April Update!
I've decided to turn this into a monthly feature. There just isn't enough to discuss on a weekly basis, especially now that the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
Week 14:
DS sales climbed very slightly this week to 213k with only a small release -- Tenchou: Dark Secret (5k FW). 3DS sales continued their decline to 55k with no noteworthy new releases.
Week 15:
DS sales drop to 189k with two notable releases, Denetsu no Stafi 4 (52k FW) and Touch Detective (5k FW). 3DS declines further to 47k with one noteworthy release, Cardfight!! Vanguard: Ride to Victory (45k FW).
Week 16:
DS sales stay relatively steady at 189k with a couple of small releases, including Zoo Tycoon DS (3k FW). Three versions of Tabi no Yubisashi Kaiwachou also charted this week, for a combined 17k FW sales. 3DS sales were boosted to 73k with the release of Tomodachi Collection: New Life (406k FW).
Week 17:
DS sales skyrocket to 279k, their highest yet this year, with the release of Tetris DS (218k FW). Also released for DS this week were Naruto: Ninja Council 3 (38k FW), Ochaken no Heya DS (11k FW), Nobunaga no Yabou DS (5k FW), and the other two versions of Tabi no Yubisashi Kaiwachou (20k FW combined). 3DS sales fall back down to 56k with only one minor release, Detective Conan: Marionette Symphony (10k FW).
The tally thus far:
DS 06 -- 2,096,408
3DS 13 -- 1,531,249
Adv DS +565,159
The month in review:
DS crushed 3DS in April. The 3DS had a slight edge at the end of March; after 4 weeks, the DS now has a bigger lead than the 3DS has had at any point this year. 3DS couldn't compete with the flood of software releases on the DS.
May preview: 3DS is set to receive Shin Megami Tensei IV and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D this May, and not much else. Those should keep its sales at decent levels, but nowhere near the consistent 100-200k DS sales, topped off with the release of New Super Mario Bros and nearly 300k hardware sales at the end of the month. The gap could possibly exceed 1 million hardware units in favor of the DS by the end of May.
