On eve of portable's first birthday, Nintendo reveals North American sales for the device nearly doubled the 2.3 million the DS posted during its first year.

The 3DS's new visual dimension has opened up a new avenue for sales, too, it appears. Nintendo announced today that the 3DS has sold 4.5 million units in the United States during its first 12 months on the market, nearly doubling the first-year clip of the DS.

The 3DS outperformed the DS in the US during its first year.

Citing NPD data, Nintendo said the DS--which launched in North America on November 21, 2004--sold 2.3 million units during its first 12 months on the market.

Another comparison Nintendo noted today was the total number of software titles released during the first 12 months, which came in at 58 for the DS and more than 100 for the 3DS. As for software sales, Nintendo sold 5 million DS games and more than 9 million 3DS games during the systems' respective first years.

Lastly, Nintendo said total sales (hardware, software, and accessories) in the first 12 months for the DS came in at $540 million, with the 3DS racking up over $1.2 billion.

The 3DS debuted in North America on March 27, 2011, at $250. In July, however, Nintendo decided to slash the price of the system to $170 effective in August, based on a disappointing launch for the system.

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