Nintendo 3DS News: Handheld Top Selling Console of Past Three Months

There are those that say that Nintendo is circling the drain, and that the Wii U's lackluster hardware sales combined with its subpar specs compared to current gen consoles (let alone upcoming next gen consoles' specs) and lack of blockbuster titles have doomed the company.

Apparently, somebody forgot to tell that to Nintendo and their legions of fans, as a new report from NPD has shown that the company is very much alive and continues to have success.

Nintendo announced to Gamespot that the Nintendo 3DS is the top selling console for the month of July, according to NPD data. That not just the top selling handheld console, but the top-selling console, period, beating out the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U. Furthermore, the 3DS has been on top of the hardware charts for three straight months, proving to be the most successful console during that period.  

Overall, 3DS hardware sales have risen 14 percent over last year, with a huge 45 percent increase in software sales for the handheld since the same month last year.  Nintendo did not release their full sales figures, but this is still fantastic news for the long-suffering company that has been looking to turn a corner and start gaining ground on their competitors.

The company also had some software success during the month of July. Two games in particular on the 3DS have sold well. Animal Crossing: New Leaf gained 150,000 new physical and digital sales, bring that game's total sales up to 660,000 copies. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon sold even better, climbing to 820,000 units overall.  On the Wii U side New Super Mario Bros. U has climbed slightly ahead of Luigi's Mansion, selling 830,000 copies since launch.

Finally, while Nintendo did not release any figures for the game, Earthbound's Virtual Console release was singled out as a smash hit for Nintendo, falling behind only New Super Luigi U and Pikmin 3 have had more sales in the same time period since their own launches.

This undoubtedly is good news for Nintendo, as they have begun a push to try and get the Wii U on track for the second half of the year and these figures indicate that the console may be on the upswing. While the 3DS may not need the increased sales as much as the Wii U, it still boosts Nintendo up and makes the company healthier. However, it should be noted that hardware sales overall have been down for the year as consumers prepare for the launch of the next-gen consoles later in the year, so this number may reflect Nintendo's success as well as the overall down period for the industry.