Even with only five days of reported data, Nintendo 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bros. 2 still had major impacts on the August video game market. The new hardware, which features 90 percent larger screens than the original Nintendo 3DS, and the new side-scrolling Mario adventure both launched on Aug. 19 and helped Nintendo achieve the following:

Nintendo 3DS software sales increased by more than 68 percent over sales in July.
Nintendo 3DS hardware sales increased by more than 36 percent over sales in July.
The No. 1 and No. 2 top-selling software SKUs for the month are both exclusive to Nintendo 3DS. New Super Mario Bros. 2 sold more than 240,000 units to finish No. 1, and KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance] from Square Enix sold more than 180,000 copies to finish No. 2.

“Software sells hardware, and no one sells either quite like Mario,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “In addition to helping New Super Mario Bros. 2 get off to a great start, Nintendo 3DS XL is driving increased interest in titles such as Kid Icarus: Uprising, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Mario Kart 7. These games have been on the market for more than six months but provide a completely new experience on the larger screens. Combine these titles with the upcoming Paper Mario: Sticker Star and a robust list of third-party games, and Nintendo 3DS is poised to be high on holiday wish lists this year.”