May 2013 NPD: Nintendo’s response, 3DS the best-selling platform

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U

Nintendo’s response to the May 2013 NPD report is in.

The 3DS was the best-selling platform in the US for the month of May, according to the company. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and continued sales of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon boosted the handheld’s sales. Both games maintained two of the top three spots on the NPD charts in terms of best-selling SKUs – Donkey Kong came in second, with Luigi’s Mansion following third.

3DS software sales at retail increased by more than 60 percent year-over-year, according to Nintendo.

Nintendo’s full response is posted below.

Nintendo 3DS Was the Best-Selling Video Game Platform in May
Nintendo 3DS continued its strong year with another first: The platform was the best-selling video game hardware platform in the United States in May. The launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D on May 23 and another strong month for Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon helped Nintendo 3DS software sales in stores increase by more than 60 percent over the same time last year. Nintendo 3DS also had two of the top three best-selling software SKUs for the month, with Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D at No. 2 and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon at No. 3.
At the recently concluded E3 trade show in Los Angeles, Nintendo defined its proposition for the holiday season by showcasing a cavalcade of great games coming for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems in 2013. Starting in August and continuing through the end of the year, Wii U will launch one major game a month, including Pikmin 3 (Aug. 4), The Wonderful 101 (Sept. 15), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (October), Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (November) and Super Mario 3D World (December). Nintendo 3DS will build on its momentum with the successive launches of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (Aug. 11), Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (Oct. 12) Mario Party for Nintendo 3DS (name not final, November) and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (November).
*Data regarding physical sales of games in May is from the NPD Group and is specific to the United States only.