half a million copies each, making them the fastest-selling Mario and Zelda titles ever.