Nintendo hails successful DS launch in Japan

Half a million units of the Nintendo DS have been shipped in Japan for the system's launch today, with reports indicating strong early sales as many stores opened several hours early to sell the console.

Nintendo had originally planned to ship 300,000 units of the console, but increased its manufacturing capacity after pre-orders far exceeded expectations and raised its day one shipments to 500,000.

Over two million units were pre-ordered by retail across the US and Japan, a figure which Nintendo hopes to match with its supplies by the end of the year, keeping it on track to ship five million units of the console worldwide by next April.

"Sales seem to be off to a good start despite the fact that we are launching on a weekday," Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa told Reuters this morning, while other reports suggested that large queues had formed outside key retailers who opened their doors up to three hours early to sell the console.

Late last month, Nintendo sold out 90 per cent of its initial launch allocation of the DS in North America, giving it first week sales figures there of around half a million units, and suggesting that the system will have a million user installed base once the dust has settled on both the US and Japanese launches.

The console is expected to launch in Europe in the first quarter of next year, with Nintendo UK promising to release details of its date and price plans in early January.