Animal Crossing: New Leaf sets new record for US launch day eShop sales

During its E3 investors meeting yesterday, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata said Animal Crossing: New Leaf set a record for launch day sales through the eShop in the US.

He said the release of the game also helped push 3DS sales to "nearly four times" what sales of the hardware were the previous week.

"The most important title for this summer sales season is Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which was released last Sunday in the U.S. and will be released this upcoming Friday in Europe," Iwata told investors. "In Japan, it has become a hit with sales of more than four million units. A wide variety of consumers, including women, enjoy this title and it has given great momentum to the sales of Nintendo 3DS.

"Also, since consumers tend to play this game continually, they actively use Nintendo 3DS over an extended period. This game has greatly contributed to the platform in many ways. The success of this title is crucial for the future of Nintendo 3DS in the U.S. and European markets.

"Fortunately, many pre-orders of the game have been placed at retailers both in the U.S. and in Europe, and it has received very good review scores.

“Animal Crossing: New Leaf is having an immediate impact. The digital version of the game set a new record for launch day sales in the Nintendo eShop and sales of Nintendo 3DS hardware were nearly four times greater than the previous week."

You can read the entire transcript through here.