I didn't see this posted anywhere, but the 3DS has achieved a milestone that should be recognized!



Here it is:



3DS Hardware Shipments to Retailers as of September 30th, 2013:

34,980,000 units



N64 Hardware Shipments to Retailers as of September 30th, 2013:

32,930,000 units





3DS Software Shipments to Retailers as of September 30th, 2013:

122,420,000 units



N64 Software Shipments to Retailers as of September 30th, 2013:

224,970,000 units





With the most recent quarterly announcements, it's official: 3DS has now surpassed the Nintendo 64. Sometimes we tend to forget how successful the 3DS has been since its launch. In only 2 and 1/2 years of being on the market the 3DS has managed to sell more consoles than the Nintendo 64 was able to sell throughout its entire five-year lifespan.





List of Nintendo consoles by worldwide, lifetime hardware shipments:



1) DS: 153,960,000 units shipped

2) GB + GBC: 111,869,000 units shipped

3) Wii: 100,300,000 units shipped

4) GBA: 81,510,000 units shipped

5) NES: 61,910,000 units shipped

6) SNES: 49,100,000 units shipped

7) 3DS: 34,980,000 units shipped (in 2 and 1/2 years of being on the market)

8) N64: 32,930,000 units shipped

9) GC: 21,740,000 units shipped

10) Wii U: 3,910,000 units shipped

11) Virtual Boy: ~1,260,000 units shipped



The next milestone for the 3DS is SNES shipments at 49.1 million. Considering the 3DS hit 34.98 million in only 2 and 1/2 years, it's safe to say that 3DS will easily surpass SNES by the time it's taken off the market.



However, the 3DS's success has a double-edged sword. Although it may have sold more hardware, the N64 has moved twice the amount of software sales.





List of Nintendo consoles by worldwide, lifetime software shipments:



1) DS: 938,930,000 units shipped

2) Wii: 883,970,000 units shipped

3) GB + GBC: 501,110,000 units shipped

4) NES: 500,010,000 units shipped

5) SNES: 379,060,000 units shipped

6) GBA: 377,420,000 units shipped

7) N64: 224,970,000 units shipped

8) GC: 208,570,000 units shipped

9) 3DS: 122,420,000 units shipped (in 2 and 1/2 years of being on the market)

10) Wii U: 19,710,000 units shipped



* Note: 3DS software sales are (Worldwide lifetime shipments to retailers + Worldwide eShop digital-version-of-retail-title sales to consumers)

* Note: Wii U software sales are (Worldwide lifetime shipments to retailers + Worldwide eShop digital-version-of-retail-title sales to consumers)





And, despite rocketing past the GameCube in terms of hardware sales, it's still lagging behind with software.



Although, the 3DS still has plenty of time to rectify this (it's only been out for 2 and 1/2 years), and handhelds historically have lower tie ratios than their console counterparts.