A combination of new console SKUs and reduced price points meant that Nintendo did very well during 'Black Friday'.

Black Friday is the unofficial name for the day after Thanksgiving in America whereby consumers, full of Turkey and an irrepressible desire to bargain hunt, head to the shops in the hopes of getting some Christmas bargains. The period is always successful in retail, so much so that Amazon UK joined in this year.

Nintendo benefited from this shopping frenzy this year as they managed to sell 1.5 million hardware units in America. Between November 21st and 27th 900,000 DS units, in all versions, and 600,000 Wii consoles were sold in America alone.

“U.S. shoppers bought about 9,000 Nintendo hardware systems nonstop for every hour of every day during the week of Black Friday. For the past several years, consumers have decided that Nintendo defined both top value and all-inclusive entertainment, and that sentiment continues again at the start of this shopping season.”

- Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime.

The sales spike was also helped by a combination of new bundles available for both the DS and Wii. The Mario 25th anniversary red Wii and DSi XL and orange and green DSi units were recently released and offer even better value for money.