3DS sales on track to best DS's first year in US

The Nintendo 3DS got off to a slow start after launching earlier in the year. Nintendo responded by instituting a price drop in August, bringing the system down to $170 from its original $250 price point. With 3DS sales on the rebound, Nintendo said today that first-year sales for the handheld are now on track to outpace those of the Nintendo DS's in the US.

Nintendo's comments came as part of NPD's monthly US retail sales recap. For the month of October, the 3DS sold 250,000 units in the US, bringing total sales for the handheld through the month to 1.65 million units in the region. By comparison, the original DS sold 2.37 million units during its first 12 months on the market, Nintendo said.

The 3DS goes into the holiday season with a couple of big-name releases. Super Mario 3D Land, due out this weekend, has already received a positive critical reception, and Mario Kart 7 is slated to follow on December 4. The publisher had also planned to release Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS this year, but it has since been delayed to 2012.

Beyond 3DS sales, Nintendo also revealed the hardware performance of the Wii and DS. Wii sales actually grew 8 percent year-over-year to nearly 250,000 units, while the DS line of systems saw a 23 percent sales growth to 180,000 units.