Analysts estimate 750,000 3DS sales in US
Homefront, Crysis 2 should be biggest home console titles for March
US market watchers are expecting the Nintendo 3DS console to have sold up to 750,000 units during its 5 days on sale in the region during March.
Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company predicted the highest number during the month, suggesting the console will be a "stabilising factor" for the handheld market which continues to decline.
Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter put the sales figure at a lower 500,000 units - at the cost of the previous DS models which are likely to be "cut in half" by the new handheld release.
Creutz expects Pokemon Black & White to be the biggest seller for March in the US, shifting 3 million units combined, but Pachter estimates a more modest 1.4 million across both titles.
THQ's Homefront and EA's Crysis 2 are likely to be the biggest home console games of the month, with 800,000 and 500,000 units sold respectively, according to Creutz. Pachter's guess comes in at 100,000 less for both titles.
EA's Dragon Age II, Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops and Ubisoft's Just Dance 2 are also likely to show success in March, when the NPD Group reveals sales data this Thursday, April 14.
Overall video games sales for March are expected to be down again for North America, between 6-8 per cent year-on-year.