3DS May Hit 4 Million Sales In Japan By End Of Year

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We all remember how the 3DS struggled after launch, but Nintendo’s risk with an early price cut seems to have helped the handheld climb out of its rut. Things are going so well, in fact, that Nikkei is reporting that the 3DS might hit 4 million domestic sales in Japan by the end of the year.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has stated in the past that he’d like to see the 3DS hit that mark by the time the one year anniversary of its launch rolls around, which would be February 27th, 2012 in Japan. Nikkei (as translated by Andriasang) quoted figures from Enterbrain, which indicate that 390,000 units were sold in the third week of December. That puts the 3DS at 3.6 million sales in Japan, and with just over a week left to go and the holiday shopping season in full swing, it’s possible that the 3DS will hit 4 million sales by the time 2012 arrives.

This, of course, would be the perfect Christmas present for Satoru Iwata and the other Nintendo executives. If the 3DS doesn’t manage to hit 4 million before the sun rises on the new year, it will definitely be there shortly afterward, keeping Iwata’s projection ahead of schedule anyway.

Last week’s 390,000 sales set new records for the 3DS, surpassing the 380,000 sales from the week before (which also set a record). You’d think that the average weekly sales for the device would skyrocket with weeks like those on the books, but actually the 3DS is only sitting at 80,000 average weekly sales, meaning that it’s getting a massive boost from holiday shoppers.

What do you think? Can the 3DS hit 4 million sales in Japan before the end of the year, or will it take a little longer than that? Do you think 3DS will continue to experience strong sales in 2012 thanks to games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, or will sales take a sharp drop as we leave the holiday season behind? Head down to the comments section to share your thoughts!