3DS sales top 4 million in US

The new year is a time for looking ahead, but Nintendo of America isn't quite done reflecting on 2011, as the company today announced a multitude of sales milestones crossed by its products over the holidays.

First and foremost, the company confirmed that sales of the 3DS have surpassed 4 million units in the United States alone. Last month, Nintendo pegged the system's US installed base at 2.37 million, pointing to December sales in excess of 1.2 million for the handheld.

The system endured a sluggish launch but gathered momentum with a significant price cut and a holiday software lineup including the launches of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. Those two games have each sold to about a quarter of 3DS owners, as Nintendo also revealed Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 are the first two titles for the system to sell 1 million copies in the US.

As for Nintendo's other products, the Wii topped 4.5 million systems sold in 2011, making for a lifetime US sales total of 39 million. The year also saw Wii software reach new milestones, with November's The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword surpassing 1 million copies sold in its first month and a half on shelves, while 2008's Mario Kart Wii cruised past 11 million copies as the year wound down.

The DS family of handhelds (which doesn't include the 3DS) added another 3.4 million systems to its US tally, pushing its lifetime sales total beyond 51 million sold. The legacy handhelds had their own marquee software hit a significant milestone during the year, as 2006's New Super Mario Bros. reached 10 million copies sold.