Nintendo has sold five million 3DS consoles in Japan

Nintendo said Monday that it has sold 5 million 3DS handheld game consoles in Japan, which it says makes the device the fastest-selling game platform ever in the country.

The Kyoto-based firm said the console reached the landmark Sunday, less than a year after its launch on Feb. 26, 2011. It said the number was based on estimates from data it obtained directly from its domestic distributors.

The 3DS was initially snatched up by gaming afficionados but then stumbled badly, forcing the company to suddenly slash its price worldwide less than six months after launch. Nintendo then launched an aggressive sales push for new game titles, a lack of which was a major reason the console initially failed to catch on.