Wii U and Nintendo 3DS

The holidays have been really, really good for Nintendo in its home country. The last several weeks have produced banner numbers for the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS, as both systems have occupied the #1 and #2 best seller slots since at least November.

Media Create, a company that tracks sales for gaming hardware and software in Japan, posted the numbers for the week of Dec. 16 through 22. Here's the breakdown.

  1. Nintendo 3DS XL – 164,078
  2. Wii U – 109,113
  3. Nintendo 3DS – 68,522
  4. PS Vita – 50,087
  5. PlayStation 3 – 24,573
  6. PSP – 9,905
  7. PS Vita TV – 5,504
  8. Wii – 1,711
  9. Xbox 360 – 763

Of course, Nintendo has the benefit of being the newest game in town in the Japanese market. Neither the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One have hit that region of the world yet, so the marketplace hasn't felt the effects of those consoles.

However, an above 100,000 performance in a single week for the Wii U is tremendous. And, the Nintendo 3DS seeing a combined SKU total 232,600 is also incredible.

Sure, the Wii U is far from "saved," something a lot of enthusiasts have been throwing around lately. But, the holiday push and the constant presence of the Nintendo 3DS will help Nintendo in a big way.

The Nintendo 3DS is doing exceptionally well internationally. The Wii U? Not so much. But, a lower price point and, currently, much better software catalogue should afford it some success.