More than 4 million 3DS units were sold in...

than the 3DS in 2011, it said. It was the fifth straight year in which Nintendo sold more than 12 million total hardware units in the U.S., NOA said. The Wii’s U.S. installed base grew to 39 million, while the DS’s grew to more than 51 million, it said. “One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, NOA executive vice president-sales and marketing. The latest Mario and Zelda titles have “already broken” sales records, and are expected to have a “long tail,” with sales continuing long after their releases, he said. That, coupled with “a massive” first- and third-party game lineup in the first part of this year, creates “prospects for 2012” that he said are “extremely promising.” Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS “became the fastest-selling titles in the history” of their franchises when they were released and also became the first 3DS titles to sell 1 million copies each in the U.S., NOA said. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii also “broke launch records,” becoming the 45th title for the console to sell more than 1 million copies in the U.S., it said. Coming releases for Nintendo’s systems include new entries in Nintendo’s Pokemon and Kid Icarus series, as well as the third-party Resident Evil: Revelations from Capcom and Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater from Konami for the 3DS. Two older Nintendo titles also celebrated sales milestones as 2011 ended, Mario Kart Wii passing 11 million copies sold and New Super Mario Bros for the DS crossing 10 million copies sold, NOA said.