3DS Amazon UK's most preordered system ever

While the March 25 launch of the 3DS in the UK is likely to draw a significant number of eager gamers camping out overnight to get their hands on the new handheld, one retailer has found that more customers than ever before are willing to order online and wait for the mail carrier to make the rounds.

Amazon.co.uk today announced that the 3DS has become its most preordered gaming system of all time. With a week remaining before the system's launch, the 3DS already has 20 percent more preorders than the PlayStation 3 had at its launch date. The 3DS has also topped the best performances of its fellow Nintendo systems, beating (supply constrained) Wii preorders by 56 percent and DSi preorders by 255 percent.

"It's unusual for a handheld console to attract this amount of excitement in the run up to launch; such high levels of interest are normally reserved for the play-at-home hardware like the ground-breaking Nintendo Wii and last year's Microsoft Kinect," said the retailer's director of video games, Chris Poad.

The Wii was Amazon.co.uk's third most preordered piece of gaming hardware, with last year's Kinect and PlayStation Move launches coming in at fourth and fifth on the list, respectively.

For more on the 3DS and its launch lineup of games, check out GameSpot's 3DS Launch Center.