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Super Mario 3D Land becomes fastest-selling portable Mario title ever

Mario's popularity drives sales of 3DS itself

Super Mario 3D Land becomes fastest-selling portable Mario title ever
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3DS
| Super Mario 3D Land

Nintendo will be celebrating today after news that Super Mario 3D Land has become the fastest-selling portable Mario game ever.

According to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, the little red plumber’s maiden adventure on 3DS has sold over 500,000 units in the US since its launch on November 13th.

The success of Super Mario 3D Land has contributed to a spike in sales of the console itself. During the game’s launch week, sales of the 3DS rose by 49 per cent compared to the previous week (November 6th). And last week, sales rose by an incredible 325 per cent compared to the week of November 6th.

Fils-Aime said that the sudden increase in system sales has already pushed the 3DS's first-year tally beyond the DS’s first-year sales figure of 2.37 million units.

With Mario Kart 7’s UK launch (December 2nd) and US debut (December 4th) just around the corner, Nintendo will be hoping for a similar sales surge to carry the company toward a highly profitable Christmas.

USA Today [via Edge]
James Gilmour
James Gilmour
James pivoted to video so hard that he permanently damaged his spine, which now doubles as a Cronenbergian mic stand. If the pictures are moving, he's the one to blame.