Nintendo saw sales for its handheld gaming consoles in the United States skyrocket for August, with the company attributing the increased performance to a variety of factors.
The Nintendo 3DS console line of the company saw an 83 percent increase in sales compared with the corresponding month last year. It should be noted that the new Galaxy Style New Nintendo 3DS XL is not yet included in the figures, as sales for the handheld console with a unique design only started after the reporting period ended.
The Nintendo 2DS, meanwhile, saw an even bigger increase in its sales figures for last month with more than 500 percent jump compared with August 2015. According to Nintendo, the massive boost was partly due to the price cut that the company implemented starting May, which saw the price tag of the Nintendo 2DS slashed down to only $80 from the previous price of $100.00.
In addition to the $20 price reduction, Nintendo also attributed the massive sales increase due to the excitement surrounding the Pokémon franchise. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pokémon, and the launch of games such as the massively popular mobile title Pokémon GO and the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon rejuvenated the franchise in the video game industry. The new Pokémon titles will be compatible with the Nintendo 2DS.
In terms of software sales, Nintendo also reported an increase of 57 percent for the sales of 3DS first-party games for August, including both physical and digital copies. Of note are Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, which reached the ninth and eleventh spots, respectively, on the overall sales chart last month.
The two games were able to achieve the feat despite being released back in 2014, and it is easy to make the connection that the players who contributed to the massive increase in Nintendo 2DS sales picked up copies of these games.
Meanwhile, the Wii U saw software sales increase by 30 percent, though Nintendo did not share the hardware sales of the beleaguered console.
It is rumored that Nintendo will be unveiling the successor of the Wii U, the mysterious Nintendo NX, by early October, which would further generate excitement for Nintendo's hardware. The console is believed to be a hybrid console that can function as both a handheld gaming device and as a tabletop platform, with detachable controllers that support motion control.
The Nintendo NX is expected to be released into the market by March 2017.
