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Quantifying the DS Lite's Japanese Dominance
kukyfrope writes "According to the data trackers at Media Create, for the week of May 29th through June 4th the DS Lite sold 135,614 units in Japan, easily beating out the PSP (24,595 units), PS2 (18,513 units) and Xbox 360 (just 1,245 units). New Super Mario Bros. for DS also sold 334,208 units, putting total sales at about 1.2 million, in just 2 weeks. 'From the end of last year up until right now the sales of DS and DS Lite in Japan have been simply explosive. It was unprecedented in the Japanese game [industry] history for there to be that kind of incredible demand for one platform,' said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata."
You heard wrong, badly wrong. The 360 was outsold by the original Xbox within a week or 2 of release. I'm not 100% certain it even beat the original xbox on week one.
As for DS vs PSP- be very careful. Sony only reports units shipped- the number of units sent to stores. Nintendo reports sales, the number of units in customer hands. Sony is claiming 16 million shipped, Nintendo is at 16 million sales, which probably puts the DS well ahead in actual sales. I personally don't know anyone with a PSP, but I know several people with DSes. COme to think of it, I don't think I've even seen a PSP outside of a store.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
You must have learned how the 360 is doing in Japan in the same place I did... various comments on slashdot with no references or facts!! Only I heard the opposite, the 360 is selling less than the original XBOX.
I have owned every game boy model released in the US except for the Micro and I totally get why the DS Lite has sold so well. I just bought one two or three days ago to replace my DS (which worked fine).
Let's ignore that it's smaller, sexier, fixes the top-heavy problem, etc. There is only one thing that matters about the DS above all else...
The screen is amazing.
It's on par with the PSP for clarity (although I realize the resolution is lower). It is an AMAZING step up. It's like going from the original GameBoy to the Pocket. Remember playing a GB after the pocket? It looked so muddy and blurry and such you wondered how you could ever use the thing. The difference with the Lite is just night and day. The lowest brightness setting is about equivalent to the what the DS looks like. But with the settings on the Lite you can play anywhere. Is it dark? You can see great on the lowest setting. Out in the sun? You can see great on the highest setting. It's possible to play the DS Lite outside on sunny days in the shade, where the DS was basically unplayable there.
But it gets BETTER. It's so much sharper and crisper (partially due to the brighter backlight, I'd think). I've been playing Trauma Center and it looks like a different game. I wish I hadn't sold so many of my DS games so I could stick them in to see just how much better they look. It's an AMAZING difference.
People complain about Nintendo doing things like this because "it's the same system", but the difference is night and day. I dare anyone to look at both and like the DS's screen over the Lite's. About the only way I could see you complaining about the Lite is the buttons (they have a different feel and if you had large hands I could see it being uncomfortable).
The thing is selling that well for a reason. It's just that good.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
When I see 4 girls in a movie theatre, before the show starting, laughing and giggling out loud with a DS in each of their hands playing a multiplayer game wirelessly, Nintendo has done something right.
When I see a mom and her 5 year old daughter (well she looked around that age), playing with their DSes wirelessly together, obviously Nintendo has done something right.