The Nintendo 3DS has sold more than 15 million systems in Japan in just under three years, according to the latest sales numbers from MediaCreate.

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At the end of 2013, more than 15 million systems were shipped in Japan. Worldwide, the system has moved more than 40 million units, with 11.5 million sold in North America and more than 10 million in other territories (including Europe) as of the end of 2013.The sales still fall short of Nintendo's expectations, as the company slashed their sales expectations for the fiscal year ending in March 2014 from 18 to 13.5 million.In Japan, Kirby: Triple Deluxe came out on the system last month and was third on last week's MediaCreate sales charts. A few other 3DS games appeared on the top 20 sales chart, including Level-5's Youkai Watch and GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons Z, both of which have been rumored for a Western release.Special thanks to NeoGAF

Neal Ronaghan is a freelance writer who still holds Nintendo dear, especially since he still runs Nintendo World Report . Follow him on Twitter to let him know what you would do to save Nintendo. He might not reply.