Two weeks ago, Nintendo 3DS sales in Japan took a dip due to the announcement of the “monthly recommended software campaign”. Between April 14th and 20th, 3DS sales fell below 20,000 units as consumers waited for the recommended software campaign promotion—which gives new 3DS buyers a free game—to begin.
The monthly recommended software campaign began on April 26th, and its effects were felt in the latest sales figures from Japanese sales tracker Media Create for that week. Sales of the 3DS, aided by the campaign, increased to nearly 34,000 units, with the 3DS XL model’s sales almost doubling over week prior.
Due to the increased activity in hardware sales, software sales of older Nintendo 3DS games increased as well, growing to 111.45% of the prior week. Meanwhile, the release of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call provided incentive for people to buy the system as well, keeping overall 3DS sales healthy for the week.
Something to note: last week saw the start of Japan’s Golden Week holiday on April 29th. During holidays such as Golden Week, Nintendo platforms typically tend to do very well, so one can expect to see strong Nintendo 3DS sales from last week as well.
We’ll get an idea of how things panned out during Golden Week when Media Create share sales figures this Thursday.
