Nintendo 3DS launch sales flop in UK?

According to Nintendo of America the 3DS sold more in one day in the U.S. than any other portable console in the company's history. They didn't release any actual sales figures, though, and implied they wouldn't be doing so until April 14.

Meanwhile Nintendo of Europe hasn't said anything at all about the launch last Friday, although they are expected to make an official announcement tomorrow.

Given the relatively minor impact of 3DS games in this week's sales charts, and the fact that the 3DS is still easily available on shop shelves, it's already led to industry rumours that the 3DS is underperforming - in the UK at least.

And what might make the UK different from the US? One possibility is the launch of the iPad 2, which took place on exactly the same day in Europe but not in America - and could well have eaten into gadget fans' disposable incomes, especially those who didn't pre-order but otherwise might have been expected to pick up the 3DS over its launch weekend.

That may mean that UK sales of the 3DS catch up with expectations after just a few days or weeks (possibly after a lot of people get paid on the first of the month) but without any official figures or comment from Nintendo we may not know the real story for months.

Prior to the launch both Nintendo and Amazon said the 3DS was breaking pre-order records, with Nintendo UK talking about pre-orders of 140,000 - which if true would still have made it one of the fastest-selling consoles ever in the UK, without even a single off-the-shelf sale.

Hopefully tomorrow's press release will clarify exactly what's been going on over the last few days…

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/859497-nintendo-3ds-launch-sales-flop-in-uk#ixzz1I590WNAy