The Nintendo DS was a monster console in its heyday with a whopping 154 million units sold. Like the original Game Boy, the Nintendo DS benefited from an exceptionally long life. It launched in 2004 and lasted until 2014, while its retail price of $149.99 helped make it reasonably accessible. The long battery life, multiple iterations, and special editions also helped.
When it comes to games, the Nintendo DS had plenty of titles that sold extremely well, although it didn’t have that one game that defined it as the Game Boy did with “Pokémon.” Some of the more successful titles for the Nintendo DS include “New Super Mario Bros.,” “Mario Kart DS,” “Nintendogs,” and “Mario Party DS.” Underneath the top sellers, though, were myriad games that catered to all sorts of gamers. There was a game for everyone on the DS.
There’s a bit of a discussion as to how well the DS actually sold. Its successor was the Nintendo 3DS, which was a more powerful DS with a 3D screen. All the DS games still worked, and it was, in effect, the same console with extra features. The only argument against it is that 3DS games can’t be played on a regular DS, although there were similar compatibility issues between the Game Boy and the Game Boy Color. The 3DS sold nearly 76 million units. If you combine the two, it equals 230 million units sold, making the DS family Nintendo’s strongest-selling console ever.
