Nintendo 3DS in short supply Down Under

Over the past week, the Nintendo 3DS has seen its global launch around the world, pulling crowds from England and Australia to Singapore and the US. Yesterday, it launched Down Under, with several stores around the country opening at midnight to mark the occasion. By lunchtime, reports were floating around the Internet that in less than a day Nintendo's brand-new handheld had become a rarity in stores. GameSpot AU put the call in to a few local retailers to find out what the situation was and to see whether someone can walk in off the street and buy a console without a preorder.

Australia's largest game retailer EB Games says while some stores have sold out, there are still "limited" units out in the wild. "We have already had reports of stores selling out before lunch yesterday. There is still very limited stock available in selected stores for walk-ins; however, we can’t stress enough that if people want a 3DS, they should rush out now and get one. We also have a few Black 3DSs available online to buy. We expect to be completely sold out by the end of the weekend," an EB Games Australia spokesperson told GameSpot AU.

GAME Australia spokesperson Paul Yardley told GameSpot AU a similar story, saying that its stores have sold out of all their Nintendo 3DS allocation three weeks before it was even available. "[Since then], we've been putting people on a list for the second wave," he said.

As for the most popular title, both EB Games and GAME agreed that Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition had been the most popular game so far. However, Yardley conceded that the lead wasn't that large. "Others aren't far behind, like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars and Lego Star Wars III. We've had pretty broad interest across the store."

For everything Nintendo 3DS, be sure to check out our launch centre.