December 2^nd, 2004 (7:48pm) - The Nintendo DS has finally launched in Japan and according to initial reports Japanese retailers have been reporting a strong consumer turnout for the dual-screened handheld’s launch.

For the Japanese launch, Nintendo has shipped 500,000 units of the Nintendo DS hardware to Japanese retailers. Initially the company had intended on shipping only 300,000 units, but demand for the handheld had actually gone beyond Nintendo’s expectations, surpassing 2 million pre-orders in Japan alone.

Nintendo spokesperson Yasuhiro Minagawa told Reuters this morning that "sales seem to be off to a good start despite the fact that we are launching on a weekday." This obviously is good news for Nintendo, which plans on having 5 million NDS units sold by the end of the fiscal year in March.