U.S. DSi Launch Sales Slower Than DS Lite

July 30th, 2009, 20:27 Posted By: wraggster

With the release of new Nintendo sales figures today, Kotaku was able to try and compare launch window sales for the DSi and DS Lite. I say try because as with many game platform launches things don't match up perfectly.

What we were able to learn after digging through Nintendo's official quarterly and annual reports is that the DSi launched a bit more slowly in the Americas than the DS Lite. But first some background.

The DS Lite and the DSi both had staggered launches around the world: The DS Lite first hit Japan, landing there on March 2, 2006, and then Australia on June 1, North America on June 11 and Europe on June 23. The DSi also hit Japan first, launching there on Nov. 1, 2008, and then hitting Australia on April 2, 2009, Europe on April 3 and North American on April 5.

Because of Nintendo's reporting period it's impossible to use their numbers to look at the first three months of each platform for the world. It's easier to do that if you narrow the focus to just North and South America, but you do end up with an extra two weeks of sales for the DS Lite.

Here's how those number work out:

Sales in the "Americas" for the DS Lite from the day it hit here on June 11, 2006 to the end of September were 2.23 million units. While Sales in the "Americas" for the DSi from the day it hit on April 5, 2009 to the end of June were 1.56 million units.

That means the DS Lite sold on average about 20,000 units a day at $130 a pop during the 112 days of that reporting period, while the DSi sold on average about 18,000 units a day at $170 a pop during the 87 days of it's reporting period.

So is a 2,000-a-day gap during the launch window here a sign of weaker interest, a more daunting price, or are other factors at play?

http://kotaku.com/5326306/us-dsi-lau...r-than-ds-lite

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