July 15^th, 2006 (11:47am) - The DS Lite has launched in North America and Nintendo is boasting its successful launch as the NPD Group has confirmed that nearly 600,000 units of the newly redesigned handheld have been picked up by consumers, almost double the sales for any other game device sold during the month of June. Additionally, topping the software sales chart for the second month in a row is the DS’ New Super Mario Bros., which sold through 450,000 units during June.

For those believing that the "non-gaming" fad only applies to Japan, it seems that both Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day and Big Brain Academy have also picked up in popularity in North America. Respectively, the games have sold through 200,000 and 140,000 units each, with Brain Age’s total sales amounting to 405,000 units. It is expected that these "Touch Generation" games will reflect their phenomenal success in Japan as it sells consistently month after month.

"[The] Nintendo DS is the only game system available a year ago that showed growth over the same period, and it did so in overwhelming fashion, with a leap of 426 percent," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "What we’re seeing is realization of our promise that Nintendo will bring gaming to the masses -- whatever your taste or level of experience, we’ve got a system and a game for you."

Nintendo is also boasting the success of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, its wireless gaming network. The network has has achieved participation by 1.7 million discreet users worldwide in just eight months, an adoption-rate which Nintendo claims to be the fastest for any gaming platform.

With games such as Final Fantasy III, Children of Mana, Star Fox Command, and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on the horizon for DS owners, the popularity of the DSL is expected to continue into the holiday season and beyond.