Nintendogs sells 250,000 copies in first week

The barking and howling heard across the country isn't just coming from copies of Nintendogs on the DS; its coming from the Nintendo headquarters. The company is proudly wagging its tail after the first week's sales numbers of Nintendogs reached 250,000 copies.

The game, which has enjoyed immense success overseas in Japan, was released in the US August 22. To help sales, Nintendo dropped the price of the DS $20 to $129.99 the eve of the game's launch. Another factor that may have attributed to the game's impressive numbers is the fact that there are three editions of Nintendogs, each with different breeds, and individual consumers may have scooped up more than one copy.

"Nearly 15 percent of all DS owners bought Nintendogs in just a week," said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "Retailers are reporting DS sales up between one and a half and three times previous levels, and last week DS comfortably outsold our portable competitors."

In Nintendogs, gamers raise and train a lifelike puppy. Owners can name their dog using the DS's microphone, pet their pup with the stylus, or let the canines cavort with each other using the integrated wireless function.

Nintendogs is rated E for Everyone and sells for $29.99. To see what all the yelping is about, check out GameSpot's full review of the game.