Nintendo reports 52 percent rise in first-party 3DS software sales

Nintendo has reported a 52 percent year-on-year rise in sales of first-party 3DS software during the first four months of 2013.

2.1 million Nintendo-published 3DS games have been sold between January through April 2013 in North America, Nintendo says, citing data from the NPD group.

Nintendo reports it took 30 weeks to sell two million first-party games in 2012, and reports that it accomplished the same sales milestone this year in 18 weeks, suggesting increasing take-up of the platform in North America.

While the first four months of 2012 saw the release of high-profile 3DS titles such as Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D and Resident Evil: Revelations, there were two first-party releases; Kid Icarus: Uprising, and the Tecmo-developed Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir.

In the same time period in 2013, however, Nintendo has published Fire Emblem: Awakening, Brain Age: Concentration Training, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins.

Nintendo says sales of Lego City Undercover: The Chase begins have reached almost 94,000 copies since its late-April launch, whereas Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon has been purchased over 530,000 times.

The Mario publisher has scheduled a Nintendo Direct conference for later today.