Nintendo 3DS Surpasses GameCube Lifetime Total in a Third of the Time

In around twenty months, Nintendo 3DS has topped the lifetime figures of the GameCube.

In its five/six years on the market before being discontinued, Nintendo's forth main home console - the GameCube - sold 21.74 million units. However, in much less than a third of the time the Nintendo 3DS has sailed past the GameCube's total, as pointed out by IGN's Rich George.

Despite a strong selection of gems like Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, the initially exclusive Resident Evil 4, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soul Calibur II and a handful of more niche titles, the GameCube failed to reclaim the market share - falling behind the Sony PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox.

Many titles were released into 2007, including Madden NFL 08 and TMNT, until the console entered retirement to make way for the Wii.

As of the week ending 17th November, the Nintendo 3DS has sold 22.50 million units worldwide, and is still going strong.

Total Nintendo announced a new Mario Kart 7 bundle, pre-installed in a blue/black 3DS XL console.