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New Mario smashes half a mil

Popular DS title sells more than 500,000 copies in the US in just over a month; Nintendo estimates 20 copies sold every minute.

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We've all heard about the success of the DS Lite and how it sold 136,500 units in its first two days on sale. Naturally, with that many more pieces of hardware in gamers' hands, software sales are bound to spike.

Today, Nintendo announced that its current hot handheld game, New Super Mario Bros., has sold more than half a million copies in the US since it was released on May 15. Putting that in perspective, Nintendo claims those figures translate into 20 copies being sold every minute since its launch. The game has consistently been in the top two on US console sales charts, and reclaimed the top spot last week.

The game has also been a hit in Mario's hometown of Japan. Released in the country 10 days after the US version, New Super Mario Bros. has also topped the charts there, where the DS and DS Lite are nothing short of a sales phenomenon.

New Super Mario Bros. appears to be well on its way to busting through the 1 million sold mark, with the European region launch set for late next week.

New Super Mario Bros. is rated E for Everyone and retails for $34.99. To see why people can't get enough of Mario and his slim sibling, read GameSpot's review.

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