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[Update] Not So Fast Sony - Nintendo Says 3DS Was Top Dog In February
Update: A Sony representative confirmed via email that their previous statement only meant to say that PlayStation 4 was the best selling home console hardware, beating Xbox One and Wii U. Nintendo's statement that 3DS was the best selling game hardware in February is accuarate. Sony declined to offer up specific sales figures for PlayStation 4 in February.
Original Story:
Sony's claiming that the PlayStation 4 was the leader in hardware sales. It must have meant home console hardware only, because Nintendo's just released some impressive 3DS numbers. We've reached out to Sony to provide specific sales figures for PlayStation 4.
In a press release, Nintendo says, "The one-two-three punch of New Nintendo 3DS XL, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate helped Nintendo 3DS become the top-selling hardware platform in the United States in February."
Unlike Sony, Nintendo backed this up with a specific number of units sold - 395,000 3DS units, mostly New Nintendo 3DS XLs. That's a very strong tally especially for a non-holiday month.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D led the way with 515,000 units sold, followed by Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate with 290,000. More impressive is the fact that the New Nintendo 3DS XL, Majora's Mask, and Monster Hunter released on February 13, and had only 17 days on the market.
While Nintendo also touted that Wii U sales were up "more than 20 percent over sales in the same period in 2014," the company suddenly lost its zeal for citing specific units sold. Odd.
However, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a huge success, moving 1.5 million units to date and driving sales of over 3.5 million Amiibo figures.
Our Take
If there's one thing that I've learned in my time in the industry, it's to not underestimate the power of Nintendo's handhelds. Despite the fact that smartphones are supposed to be replacing the 3DS in gamer's hearts, there's still obviously a lot of demand for full-featured, high-budget handheld games.
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