Has a preorder console sold more than retail hardware before???

An online retailer has told IncGamers that the pre-orders it is receiving for the Nintendo 3DS are higher than for any other handheld gaming device before it, adding it's even outselling all other hardware combined (including consoles).

Speaking to IncGamers, ShopTo’s Phil Driver said: “3DS is currently outselling all other hardware combined and is certainly the strongest performing handheld launch for us of all time.”

http://www.incgamers.com/News/26857/retailer-3ds-outselling-all-hardware-combined?

An online retailer ? 

I have no doubt this game will sell crazy at first, but come on we need better sources that that.

Total UK HW last week was 60k, so not as impressive as it sounds. But still, 3DS si gonna big big!

very cool, 3ds will sell a ton and then keep on kicking a$$ all the way through the holidays :)

More info please, if not, I'll take this as a GAF user.

boy this would ruin some peoples dreams if it is a big success, anyway not surprising, can't wait for it.  Though now I'm somewhat worried as both the ngp and 3ds are being expected to succeed, definitely not a good sign for either.

We know who is the most likely to succeed though

all the more reason for success to be an uncertainty, frankly I can see both portables failing miserably. 

I would say that it is probably very likely that demand for the 3DS is unprecidented, and that this doesn't necessarily act as proof of that. I don't know how most retailers are handling pre-orders now, but (because they have over-sold pre-orders in the past with negative backlash) many large retailers are much more conservative about pre-orders than they used to be. As a result of this, smaller retailers often are the only ones with pre-orders left after the major chains have stopped taking orders; and this can heavily skew their numbers.

I would be more likely to believe if they provided real numbers to back up their claims.