Nintendo DS sells 500,000 units in US launch week

The first sales figures from Nintendo's latest hardware launch are expected to be announced today, with half a million units of the Nintendo DS handheld sold in North America in the launch week.

That represents around 90 per cent of the stock which Nintendo shipped to retail stores across North America for the launch, and indeed many retailers have reported that the console has sold out at their stores.

Online auction site eBay has seen an upside from the early popularity of the console, with some bidders paying over twice the standard retail price of the DS in order to get their hands on one last week.

The 500,000 unit launch week puts Nintendo well on track to meet its target of selling a million units of the console in North America by the end of the calendar year, along with two million units in Japan - where the DS launches this week.

For the full calendar year, which runs through to March, the firm recently raised its shipment target for the DS to five million units worldwide, a figure which includes the European launch in Q1 2005.

According to the Seattle Times, which reported the half-million sell through figure this morning, Nintendo also sold some 800,000 units of the Game Boy Advance SP hardware last week, making it into the single biggest sales week for handheld consoles ever.