
The Japanese Famitsu magazine publisher, Enterbrain, shows off some DS sales figures proving without a doubt that Nintendo owns the hand-held market.
The biggest title for the first half of this fiscal year? The New Super Mario Bros. (NSMB) How does he do it!? Mario manages to climb to the top of the charts as if he were The Clash putting out another hit album.
The New Mario Brothers has pushed 3.09 million units into the greedy hands of Japanese consumers and continues to hit top-10 each month since its release earlier in the year. Who was runner up? Another Nintendo Brain Age sequel.
Curiously the top two games are DS games and both are sequels or franchise re-spins of prior games. Apparently, sequels are not all that bad after all. Granted, NSMB is not like a roster change in a football game, but brand new retro content never seen before (using characters we all know and love).
The DS Mario craze may just be enough to keep many gamers eager for Mario Galaxy on the Nintendo Wii. Although, not a launch title, Mario isn't done his climb to the top. If all works out as Nintendo expects, Mario Galaxy will be the next game to post impressive figures. Time will tell if Mario can pull off his two-point conversion on fourth and goal.