Amazon reports record 3DS sales

With the launch of Nintendo 3DS next week, Amazon.co.uk reports that the device has broken all previous video game pre-order records.

"It's unusual for a handheld console to attract this amount of excitement in the run up to launch, such high levels of interest are normally reserved for the play-at-home hardware like the ground-breaking Nintendo Wii and last year's Microsoft Kinect ," said Chris Poad, Director of Video Games at Amazon.co.uk Ltd. "Nintendo 3DS is launching at a time when interest in all things 3D is incredibly high and with the promise of real 3D graphics without glasses, it's a real breakthrough in handheld video game entertainment."

Amazon also published a list of the most pre-ordered pieces of video game hardware to date:

1. Nintendo 3DS - launching 25 March 2011
2. PlayStation 3 - launched March 2007
3. Nintendo Wii - launched December 2006
4. Microsoft Kinect - launched November 2010
5. PlayStation Move - launched September 2010

Perhaps it should also be noted that the custom of pre-ordering and buying things online has picked up considerably over the last decade, so comparing 3DS to the launch of DS on Amazon isn't extremely relevant. Amazon noted that pre-orders were 255% higher than those for Nintendo DSi (2009), if you care to compare. Nintendo 3DS is available for £187.00 at Amazon.co.uk.