Powered by the launch of the new Nintendo DSi™ hand-held system, the Nintendo DS franchise set a new all-time U.S. record for April hardware sales for any video game platform, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Nintendo sold more than 827,000 Nintendo DSi systems in April and an additional 215,000 Nintendo DS™ Lite systems, for a combined total of more than 1.04 million. This brings life-to-date sales of the Nintendo DS franchise in the United States alone to more than 30 million.

At the same time, Nintendo’s Wii™ console remained the No. 1 home system in the United States, selling more than 340,000 in April, more than the other current-generation home console systems combined. Wii has sold through nearly 20 million in the United States since its launch in November 2006.

“Nintendo systems and software represented 56 percent of the industry total shares in April, indicating continued strong consumer preference for quality and value,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce active-play games like Punch-Out!! and Wii Sports Resort into the market.”

Six games published by Nintendo finished in the top 10 best-sellers of April, including the top four games of the month. These include Wii Fit™ at No. 1 with more than 470,000 sold, Pokémon™ Platinum Version at No. 2 with more than 432,000 sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 3 with more than 209,000 sold, Wii Play™ at No. 4 with nearly 170,000 sold, New Super Mario Bros.™ at No. 7 with nearly 119,000 sold and Mario Kart™ DS at No. 8 with more than 112,000 sold.

Nintendo PR