Nintendo is claiming that Thursday's launch of the DS in Australia is their most successful yet in the territory.

Official numbers won't be available until this Wednesday, but Nintendo Australia have pre-empted them by claiming that, based on retailer feedback, the first 12 hours of DS sales beat all previous hardware sales.

"The retail and consumer feedback from Thursdays Nintendo DS launch has been astounding," Nintendo Australia said in a statement. "We are eagerly awaiting the official market sales figures this week to fully solidify our place in the Australian marketplace as the most successful current hardware launch ever."

Considering Nintendo's less than stellar success in the region, this isn't difficult, but is still good news. We'll update you with the sales numbers later in the week.